In preparation for All Stars 3, coming this winter, I am going to put out a few lists and then review all the seasons, starting with Season 9. But first, let’s go through 10 queens who I think are worthy enough for a call to participate in the eventual 4th edition of All Stars.

Not all these queens will end up on one season, though any 9-12 together would be absolutely fabulous in my opinion. Sound off in the comments what you think, and who I could possibly have missed out

To say Shea was the ‎Beyoncé of Season 9 would be pretty much summing up her run, right down to her losing the crown to Sasha Velour the way Lemonade lost to 25. She had 4 challenge wins, the most of any contestant this season as well as tied with Sharon Needles and Alaska Thunderfuck for the most challenge wins ever on the show. Granted, she had two joint wins with Sasha, it doesn’t diminish her star power in my eyes because it shows that she can work well with another queen and bring it together. Shea is a fashionable queen, on par with other look queens in many ways like Kim Chi, Pearl (her drag sisters from Chicago) and Naomi Smalls, but she’s also one helluva performer, being adept at acting, comedy, singing and rapping. Just watch her turn as Grandrea Zuckerwoman in the 9021HO challenge, her scene stealing part as Blac Chyna or her team ups with Sasha, and you can see that she’s basically as versatile a queen as they come. She was the front-runner going into the finale, and in any other season would have walked away with the crown based on pure statistics. But Ru, clearly smarting from the more-than average amount of lipsync disasters, chose to make the finale another sudden-death challenge (which is nothing new in reality-tv land). That’s where Shea dropped the ball. May be she thought she had it in the bag. May be she got cocky. Anyhow, Sasha completely obliterated her in the lipsync, and went on to take down the lipsync-assassin Peppermint herself and snatched the crown. So that basically means that Shea is all but a confirmed All Stars contestant, and like Alaska and Chad, clearly deserves that chance and title. She’s one queen who would have done well in any season of drag race, but you can be sure will slay come All Stars, learning from her one great mistake.

She’s perfect. She’s beautiful. She looks like Lind Evangelista. She’s a model. Or so say the judges, as pointed out by Aja in her now iconic rant in Untucked. What she’s not is Miss Congeniality, according to the other queens at least. Valentina started season 9 as the gorgeous, young ingenue with only a few months of drag experience yet grabbing everyone’s attention right off the bat with her polished looks and addictive personality. She was the judges’ favourite, breezing through the competition never putting a foot wrong, until she made the cardinal sin of not giving a damn and fumbling through a painful lipsync. In a moment when she was most likely meant to rise like a phoenix, Vanetina’s Maskgate saw her not knowing the words to a fairly simple pop song, then try to cover it up with a literal mask prompting Ru to stop a lipsync for the first time and then reset. The moment Valentina asked if she could “keep it on, please”, her fate was sealed. So the robotic golden-child of Season 9 crashed and burned in a matter of minutes, and everything after that was equally controversial what with her fans going ballistic and attacking other queens for doing their job, and her completely ignoring to acknowledge or address the situation, and insinuations of diva behavior. There’s no doubt that Tina is talented, and her looks have never tanked on the runway. With a few turns on the stage, she could get more practice performing and may be not come off so superficial, and like Tatianna, make an admirable effort at reestablishing her fanbase. She coasted through Season 9, basically being safe except for the first three episodes or so, so if she wants to really compete with people like Shea, she would have to tighten her girdle and step up. Or smile harder, that usually does the trick for her anyway.

Easily one of the most talented runway girls the sow has had, Kim Chi is also quite an adorably funny and goofy queen with a smart quip at the ready for almost any occasion. Her anime-meets-couture-runway looks are conceptual and frankly some of the best drag out there, she’s known to be very quick with applying her makeup which is surprising seeing how delicately intricate even her simplest looks tend to be. During her season, Kim Chi was the only one who never lipsynced, and she must be really grateful for that because, as Bob the Drag Queen put it, she has two left feet and vertigo. Girl can barely walk in heels, let alone dance. She also has a pronounced lisp, and sometimes her humour is too conceptual and can fly over people’s heads. But she has been consistently performing on stage since Season 8 so she probably has learned to perform in a way that highlights her gifts and sidesteps her white-girl rhythm. She’s smart, witty, likeable and humble, and with the added experience after drag race, she could be a real contender for the crown if she works on her stage presence. Hopefully we’ll never have to see her lipsync for her life, and if she does, let’s hope it’s against Valentina or our next entry.

