Jump to content

RuPaul's Drag Race season 4

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 2a02:c7f:881c:5500:d08c:4796:2d0a:a414 (talk) at 23:22, 3 August 2020 (→Lip-syncs). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

RuPaul's Drag Race
Season 4
Promotional poster for season four
Hosted byRuPaul
Judges
No. of contestants13
WinnerSharon Needles
Runners-up
Miss CongenialityLatrice Royale
Companion showRuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked!
No. of episodes14
Release
Original networkLogo TV
Original releaseJanuary 30 (2012-01-30) –
April 30, 2012 (2012-04-30)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 3
Next →
Season 5
List of episodes

The fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on January 30, 2012,[2] with cast members announced November 13, 2011.[3] The winner of season four headlined Logo's Drag Race Tour featuring Absolut Vodka, won a one-of-a-kind trip, a lifetime supply of NYX Cosmetics, and a cash prize of $100,000.[4]

Like the last season, Santino Rice and Billy B (Billy Brasfield), celebrity makeup artist and star of the HGTV mini-series Hometown Renovation, shared the same seat at the judges table alternatively, Brasfield filling in for Rice when needed.[1] Both judges appeared side-by-side in the audience during the "Reunited" episode.

The theme song playing during the runway every episode was "Glamazon" and the song played during the credits was "The Beginning", both from RuPaul's album Glamazon.

This is the first season in which a contestant, Willam Belli, was disqualified from the competition for breaking the rules and the second season in a row in which a contestant, Kenya Michaels, was brought back into the competition after having been eliminated in a prior episode.

The winner of the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race was Sharon Needles, with Chad Michaels and Phi Phi O'Hara as runners-up, making it the first time in the show's history to have two runners-up. It is also the first season in which all three finalists lip-synced prior to the final. The final also featured the first three-way lip-sync battle, instead of the usual two competitors. It was the first season in which the winner was not crowned in the studio but during the "Reunited" episode, which was filmed in front of an audience.

Winner of the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, Sharon Needles.

Contestants

See also: List of RuPaul's Drag Race contestants

(Ages and names stated are at time of contest)

Contestant Age Hometown Outcome
Sharon Needles 29 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Winner
Chad Michaels 40 San Diego, California Runners-up
Phi Phi O'Hara 25 Chicago, Illinois
Latrice Royale 39 South Beach, Florida 4th Place
Kenya Michaels 21 Dorado, Puerto Rico 5th Place[a]
Dida Ritz 25 Chicago, Illinois 6th Place
Willam[b] 29 Los Angeles, California 7th Place[c]
Jiggly Caliente 30 Queens, New York 8th Place
Milan 36 New York City, New York 9th Place
Madame LaQueer 29 Carolina, Puerto Rico 10th Place
The Princess 31 Chicago, Illinois 11th Place
Lashauwn Beyond 21 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 12th Place
Alisa Summers 23 Tampa, Florida 13th Place
  1. ^ Kenya Michaels originally placed 9th before being asked back to the competition.
  2. ^ Willam Belli is simply referred to as Willam during the season.
  3. ^ It was revealed during episode 8 that Willam was disqualified from the competition for breaching the contract agreement.

Contestant progress

Contestant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 14
Sharon Needles WIN HIGH WIN SAFE HIGH SAFE HIGH BTM2 WIN LOW WIN SAFE Winner
Chad Michaels SAFE WIN HIGH HIGH WIN SAFE LOW SAFE HIGH HIGH BTM2 SAFE Runner-Up
Phi Phi O'Hara SAFE SAFE SAFE HIGH LOW HIGH WIN BTM2 LOW WIN HIGH SAFE Runner-Up
Latrice Royale SAFE SAFE SAFE WIN SAFE HIGH LOW WIN BTM2 BTM2 ELIM Miss C
Kenya Michaels LOW SAFE HIGH LOW ELIM ELIM Guest
Dida Ritz SAFE LOW BTM2 SAFE SAFE LOW SAFE SAFE ELIM Guest
Willam SAFE SAFE SAFE HIGH HIGH WIN BTM2 DISQ Guest
Jiggly Caliente BTM2 SAFE SAFE HIGH SAFE BTM2 ELIM Guest
Milan SAFE HIGH SAFE BTM2 BTM2 ELIM Guest
Madame LaQueer SAFE WIN LOW ELIM Guest
The Princess HIGH BTM2 ELIM Guest
Lashauwn Beyond HIGH ELIM Guest
Alisa Summers ELIM Guest
  The contestant won RuPaul's Drag Race.
  The contestants were the runners-up.
  The contestant was voted Miss Congeniality by viewers.
  The contestant won a challenge.
  The contestant received positive critiques but was ultimately declared as "safe".
  The contestant received immunity because of the win in the previous week.
  The contestant received negative critiques but was ultimately declared as "safe".
  The contestant was in the bottom two.
  The contestant was eliminated.
  The contestant won the challenge but was disqualified from the competition due to breaking the show's rules.
  The contestant returned as a guest for the finale episode.

