For RuPaul's Drag Race fans, it’s been thirteen long weeks. After an arduous journey that left us with a top four instead of the usual top three going into the grand finale, we finally have a winner — and her name is Sasha Velour. Shea Couleé, who secured four wins in the race to the crown, was hailed by many as the suspected winner, and Trinity Taylor, who won three, was following close behind. But an announcement from RuPaul during last week’s riveting reunion about this finale’s “Lip Sync Smackdown” seemed to throw all of those predictions out of the window.

Rather, the queens were prompted to prepare three lip syncs ahead of the finale and would face against each other until only two queens remained. Those two would then go head-to-head for the final crown. RuPaul began by spinning a giant wheel with all four queens’ name on it, and Trinity Taylor was selected to pick her opponent. Claiming she wanted a “challenge,” Trinity chose this season’s “lip-sync assassin” Peppermint. In turn, Peppermint randomly selected their song — “Stronger” by Britney Spears” — and the two took to the stage to compete. Trinity went into overdrive from the beginning, while Peppermint took a slower approach that climaxed with a double wig/dress reveal; in the end, Peppermint’s pacing was rewarded and she moved on. Next up was Sasha Velour and Shea Couleé to perform Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional,” and it was almost immediately clear that Sasha — who strategically poured out rose petals to add to the visuals of her performance — was going to send frontrunner Shea home.

When it came down to Peppermint and Sasha Velour to face each other to “It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay,” (the second Whitney Houston song of the night), Sasha had the edge again with props that added to her visual allure: a Valentina-referencing mask that came apart piece-by-piece and her performance was all the better for it. Sasha emerged the winner.

This week, we hopped on the phone with RuPaul’s Drag Race season 8 winner (and, until Friday night, the series’ reigning champion) Bob the Drag Queen to talk about what elements matter most in a lip sync, the rewarding aspect of touching people with your art, and why drag queens are the guardians of queer culture.

Teen Vogue: So, we have a new Drag Race Superstar!

Bob the Drag Queen: Yes, I am no longer the current reigning. I am just a regular pedestrian, just like you.

TV: So this finale was different. In past seasons, we’ve approached the finale with somewhat of a good idea about who would win. But this season, the lip-sync “smackdown” made it so each member of the top four had an equal shot at winning. What are your thoughts?

BtDQ: Well, it really shook things up. It made the finale much more unpredictable. Normally, you go in thinking to yourself that whoever did the best over the season will win, and [the finale] is more of just a showcase than an actual decision. But this finale, there were actually decisions that were being made during each lip sync.

TV: We’ve spent a lot of time this season discussing our predictions, and much of that discussion has circled around in-season performance. Do you think this new format works to invalidate the performance during the proper season?

BtDQ: Yes and no. It doesn’t invalidate it. You still have to make your way to the top four. You could be killing it all season long, winning the most, but if you mess up in the top five, you’ll go home. You see what I’m saying? It’s not quite as intense, but consider this: When Acid Betty went home, she was actually doing the best. She was in the top every week except for the week she went home.