Drag Idol - Heroes and Horrors

(The outrageous Alexandria Martin and the intoxicated Daphne Ruth Jenkins)

Everyqueen who was anyqueen was at Charlie Brown’s Cabaret this week to see who would claim the two guaranteed spots in the Atlanta Drag Idol finale. The three remaining contestants each had the opportunity to perform two numbers to win over the crowd. It was a night where anything could happen and the unexpected was richly rewarded.

The audience was a veritable who’s who of previous cast-offs from the competition: the talented Gigi Monroe; the spunky Sonique; and the lovely Angelica Diamante. Heck, Destiny even made a funky surprise appearance onstage, performing the Lil’ Kim role in Ashley Kruiz's “Can’t Hold Us Down”. These ladies were all business: scoping out the competition and evaluating what got the audience hot and what left them flat. After all, they each have the opportunity next week during “Wild Card” night to vie for the third slot in the finale.

What was working this week, was unquestionably Alexandria Martin. Apparently inspired by Pinkie’s recent foray into the emerald color palate, Alexandria’s first number involved a lime furry jacket with Skittle green hair. Under the jacket, Alexandria had a Maganda Couture original green bodysuit with elegant gold boustier. Her choice of songs including “Movin' On Up”, “The Facts Of Life” and “Respect” was proclaimed “perfect” by the judges.

Before you can say “personal best”, Alexandria topped herself with her outrageous second number. She started out dramatically singing Maria Scarey’s “Hero” wearing a patriotic American flag robe. Next, the theme song to “Wonder Woman” started as Miss Martin did her best Linda Carter spin, revealing a gorgeous Amazonian comic book costume underneath. Not stopping there, the music changed to Bonnie Tyler’s anthemic “I Need A Hero” at which point Alexandria doffed her breast plate to reveal a couple of saucer-sized red pasties. Alexandria naturally worked up a voracious appetite during all these exhausting costume changes and proceeded to chow down on a delicious hero sandwich during the finale to her number. Needless to say, the crowd was beside itself with adoration for Alexandria’s “Hero Medley”. It was really no surprise that she guaranteed herself a spot in the finale with that number.

Jade Daniels, meanwhile, provided the controversy for the night. She had a very strong opening number in which she appeared to have stolen a page out of Sonique’s book by performing a series of athletic tumbles and flips. I will never understand how these petite girls can toss themselves about like that and still look so fabulous! After her first performance, Charlie brought up the criticisms that have been leveled at Jade by a few of the judges and asked if Jade agreed with them. Jade admitted that she had learned a lot in the competition but said that she did not agree with the suggestion that she wear padding in order to give herself more womanly curves. Jade felt that for a pageant, that would be appropriate. However, in performance, Jade feels that her audience wants her to wear less and that “skin is sexier.”

Jade pushed the boundaries with her second number: a Linkin Park song with male vocals that she manically performed while wearing a straightjacket. Toward the end of the song, Jade broke free of her restraints, yanked some hip pads out of her costume and tore them to shreds in front of the audience. The crowd reacted with equal parts delight and horror. The judges, too, were torn; admitting that Jade had given a great performance but finding her actions at the end “distasteful” all the same. Apparently, being true to herself paid off: Jade received the most number of votes for the night and will be joining Alexandria in the finale.

That left Isabella Diamante as this week’s castoff from the competition. She looked like an exotic princess in her first number, but some felt that an overly long musical introduction hurt the momentum of her performance. Her second song, “Hey Mickey” didn’t really spotlight one of her greatest strengths in the competition: dance. As well, several of the judges commented on her cheerleader costume being a little too large and unflattering. As Charlie quipped, “You’re never gonna get a scholarship with a skirt that long.”

But don’t forget, Isabella will be back next week with the rest of the divas who have been voted off to vie for that coveted third spot in the finale. It’s sure to be a “wild” ride.

Smooches,
Daphne Ruth Jenkins