Every Lip Sync From ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 9,’ Ranked

High-camp lip sync songs became a Drag Race staple over the years, which made this rendition of Harry Belafonte’s calypso hit all the more disappointing. From the song’s start, it seemed like Gottmik and Plastique both aimed to serve sex appeal with their performances, which is arguably not the move when it comes to this bouncy track. Mik ended up pulling enough funny faces to sell her take on the song — but if this performance were to “Jump in the Line” of lip syncs on this season, it’s winding up at the back.

Watch the lip sync above.

Here’s the deal; while we appreciate what Nina West was attempting in this lip sync, it just wasn’t successful. Outfit reveals get old, especially in the Drag Race format. But Nina’s attempt to poke fun at the ad-nauseam quick changes in lip syncs only further underlined the problem with their ineffectiveness. Maybe if the song had been different — or if the reveals weren’t quite as crunchy as they looked — then Nina could have succeeded. But ultimately, Gottmik won by default after a lackluster performance from Ms. West. 

Watch the lip sync here.

Shea Couleé said it best back in season 9: “She. Doesn’t. Know. The. Words.” In their first lip sync battle against one another, neither Roxxxy Andrews nor Plastique Tiara could keep up with the rapid-fire wordplay of Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl.” So, with the central rule of the lip sync format broken, both queens relied on their dance skills to carry them to the finish line. Ultimately, Roxxxy managed to bring the humor and hustle to pull out a win, but it’s clear the only “slippin’ and slidin'” being done in this performance was the words slipping and sliding out of the contestants’ minds.

Watch the lip sync here.

In short, this was … fine! “Love Come Home” isn’t necessarily the first song that comes up when you think of a lip sync number, but both Shannel and Jorgeous managed to sell Kristine W’s track right to her face. They both took different approaches — Jorgeous aimed to please with some energetic dance moves, while Shannel leaned into the emotion and intensity of the song through her delivery. While this lip sync doesn’t quite live up to the standard double wins from seasons past, the fact is that both queens offered up exactly what they are best at, and we can’t ask for much more than that. 

Watch the lip sync above.

Plastique had us in the first half. Nailing her words and serving liquid sex in the song’s opening moments, the undisputed runway star of All Stars 9 was well on her way to her first lip-sync victory of the season. Then, the Lane McCray verse happened: Angeria came in hot, with each word of the rapid-fire verse perfectly executed, while Plastique simply ceded the stage to her competitor, not synching her lips. As RuPaul told Valentina back in season 9, “It’s a lip sync — what part of that do you not understand?”

Watch the lip sync here.

Credit where it’s due — Gottmik put up a fight against a proven lip sync titan like Angeria. This En Vogue classic easily could have been a no-questions-asked win for Ms. VanMichaels, but Gottmik got strategic with her performance, saving tricks for the end and relying on her face for the rest of the track. But as valiant as her efforts were, Mik just could not compete with Angeria’s limitless charisma. Even without big stunts, VanMichaels owned every second of the song, channeling En Vogue’s Dawn Robinson and Maxine Jones every time she moved her mouth. This showdown was closer than it could have been, but Angeria absolutely earned her win. 

In the Battle of the Theatrical Lip Synchers, Shannel proved herself as the dark horse of this Lalaparuza. Nina West came in with something to prove, aiming to win her first lip sync on the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race. With a seamless outfit reveal and a slightly pulled-back performance, the Ohio queen nearly got her wish. But Shannel’s transformation into a whirling dervish of drag made for an unforgettable number, as the season 1 star practically became Pete Burns by the time the track’s iconic chorus spun around. 

After a string of lackluster lip syncs in her Drag Race tenure, Nina West finally showed what she was capable of on Teena Marie’s “Lovergirl.” Serving up drama, camp and all of the song’s lyrics (which proved to be a challenge for the contestants on All Stars 9), West did an excellent job with her lip sync in this episode. Unfortunately for her, Angeria Paris VanMichaels came into the song knowing exactly how to sell it, with her boundless energy catapulting her to a well-deserved win. 

Watch the lip sync above.