The sleeping beauty of Season 7, Pearl was an instant hit with most fans of drag race, thanks to her undeniable good looks both as a drag queen and as a boy out of drag. I mean, he’s probably the second most classically handsome man in drag race herstory, right behind Dan Donigan aka Milk. Pearl’s extremely laid-back attitude, resting bitch-face (which she calls bedroom-eyes), stepford-wife shtick and general stoner-realness approach to the competition meant that pretty much everything she did on the show early on was very chill and borderline sleepy, barely showing any signs of life except for when she butted heads with Miss Fame, the other famous makeup artist in the cast (who was clearly threatened by Pearl). Ru had to tell her to wake up after that disastrous Macbitch challenge, but Pearl needed an actual stare-off with Ru who seemed to wash her hands off of her (during which her team partner MAX could be seen frozen solid deep inside the couch she had clawed inside to hide) and a few moments alone after walking out from the werkroom to collect herself enough to return for a pep-talk from MAX, to get her act together and then go ahead and slay the challenge. The rest of the season, there was a definite air of fun around her, even though she never really did anything spectacular other than serve flazeda Pearl-face, and I’m still gobsmacked how she made into top 3 over much better contestants. Her looks were nearly all successful, though in her own words a wee bit of padding and better hair could have helped, her performances were almost always leaving us wanting more (except for a rather surprisingly good Snatch Game) and her chill attitude was a nice contrast to the increasing desperation in some of the others. In an All Stars season, Pearl will really have to put an effort to participate and work because otherwise she will be eaten alive or end up another roadkill by the wayside as these hungry bitches claw their way to the Hall of Fame.

Derrick brings drama, there’s no doubt about it. This Season 8 alum learned it the hard way that being a top-notch Britney Spears impersonator might be well and good, but being a great drag queen is a whole different thing. Her Britney was on point, but everything else was in shambles, and don’t ever let her near a sewing machine, or she’ll come up with another costume with intricate hems all over, which is basically a piece of fabric wrapped around a leotard. And her makeup game was also pretty lacking throughout her season. Though never bearded like Willam or Kandy Ho, her inability to change up or carve her face, particularly in that last episode where she ended up looking deranged severely limited her drag race potential, but don’t tell Derrick that because she’ll be the last to see any flaw at all. She must be bathing in Jinkx Monsoon’s Season 5 perfume creation, that one. Derrick can perform, no doubt, but acting/intentional comedy/scripted challenges were apparently alien to her until she teamed up with her rival, the Beyoncé to her Britney, Bob the Drag Queen. After drag race, Derrick’s makeup skills have improved a lot and she can do drag makeup too, which is good. But the best reason she should be on All Stars is that as annoying as she can be, she’s talented, hard-working and most of all, entertaining. She could stir up drama and maybe even become the villain every great season deserves.

Every season, there are fan favorites (Ben Dela Creme, Katya). Every season there are weird kooky queens that fans are intrigued by watching the Meet The Queens (MILK, Nina Bo’nina Brown). Every season we have great queens who are definitely never going to win (Latrice Royale, Jujubee). Every season we have queens left be the wayside by WOW (The Princess, Dax). MAX seems to be a bit of all of these, and then some. From the first MTQ, it was obvious that MAX was one of those queens who would be hunted down by Michelle with a pitchfork for not doing drag her way, just like Milk and Acid Betty, but I think we all were pleasantly surprised by her actual run on the show. She came in with her smart, studied style of drag, a combination of Old Hollywood and Victorian Gothic, her looks almost always being monochromatic and well put-together. By episode 6, the quiet Miss Maxine had notched up two wins and never fallen to the bottom 3, and had showcased some pretty fabulous looks and that she was also a great performer, having won two performance challenges. And then, as usual, Michelle came in with her two-cents, forcing MAX to wear a wig other than her signature grey. I still don’t get it. If Pearl, Ginger, Katya, Courtney et al can go through whole seasons with the same colour hair, why couldn’t MAX? It wasn’t like she was even wearing the same wig?! Then during Snatch Game, MAX made her first real error by doing a weak-ass Sharon Needles, her second choice as she wasn’t allowed to do Miranda Sings. She clearly deserved that bottom 2 spot, but in the same way Milk was setup to go home by being forced to lipsync against a nearly unbeatable Trinity K. Bonet, MAX was asked to lipsync against Jaidyn Dior Fierce, when once again, Miss Fame evaded bottom 2 in a clear case of favouritism. And MAX went home. To add insult to injury, the show edited together a supposed-to-be off-camera moment where MAX loosened her corset and had a sip of water, and Ru asked her to sing a song for her, to look like MAX simply created a breakdown mid-critique and acted crazy. This fact was verified by the Drag Race twitter, possibly accidentally, so it’s no stretch to say that the show-makers cooked up an excuse to send her packing. And the very little attention MAX, up until her elimination the front-runner of Season 7, received afterwards is also uncharacteristic and surprising. After Drag Race MAX laid low for a while after a terrible breakup, but has bounced back recently with some gag-worthy looks and some deserved attention. A spot in an All Stars season would go a long way in reintroducing MAX to a wider audience, as she is that unique look-queen who is also adept at performing, the perfect midway between the Violet/Pearl/Fame crowd and the Kennedy/Ginger/Kasha tribe of Season 7. Seriously, what were they thinking. Just checkout MAX’s cover of Rupaul’s Dance With U, her turn in the trippy Snow White short-film or her internet mini series Agent MAX. Her drag might not be as in-your-face as others, and her makeup might look light, but the bitch is beat and her looks are never not HtoT polish.

