'All Stars' fave Manila Luzon says 'it'll probably be a lot easier for them moving forward'

Manila Luzon is in Houston this weeekend. Manila Luzon is in Houston this weeekend. Photo: VH1 Photo: VH1 Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close 'All Stars' fave Manila Luzon says 'it'll probably be a lot easier for them moving forward' 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Manila Luzon was on track to snatch the "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" 4 crown. She'd won three consecutive challenges, including the all-important Snatch Game, and never landed in the bottom two. Several of the other queens looked to her as a legend.

It seemed like a sure bet. But we know how these things go. Just ask Shangela.

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Manila landed in the bottom with BFF Latrice Royale during a Judy Garland challenge. Their fates were in the hands of Naomi Small, who espoused fairness but chose to save Latrice, who had a poor track record and performed worse that Manila in the challenge. But Latrice spared Naomi a week earlier.

Our pineapple diva, however, will be just fine. Manila just dropped a music video for "Go Fish" featuring some familiar faces and will follow it up with a new album, "Rules," due Feb. 15. There's also a line of Manila dolls, starting with her spaghetti dress from this season.

She performs Friday at Rich's nightclub. (Details below.) We talked about the "All Stars" experience and why she chose to return.

Fans are shocked that you're gone this early. Were you blindsided by everything, or did you have a feeling it would happen?

Even in the beginning of the episode, when they're like, "Manila and Trinity are the best competitors," I was like, "Girls, every week is completely different. You can be at the top one week and the bottom next week." If you look at Monet X Change's track record, you can see that it can go any way. The thing is, everyone's talking about being fair, so I kind of thought it would go the way of, "Well, Latrice had already been sent home," and I think -- no tea -- she did worse at the makeover challenge than I did. But I wasn't getting cocky about that. I knew there was a possibility of me going home.

Being fair in theory is a wonderful concept. But if someone really wants to win, they need to take out the biggest threats.

Yeah, I know. Trinity wanted to save the biggest threats for the end. I respect that. If you're gonna win, you wanna beat the best. But that's easy to say if you're Trinity, and you're doing really, really well. But if you're the other girls, you need to even up the playing field. I mean, it'll probably be a lot easier for them moving forward, let me just tell you that. I don't know what the next challenges are gonna be, but I was planning on slaying those the same way. Not to toot my own horn, but honk-honk!

NO MA'AM: Latrice Royale is not here for the 'All Stars' buffoonery

What was your strategy coming into the workroom?

Manila Luzon When: 10 p.m. Friday Where: Rich's, 2401 San Jacinto Tickets: $15, meet and greet for additional $10; 281-846-6685

I came into the competition knowing that I already had a big target on my back because I've already done this. And for the first two episodes, I tried to fly as low under the radar as I possibly could. Girl, on Episode 2, on that singing challenge, I totally threw that. I have probably 15 or 16 songs available on iTunes, and it's only gonna be more when I release my album in a couple of weeks. I know how to sing a song, but I was trying really hard to keep it low. I didn't wanna come off too strong in the beginning, and I wanted to give some room for me to grow. I knew I was doing very well in the last few episodes. I was in the top three episodes in a row. Luckily, we had three comedic challenges in a row, and I was competing against all nonfunny people. They literally had to sit me down for one whole episode. They said, "Manila, Monet, just sit this one out. We've already seen you guys lip syncing enough."

You've had one of the most successful post-show careers. What motivated you to come back and compete a third time?

Because I was asked. "RuPaul's Drag Race" is my favorite TV show. I had no idea I would be able to have a career in drag that's lasted this long, at the level that I get to do it at. The effect that Season 3 and "All Stars" 1 had on my career as a drag queen was so significant that if I had another chance to do it, of course I would have to take it. Now that it's on VH1, it's got a bigger audience. There are fans that are starting to watch the show that haven't seen my old seasons. It's great to be able to come back and remind people this is where we came from and this is where it is now. And the queens that started this can still finish this.

Did your success put any added pressure on you to slay every week?

Of course. I want to do something that I'm proud of. I don't wanna go on to a platform like this and just kinda half-ass it or make it up as I go along. So I came prepared. I had a box of safety pins. I had zippers in case I had to make an outfit real quick. I had backup wigs, backup runway looks. I had shoes galore. I came prepared, honey.

Who would you love to see on a future "All Stars" season?

Oooh, there are so many. I would love to see Ivy Winters because she's very creative in more than just drag and she's a sweet person. I would love to see Jaymes Mansfield. I know she got sent home early, but I think that she's a fun character. Mariah Balenciaga from Season 3, I think she's a sickening queen. We got to see Stacy Layne Matthews on this season, but I think it would be fun to see her come back. And I know that she does hair for RuPaul, so it might be a conflict of interest, but I really think it would be amazing to see Delta Work on the show. There are so many queens to choose from, and that's why it was such a surprise to me that they asked me and Latrice back.