With seriously sickening drag, totally foreign cultural traditions and some unforgettable characters, Drag Race Philippines really is that girl. Starting out as the underdog with a minimal budget the show has levelled up to now being big enough for it’s own spin-off Drag Race Philippines: Slaysian Royale.
Currently screening on WOW Presents Plus Slaysian Royale is an opportunity for some of the most loved, talented…available Asian queens to return from other franchises around the world and compete with some of the Filipina divas from Seasons 1-3. One such queen returning to the stage is Arizona Brandy who had us cackling in DRPH Season 2 with her snatch game as Adele, eating her contacts during a lip sync and always cheeky confessionals.
Last week she won the episode playing Chef Lee Cum Queen in the Rusical. She then proceeded to eliminate Kitty Space who had generously swapped roles with her, but….had also tried to eliminate Arizona the week before. ‘I don’t regret anything,’ Arizona tells Loverboy, ‘It all boils down to ‘You chose my lipstick, girl!’ To be honest, I am just that petty. Ahaha…’
So, Arizona, congratulations on your win last week!
Thank you. It feels amazing to win! I wasn’t able to focus on watching it last week at the viewing party because I was thinking about some of the hateful comments I was receiving. But I re-watched it for the first time last night and I noticed…I was good! To be honest, I think I deserved that win.
Your look was everything. I wanted to know where you felt that stood in terms of all the looks you brought this season.
Oh my God, I think that maybe that one is in my Top 3. I’m so happy I got to wear one of my favourite looks that early. I wanted to show people how much I have improved look-wise. I was not known for my looks on my original season. I wanted to redeem myself and I think I did.
How did you go about elevating your looks?
This time I have money! Haha…A lot of people will say, ‘You don’t need money to be creative.’ Girl, you need money. We all need money! I think budget is a big aspect. Not 100% but it really helps. I got gigs because of Season 2 and I almost drained all my savings. Also I think I matured in my taste. But that’s just what I think.
I agree! Now that song you lip-synced too. Aqua’s ‘Cartoon Heroes’. Is that a big song in the Philippines?!
Yes! It’s so famous here. I love it. There were just a few lip-sync songs this season where I was like, ‘Ok, I really want to do this one.’ And ‘Cartoon Heroes’ was one of them. It was my childhood song.
You had to make a difficult decision between eliminating Kitty and Bernie last week. But you chose Kitty and said, ‘She tried to pick my lipstick.’ Now I’m not sure I believe you…
Ok, well, let me tell you so that you believe me! To be honest, I’m just that petty! Haha…watching it I don’t regret anything I did in the competition. I get why people are upset because what I did was unfair. It was. Re-watching it, it was so unfair. However that’s my position and I stand by it because she picked my lipstick. I don’t want someone to stay in the competition knowing they might pick me again. I’m not going to risk that because I want to have fun but I want to win that money!
But she was kind and gave you the chef role.
Giving me the role was a really nice gesture which was why I was still second-guessing as to whether I was going to pick her or not. Like she helped me. At the end of the day I think I’m going to excel in whatever role and Bernie has helped me throughout the competition just by being there. When you’re with friends they make you feel good. You have someone to tell you that you’re doing well. You feel safe. So I think it all boils down to ‘You chose my lipstick girl.’ What people don’t know is that it’s hard, it didn’t happen in just five minutes. They cut it! It may look like my decision was instant but I did take a minute. Re-watching it now, I’m still rethinking about it.
Why is Slaysian Royale important?
You know what? It’s not, charot! Just kidding!! It’s so important because of the representation. We all know we only have a few Asian winners internationally. Of course there are going to be Asian winners in Asian countries. But in the US you only have a few. In the UK, you don’t have any. In Canada we only have Priyanka. Asian people need more representation in the mainstream media. Growing up in the Philippines of course I saw Filipinos on television but when I watched international shows there were only a few Asian people. I’m looking for that someone I can relate to. Right now we are those people who Asian viewers can relate to.
I apologise on behalf of our nation that of all the amazing UK Asian drag queens we have, you got Sum Ting Wong.
Ahaha…I’m not going to comment on that. No, Sum Ting Wong is really amazing. I remember telling her, ‘I watched your season and I felt so represented seeing you there.’
Have new fans got in touch saying they are discovering Drag Race Philippines because of Slaysian Royale?
Yes, but only a few. I’ve seen a lot of tweets recently though saying ‘Oh my God, Drag Race PH S2 is great!’ People must be watching it because our season was not that famous.
What?! It was the best DRPH season we’ve had.
