A good lip sync on RuPaul’s Drag Race always gives the gays life. But sometimes, an exceptional lip sync to an exceptional song takes things one step further and gives the track new life.
That’s what happened this weekend, when in the second episode of Season 17, the top two of the week’s talent show challenge lip synced to a song by guest judge Doechii: “Alter Ego,” featuring JT. The song came out in March of 2024 and was a hit with fans of Doechii, but for anyone who hadn’t heard it yet, Drag Race just put it on their radars in a major way.
Those two queens happened to be Lexi Love and Crystal Envy, both of whom nailed every word of the track. It may have been “a battle of the white girls,” as fellow queen Kori King put it — but, like Kori, viewers were thoroughly entertained. Crystal put up a fight, but it was Lexi who snagged the win (and cemented herself as an early frontrunner for the Season 17 crown).
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Following the episode, “Alter Ego” started climbing the charts. As reported by X account Doechii Stats, the song skyrocketed to #64 on U.S. iTunes across all genres the day after the episode, then to #45 the following day. Among rap and hip-hop songs, it’s sitting comfortably in the Top 10 at #6. The combined power of Doechii and Lexi Love is something serious, and fans’ reactions to the lip sync on social media prove it.
oh drag race don’t make that serveeee
— 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞 (@arxhiiie) January 12, 2025
and we all say thank you lexiiiiiiii pic.twitter.com/mUPmnf1Gqn
— isaac (@isaacjarae) January 12, 2025
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“How can I be bisexual and then I’m gonna not date somebody else who’s bisexual?” Doechii asked. “Why, because he’s a man? Who cares?”
The queen herself has spoken.
ITS THE MOTHER LEXI EFFECt pic.twitter.com/HsoCwQzzzp
— Pawel#lexigang (@pawelsworld_de) January 13, 2025
The phenomenon puts us in mind of another Drag Race lip sync that made a throwback song into a modern classic: Denali versus Kahmora Hall to “100% Pure Love” by Crystal Waters. Back in 2021, the song soared to #9 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic chart, its first time in the Top 10 and its first time anywhere on the chart since 2011, according to Billboard. Walk down memory lane and check out that lip sync below.
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