Lip-syncs

Episode Contestants Song Eliminated
1 Alisa Summers vs. Jiggly Caliente "Toxic"
(Britney Spears) 		Alisa Summers
2 Lashauwn Beyond vs. The Princess "Bad Girls"
(Donna Summer) 		Lashauwn Beyond
3 Dida Ritz vs. The Princess "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)"
(Natalie Cole) 		The Princess
4 Madame LaQueer vs. Milan "Trouble"
(Pink) 		Madame LaQueer
5 Kenya Michaels vs. Milan "Vogue"
(Madonna) 		Kenya Michaels
6 Jiggly Caliente vs. Milan "Born This Way"
(Lady Gaga) 		Milan
7 Jiggly Caliente vs. Willam "Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life)"
(Pam Tillis) 		Jiggly Caliente
8 Phi Phi O'Hara vs. Sharon Needles "It's Raining Men... The Sequel"
(Martha Wash and RuPaul) 		Willam
9 Dida Ritz vs. Latrice Royale "I've Got to Use My Imagination"
(Gladys Knight & The Pips) 		Dida Ritz
10 Kenya Michaels vs. Latrice Royale "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
(Aretha Franklin) 		Kenya Michaels
11 Chad Michaels vs. Latrice Royale "No One Else on Earth"
(Wynonna Judd) 		Latrice Royale
13 Chad Michaels vs. Phi Phi O'Hara vs. Sharon Needles "Glamazon"
(RuPaul) 		None
  The contestant was eliminated after their first time in the bottom two.
  The contestant was eliminated after their second time in the bottom two.
  The contestant was eliminated after their third time in the bottom two.

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order:[4]

Episodes

See also: List of RuPaul's Drag Race episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal air date
381"RuPocalypse Now!"January 30, 2012 (2012-01-30)
392"WTF!: Wrestling's Trashiest Fighters"February 6, 2012 (2012-02-06)
403"Glamazons vs. Champions"February 13, 2012 (2012-02-13)
414"Queens Behind Bars"February 20, 2012 (2012-02-20)
425"Snatch Game"February 27, 2012 (2012-02-27)
436"Float Your Boat"March 5, 2012 (2012-03-05)
447"Dragazines"March 12, 2012 (2012-03-12)
458"Frenemies"March 19, 2012 (2012-03-19)
469"Frock the Vote!"March 26, 2012 (2012-03-26)
4710"DILFs: Dads I'd Like to Frock"April 2, 2012 (2012-04-02)
4811"The Fabulous Bitch Ball"April 9, 2012 (2012-04-09)
4912"RuPaul Rewind"April 16, 2012 (2012-04-16)
5013"The Final Three"April 23, 2012 (2012-04-23)
5114"Reunited"April 30, 2012 (2012-04-30)

Marketing

In January 2012, Logo released the second running of Fantasy Drag Race, an online fan contest inspired by fantasy football where viewers assemble a team of three season four Drag Race contestants. Players receive and lose points based on their team's performance on the show, and can earn additional points by redeeming codes and performing tasks given out when episodes of the show first air. The highest scoring players receive Drag Race and NYX Cosmetics products, and one player wins a trip for two to the first stop on Logo's Drag Race Tour.[5]

Already having a generous social media presence, Logo expanded its efforts across Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, GetGlue, and Foursquare in preparation for the premiere of season four. Both RuPaul and contestants tweet live while the show airs, and LogoTalk! chat parties (featuring judges, contestants from previous seasons, and contestants from season four) occur on the official Logo website while participants watch new episodes.[6] Season four specifically marks an increased interest from Logo in Tumblr, where the network publishes animated GIFs, contestant trading cards, and images that incorporate internet memes.[7] Dan Sacher, VP of digital for VH1 and Logo, has stated that their online marketing efforts are part of helping the small network expand their fan base across as many outlets as possible.[6]

Reception

The premiere episode of season four averaged a 0.6 rating in the 18-49 demographic, totaling 481,000 viewers, and ranked as the highest-rated premiere in Logo's network history. Untucked totalled 254,000 viewers, marking the companion show's most watched debut. During the evening of the premiere, the show registered eight US trending topics on Twitter (including Jiggly Caliente, Sharon Needles, Phi Phi O'Hara, and Latrice Royale) and reached a 7th place ranking on Trendrr. Leading up to the first episode, the show's Facebook page saw an 89% increase (earning over half a million fans).[8]

