Television is soon getting another heaping dose of creativity, uniqueness, nerve and talent, as Season 8 of Logo’s popular drag-queen reality competition RuPaul’s Drag Race premieres March 7—and Las Vegans again have the opportunity to root on a local glamazon, with Britney Spears impersonator (and Weekly cover model!) Derrick Barry vying for the title of America’s Next Drag Superstar.

We caught up with the former Frank Marino’s Divas Las Vegas star, talking Drag Race’s Snatch Game episode, getting tips from Divas costar and Drag Race alum CoCo Montrese and—all tea, all shade—who he wanted to see sashay away.

What motivated you to audition for RuPaul’s Drag Race? I knew that the only way for me to up my game on a national and international level was to compete in what’s hot right now, and Drag Race has always been hot. I thought this was the perfect opportunity because now that Britney’s in town I’m not really following her tours around like I used to.

Did you get any tips from your former Divas costar, CoCo Montrese, either for your audition tape or prior to travelling to LA to tape the show? She was really someone that I looked up to, because when she came into Divas she was such a fan of mine. When she was asked to audition for Season 5 we actually filmed her video for her and she made it to the Top 5, which is incredible. From watching her on the show it made me realize that—kind of similar to Chad Michaels as Cher in Snatch Game, and [then] CoCo doing Janet [Jackson]—even though they both do drag outside of that, this is something that people know them for. It definitely inspired me to realize that celebrity female impersonation is such a big part of drag, and even though sometimes people don’t want to put it in the same kind of box, it’s all under one umbrella.

CoCo had great advice. She’s always told me to let go of the negativity … I had already experienced stuff like that when I created a YouTube channel, because I had a bunch of people that didn’t like my look or my performance or they thought I was too fat. If a celebrity hears it, we hear a fraction of it. … I was working with her in Divas while the show was airing, and just to watch her popularity climb and [see] her start travelling the world—she had never been out of the country before—that’s something that was so exciting to watch. Like I said, she really admired my career, and it was nice to kind of pay it back to her. To be a fan of what she was creating, as well.

Are you planning on impersonating Britney in this season’s Snatch Game episode? (Laughs) Oh, gosh. I mean, obviously my best is Britney; if I had a better one then everyone would have seen that by now. But I think that Snatch Game is also a time where people get to step outside the box and show the world what else they want to do. I’m a big fan of comedy and I think sometimes it’s even more fun to challenge myself to do something on a comedic level, instead of just going for the Britney look, because I don’t like to portray Britney in the light that pokes fun at her or any of her past situations. It’s a hard decision to make, if it’s the right choice or not.

Drag Race is pretty competitive and requires a number of skills. There’s makeup artistry, runway walking, lip syncing, dancing, costume design and sewing. What was your biggest weakness and biggest strength going into the competition? Oh, wow. Well, sewing has never been my strong suit. I know how to sew, [but] I didn’t go to school for sewing (laughs)—I went to school for theater. But we had classes where we had to make costumes and pieces for theater, so I’m familiar with it. It’s something I would love to work on and I continue to challenge myself to do. I can hand-sew tracks into a wig any day of the week, and I’m really good at that, but on a machine I don’t think it’s my strong suit.

I think my strength is the ability to get ready fast, because I’m used to getting ready fast in a nightly show, and the stress and pressure that come along with getting ready have kind of been obsolete for me for years.

I can power through anything. I can learn songs quickly because I have had to for shows. And being a theater person, it’s really easy for me to memorize lines and music, so I definitely think my strong suit is any type of performance challenge that has to do with acting, singing, dancing, because that’s what I was trained to do. That’s what I grew up doing and it’s what I did in college.

Did you know any of the other queens before arriving in the Drag Race workroom? Who is your fiercest competition? I knew Robbie Turner. Right when I walked in I heard him say my name, and I know his voice from anywhere because I have worked with him in Seattle and I absolutely love him. So he was one person that I felt close to right away. It’s funny, because we had both auditioned for [Season] 7, and we were in the car going back from the club to the hotel and he said, “You know what? You are so much fun. I would love if we got to go on a vacation together for a month somewhere and we got to get away.” And it was really cool being there with him because it’s what we got to do, we got to experience something together that we had talked about in the past. … It was really magical to see him there. I knew Naysha [Lopez] as well—not very well—and I thought that I may butt heads with her. She’s about beauty and pageants and all of that stuff, and as much as my look is pretty, I think there’s a lot more to what I do. I didn’t want to be labeled just another pretty face, so I wasn’t sure how [it] was going to pan out with her, as a friendship, but Naysha’s great. I thought Bob [The Drag Queen] was definitely competition because he is a name in the business. People like him. He’s funny. There is a trailer that came out today, and it already kind of sets the tone for how I feel about Bob. I think that we both are competitors and strong competitors at that, and it’s easy for us to butt heads because we’re both very comfortable in front of the camera and we have a lot to say about situations.

All tea, all shade with this question: Whom did you want to see sashay away first? Oh my gosh, really? That’s so hard. If I’m speaking honestly, when coming into the workroom my initial thought of Laila [McQueen] was, “Oh, this is not the one for me.” I just didn’t get the look—it looked like a prison-break outfit. I come from a very different style of drag, with Vegas and glitz and glamour and costumes and crystals … so I just wasn’t sure about Laila’s look. [She is a] sweet, sweet person, but I would have to say I would send her home first. That sounds horrible! Nobody’s asked me that. You’re not supposed to be able to ask things like that! (laughs) That makes me sound like such a bitch! (laughs)

I saw your partner, local artist Nick San Pedro, was in LA yesterday designing hair for a “secret project” of yours. Is that Drag Race-related? There are some photo shoots that I have been planning that will be released as the season goes on, and I’m excited for people to see certain looks that I have been hiding. There’s not too much I can talk about.

I feel like I’ve always had secret projects coming up. ... I’m starting to audition a lot more for projects. I think that the thing I’m enjoying most about this right now is that I’ve never really embraced photo shoots.

If you were named America’s Next Drag Superstar, what would you do with the $100,000 prize? I would definitely plan a show—a big show. I’ve always wanted to take my show on the road, with sets and costumes and dancers. Very similar to what I do in Divas, but taking that on a tour like a pop star does. It’s always been my dream to tour with a group and make a spectacle out of a performance and to do that in addition to my Britney impersonation, but do it with my own songs, my own choreography, my own look. And I think that’s the most exciting thing about this right now, is we all have a chance to make that happen. All of my dreams that I ever imagined have come true, and that’s the next step. I think touring the world with a live show is the way to up it.

Derrick Barry hosts a Drag Race premiere party at Share Nightclub March 7, after guest-starring in Divas on March 3.