Bitch is badass, no question about it. It might not have been apparent during her short run on Season 8, but Laila is a pretty great performer and one helluva cute drag artist. Her looks might scream gothy, but she is polished and always beat. During Season 8, she kinda shrank into herself most of the time, and that’s probably anyone’s first reaction to be in a group with Bob, Acid Betty and Thorgie, but she has remained popular with the Drag Race audience since her elimination, and has remained a strong presence at DragCon and WOW Youtube channel. She has had some time to grow and evolve as a performer, and with the exposure she has got since her time on the show, there is a definite boost in her confidence, which should come in handy if she’s ever to really muster enough clout to compete in an All Stars season.

Acid Betty is a bitch, there’s no denying it. She herself gladly claims that title, Thorgie confirmed it and Betty demonstrated it with ease during her surprisingly short run on the show. But there’s a heart of gold beneath all that nasty attitude and pounds of trippy makeup, as demonstrated by her assistance of Cucu aka Cynthia Lee Fontaine when she was diagnosed with cancer. Also, on the show, when Cucu broke that stage-light with her flying shoe, Betty was the first one to bend down and pick up the shards making sure nobody got them pierced in their feet. Acid Betty served up some really original, freaky looks during her 5 episode stint, and was almost always in the top 3, but Michelle somehow made that a negative claiming ridiculously that she was setting the bar high and was waiting to fail. Shut up Michelle. I don’t know how she managed to find any criticism of Betty, while there have been cases where she simply glosses over the failures of others (Bob’s atrocious Tron-skater look, Kennedy’s rotten KFC runway). Acid Betty definitely deserves another chance at the crown, because she is a creative force, incredibly talented and would turn out any challenge thrown her way, except play Nancy Grace (which seems to be a cursed role anyway). And she will bring drama, mawma.

Ivy Winters is probably one of the most talented artists to ever compete in Drag Race. She sings. She can dance-ish. She can sew like no other. She turns looks. She can walk on stilts. She is a fire-breather. The only thing she can’t do is identify Tokyo from New York. In Season 5, she pretty much skated by safely, winning a challenge and then promptly sent packing after stumbling in the perfume commercial challenge. She, like MAX, isn’t as in-your-face as most other drag queens on the show, but is incredibly talented and was voted fan-favourite (back when it wasn’t just a popularity contest). It would be wonderful to see how she has evolved since her time, and although it is unlikely she will win, she most definitely will bring some fabulous stuff to the show both in challenges and on the runway.

There’s absolutely no question if Nina is talented. She’s a kooky church-lady in extreme makeup that’s beyond cosplay. In Season 9, she came in with a bang, winning the first challenge with her versatile makeup skills. But she proved her own worst enemy, bringing herself and everyone around her down with her terrible attitude, paranoia and self-doubt. Even when the girls tried to help her, it seemed to do little to stem her downward spiral. Her years of being sidelined by the cut-throat Atlanta drag scene definitely has had damaging effects on her psyche. She needs professional help. But she’s also very funny, talented and entertaining when she’s not doubting herself or being lazy. Her last runway, a crazed bunny-head on a Beyonce Super Bowl outfit, shows both sides equally starkly. Of her three lipsyncs, the first two were really great, but she basically gave up against Shea. Hopefully with some help, and a few years to hone and perfect her raft with the added monetary benefits of a post-drag race career, she’ll be ready to try again with her head in the game. At least she’ll be entertaining. Sue me.

So these are the 10 queens I would love to see in All Stars 4. The looks would be some of the best ever, easily, with the likes of Kim, Betty, MAX and Shea. There are some really great performers. Some of them will definitely bring the drama. It would be interesting to see ho some of the quieter queens come out in the presence of louder queens like Derrick and Betty.

Others who just missed the cut are :

Joslyn Fox: She’s fun, funny and ditzy. Also, a real fan of the show.

Jaidyn Dior Fierce: Big ball of energy and a meme-factory.

Manila Luzon: All Stars 1 be damned, Manila deserves a crown already.

Special Mentions:

Laganja Estranja: Laganja was a mess during Season 6, and she was also one of the best things about the season as well. She’s a walking meme machine, and a true daughter to Alyssa Edwards. After her disastrous run on her season, she has done a Phi Phi O’Hara and forced fans to see just how amazing a performer she is and to not simply judge her off of TV show. So I sincerely hope she doesn’t put herself in jeopardy by returning for an All Star season. She doesn’t need to go through that. She has made a really great transformation into a fabulous Ru girl and I don’t see the point of her trying out again, because she definitely won’t win, and just being back in such an environment might do more harm to her than good.

Miss Fame: Again, an underwhelming performer from Season 7 who does not need to return to the show, because that is clearly not her brand. She can’t act, dance or do proper comedy, regardless of how sickening her looks are.