There’s a reason Roxxxy Andrews coined the nickname Thick & Juicy — it’s an ass-set she was more than happy to flaunt during this deee-lightful lip sync. On a song as thrillingly silly as “Groove Is in the Heart,” the last thing you want to see is two performers trying too hard, and neither of these all stars did. Angeria cashed in on her face card throughout this jubilant song, but she unfortunately came face-to-butt with Roxxxy’s hilarious, perfectly timed booty bounces. There was no question in anyone’s mind once this was over that Roxxxy Andrews was still the queen of the lip sync format. 

Drag Race queens are often advised to “embody the song” when it comes time for a lip sync. Angeria took that idea one step further in the first lip sync showdown of All Stars 9, when she instead decided to embody the late, great Whitney Houston herself. Pulling a white handkerchief out from her cleavage as “Million Dollar Bill” kicked off, the season 14 star disappeared into her role as the de facto Whitney on the main stage. Jorgeous nailed a number of her signature tricks, but it merely made her look like a backup dancer to VanMichael’s interpretation of The Voice herself. 

Watch the lip sync here.

RuPaul herself predicted that “titty tater tots are going to be flinging” with this matchup. As usual, she was correct. Vanjie and Plastique left it all on the stage (including their clothes, which were almost immediately torn off) in the franchise’s third “When I Grow Up” lip sync. It’s safe to say that both these queens offered up the best rendition of this song in the show’s history — Plastique showed off a level of choreography that fans had yet to see from her in the competition, but Vanjie brought the bratty energy along with a series of stellar moves in order to secure her top spot. 

Watch the lip sync above.

If drag as an art form were to have its own, singular anthem, then Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” would be a fitting choice. So it stands to reason that, once Shannel and Vanjie took to the stage for their rendition of the classic track, both of them knew every single word forward, backward and sideways. Vanjie proved to be a versatile performer, opting out of flashy stunts and instead grooving down the runway to the icon’s voice. But Shannel made a wise choice by channeling old-school aesthetics, timing out every movement in her performance to naturally fit the shape of the song. Working smarter, not harder, has a tendency to pay off on Drag Race, and Shannel rightly earned her place in the final of the Lalaparuza.

There’s just no denying it — Roxxxy Andrews may well be the greatest lip sync artist in the history of RuPaul’s Drag Race. With her ninth-straight lip sync win (a historic streak, both for the most lip sync wins from any contestant and the longest winning streak on the show), Roxxxy showed exactly why she’s one of the best in the business, with an infectious energy that overtook the mainstage. Shannel did a good job taking on Ariana Grande & Zedd’s pop banger, but she didn’t stand a chance against the undisputed champ. 

Watch the lip sync above.

Whenever two lip sync assassins get to face off on Drag Race, it’s a spectacle. Roxxxy and Jorgeous’s battle to “Holding Out for a Hero” certainly lived up to those expectations, as both all stars exhibited their expertise with hairography from start to finish. Whipping her wig around the stage through the wind and the chill and the rain of Bonnie Tyler’s voice, Roxxxy managed to pull out a slightly stronger performance, effectively becoming the track’s damsel in distress, while Jorgeous pulled out every buck and drop she could muster. Once the dust settled, it became clear that the audience wasn’t holding out for anything after this lip sync masterclass. 

There’s a moment in the “Black Cat” lip sync where it immediately becomes too close to call. As Janet’s voice reaches the second chorus, Roxxxy Andrews is stood at the back of the stage, whipping her hair in a perfect figure eight, while Vanessa Vanjie pops and locks directly in front of the judges. These two world-class performers took completely different approaches to this classic Jackson song (Roxxxy’s aimed at captivation, Vanjie’s aimed at pure energy) and watched as they respectively paid dividends. RuPaul was right to give them both the win, because this rendition of “Black Cat” saw both queens exhibiting nine lives’ worth of talent. 

Watch the lip sync here.

Future Drag Race contestants: Watch lip sync legend Roxxxy Andrews in this performance and learn. Taking on The Boss herself — who also happens to be RuPaul’s favorite artist — Roxxxy didn’t try to do too much with her performance. Instead, like the MacGyver of drag that she is, Andrews easily won the “No One Gets the Prize” lip sync with a cape, a nail file and some perfectly-placed facial expressions. Plastique held her own (and finally knew the words!), but she was no match once Roxxxy lunged for the judges and told them to “back off.” In this lip sync, no one was getting the prize except for the doll herself. 

Watch the lip sync above.