The season finale scored a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demographic and drew 601,000 viewers total, while the reunion episode became the highest rated episode of the season. Season four's "RuPaul's Drag Race: Reunited" was also the highest-rated reunion in the franchise's history, seeing a 33% increase in the 18-49 demographic compared to season three. The reunion registered five trending topics on Twitter (including Sharon Needles, Phi Phi, Willam, and a new portmanteau Willam introduced to the show: "RuPaulogize"), and ranked 4th among non-sports cable programs for the night on Trendrr.[9]

During season 4, the show's Twitter following increased by 77%, and the Facebook page accrued a 36% increase in likes.[9] TV.com also declared it was the best reality show on television.[10]

Future appearances

Chad Michaels and Latrice Royale competed on the first season of All Stars. Latrice placed 7th/8th overall with season 3 contestant Manila Luzon. Chad won the competition.[11]

Phi Phi O'Hara competed on the second season of All Stars. She placed 7th overall.[12]

Latrice Royale later returned to compete on the fourth season of All Stars, making her one of the first contestants to return, alongside Manila Luzon, after already competing in a previous All Stars season.[13] Latrice initially placed 7th, but she returned to the competition after winning her lip sync in the LaLaPaRuza and placed 5th overall.[14]

Controversy

Willam Belli getting kicked off the show for "cheating"

In the "Frenemies episode", despite winning the challenge (alongside partner Latrice Royale) and Sharon Needles and Phi Phi O'hara placing in the bottom, Willam Belli was called back to the front of the stage by RuPaul and it was announced that he had "broken the rules" and was disqualified from the competition much to everyone's shock, although it was never confirmed why. During the season 4 reunion, it was confirmed that he had been receiving "conjugal visits" from his husband, which was in violaton of his contract agreement on the show. However, Willam has since claimed that it was actually because he was speaking out against various issues from the set. Also, in the episode he was disqualified, before RuPaul announced that Phi Phi and Sharon were up for elimination, William accidentally threw up backstage, causing some fans to believe that was the reason for his disqualification. Willam's elimination was quite controversial, as many fans believed that if she hadn't been kicked off the show, she would have won due to Willam excelling in most of the challenges.

References

  1. ^ a b Peterson, Brian. "Legendary Makeup Artist and RuPaul Drag Race Judge Billy B. Eats Boys for Breakfast, Specifically "New Queer on the Block"". Seattle GAY Scene. Archived from the original on 2014-03-16.
  2. ^ Polly, John (October 10, 2011). "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 4 Judges: Think Glee, Modern Family!". NewNowNext. Logo. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  3. ^ "Rupaul's Drag Race Season 4". Logo. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Shumaker, Jason (December 12, 2011). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Fourth Season Premiere Sashays onto Logo, Monday, January 30th" (Press release). Logo. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
  5. ^ "RuPaul's Fantasy Drag Race". Logo online. Logo. Archived from the original on April 16, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Winslow, George (January 30, 2012). "Logo Expands Social Media Efforts". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  7. ^ Edelsburg, Natan (February 3, 2012). "Inside look at how Logo's "RuPaul's Drag Race" is using Tumblr". Lost Remote. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  8. ^ Shumaker, Jason (February 1, 2012). "LOGO'S SEASON DEBUT OF "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE" ON MONDAY NIGHT SCORES AS THE HIGHEST-RATED PREMIERE IN NETWORK HISTORY". Logo Press Room. Logo. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  9. ^ a b Slane, Jake (May 2, 2012). "LOGO'S "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE' SEASON FOUR REUNION WINS THE CROWN AS HIGHEST-RATED EPISODE THIS SEASON". Logo Press Room. Logo. Retrieved June 23, 2012.
  10. ^ Navarro, Alex (April 23, 2012). "Why RuPaul's Drag Race Is the Best Reality Show on TV Right Now". TV.com. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  11. ^ RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race: Meet the Queens from www.newnownext.com 6 August 2012
  12. ^ "Logo Announces Contestants For "RuPaul's All Star Drag Race" Season 2". LOGO News. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  13. ^ Nolfi, Joey (2018-11-09). "Exclusive: Meet the 'RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars 4' cast". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  14. ^ Nolfi, Joey (November 9, 2018). "Exclusive: Meet the 'RuPaul's Drag Race All-Stars 4' cast". EW.com. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=RuPaul%27s_Drag_Race_season_4&oldid=971060552"