Thank you, I agree! Haha…It’s good though because everything we did in Season 2 is still there. You can still see it. Nobody can erase it. Well, WOW can. Haha…please don’t WOW!
Some amazing villains on that season…
Everybody was a villain in our season! In our own ways. Season 2 is so underrated. If you start to watch it, you will not be able to stop. It’s entertaining.
Are you in touch with everyone still?
[Pause] Almost everybody….haha. I’m not joking though when I say the Season 2 queens are the closest together. We always hang out when we see each other at gigs. We’re sisters.
I loved your Adele on S2 snatch game so I have high hopes for your snatch in Slaysian Royale.
What if the plot twist was that I was just going to be Adele again? Haha…
I would welcome that! Which other international seasons do you enjoy?
Of course we all watch the flagship franchise. I love Down Under so much. I think I am one of the few. I see some of the same vibes between my season and Ivory’s. I remember watching her Drag Race Down Under S3 back in January and I finished it in a day. That’s how obsessed I was.
It’s kind of controversial but I really loved seeing Michelle host. If that was the future I wouldn’t be mad.
Well…….I still want to see Mama Ru in person so I’m going to disagree. Haha…
When did you begin doing drag?
I act like a child. Like I said I am a petty queen. Haha…but people don’t know that I have been doing drag for so long. Eleven years now. I started when the only Drag Race we had was in the US.
And what got you into doing drag?
Drag Race! I watched Jiggly’s season…on YouTube…illegally! I was able to tell her that, ‘You are my inspiration. You are the reason why I started doing drag.’
Are you part of a drag family?
I’d been doing drag at home for almost a year when I saw an ad for baby drag queens to enter a competition. Viñas also entered that competition and yes, she won that! I was the runner-up! That’s where it all started. Then the older drag queens there…ooh, sorry for that term. The mothers there started invited us to do shows. Lumina Klum is a local queen and my Drag mother. She’s still alive if anyone is wondering! Haha…I consider Viñas as one of my sisters. Not like we’re in a family together but that we started at the same time. People don’t know that the drag industry here in the Philippines is so small. There are a lot of drag queens but we are very tight-knit. It’s either she is your drag daughter or…you slept with her!
If it’s that small then are there enough queens to keep going with Season 4, 5, 6….?
Yeah! Every day a new drag queen is born here. There are a lot of queens right now and they are good. Like Khianna for example. She started three years ago. When she was in Season 3, she’d been doing it for just two years. I always tell people who watch my show to support local drag. When I produce a show I always include my local sisters. I was a local queen for eight years before Drag Race.
Are we getting a Slaysian Royale world tour?
I don’t know. I want there to be. I remember talking to Kitty and Madam Yoko saying, ‘Girl, I want to travel. I want to tour with all my sisters.’
I have a question. I’m still not sure I totally get Mama Pao’s ‘Can I get an eme up in here?’ What’s an eme?
Eme means joke. It translates to roughly Just Kidding. But it’s a play on words because Mama Ru says, ‘Can I get an Amen up in here?’ It means it’s just fun.
I really loved Mama Pao’s rhyme that got longer and longer every week in S1.
Right and she’s basically reciting a whole poem before she says ‘lipsync for your life.’ Haha…
What has been your favourite Filipino cultural thing that has been involved in the show?
For me, I like how Pao says a fancy English word and then repeats it. Like ‘I was really flabbergasted…flabbergasted!’ That’s very Filipino.
RE: Speaking English on the show, what was your thinking process? Were you thinking that the more English you spoke, the more you were reaching international viewers? It must have been a bit of a head-fuck.
Personally, for me, I spoke in English most of the time because I wanted my sisters to understand me! And of course I want the international people to get what I am saying. In my season I never spoke English – that’s why people were so shocked saying, ‘Oh my God, Arizona knows how to speak in English!’ I had been portraying myself as this very naive person in Season 2. Right now I want the international audience to understand. But there was also a point in this season where I thought, ‘Oh my God what if it’s the Filipino people that don’t understand me?!’ I’m not saying that Filipino people don’t know how to speak English! There are just some phrases that don’t translate very well. In the confessional I try to mix it up, I am that diverse!
Lastly we are named after the biggest-selling single of 2001 and always ask what is your favourite Mariah Carey song?
‘We Belong Together.’ Why?! Duh, it’s ‘We Belong Together!’ It’s not on my playlist but when I hear it randomly I know I am going to sing the entire song, every lyric. I like the song so much! Actually I want to perform it. But I love Mariah. My favourite album is Caution. So underrated.
Catch brand new Drag Race Philippines: Slaysian Royale
