Queen of the Universe (season 1)
The first season of Queen of the Universe is premiered on December 2, 2021, through streaming service Paramount+.
| Queen of the Universe | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
.png.webp) Promotional poster for season one. | |
| Hosted by | Graham Norton |
| Judges | |
| No. of contestants | 14 |
| Winner | Grag Queen |
| Runner-up | Ada Vox |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Paramount+ |
| Original release | December 2 – December 30, 2021 |
| Season chronology | |
The winner of the first season of Queen of the Universe was Grag Queen from Brazil, with Ada Vox from the United States finishing as the runner-up.
Production
On February 24, 2021, Paramount Global and Paramount+ announced the international drag-singing competition Queen of the Universe from World of Wonder, the producers behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, with cast members to be named later.[1]
On September 27, 2021, it was announced that Graham Norton would be hosting the series. The judges were announced on October 28, 2021, as being Leona Lewis, Michelle Visage, Trixie Mattel and Vanessa Williams.
The cast was announced on November 10, 2021, with a total of fourteen contestants, including RuPaul's Drag Race alumna Jujubee, and The Switch Drag Race Season 2 winner Leona Winter.[2]
Contestants
Names and cities stated are at time of filming.
| Contestant | Hometown | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Grag Queen | Canela, Brazil | Winner |
| Ada Vox | San Antonio, United States | Runner-up |
| Aria B Cassadine | Atlanta, United States | 3rd place |
| La Voix | London, United Kingdom | 4th place[lower-alpha 1] |
| Rani Ko-He-Nur | Mumbai, India | |
| Leona Winter | Paris, France | 6th place |
| Gingzilla | Sydney, Australia | 7th place |
| Regina Voce | Mexico City, Mexico | |
| Matante Alex | Montreal, Canada | 9th place |
| Betty Bitschlap | Copenhagen, Denmark | 10th place |
| Chy'enne Valentino | Chicago, United States | |
| Jujubee | Boston, United States | |
| Novaczar | New York City, United States | |
| Woowu | Guangzhou, China | |
Notes:
- La Voix originally placed tenth before reentering the competition.
Contestants progress
Legend:
| Contestant | Episode | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| Grag Queen | ADV | ADV | ADV | ADV | Winner | |
| Ada Vox | ADV | ADV | ADV | BTM | Runner-up | |
| Aria B Cassadine | ADV | ADV | ADV | ADV | Eliminated | |
| La Voix | ELIM | ADV | BTM | ELIM | Guest | |
| Rani Ko-He-Nur | ADV | ADV | ADV | ELIM | Guest | |
| Leona Winter | ADV | BTM | ELIM | Guest | ||
| Gingzilla | ADV | ADV | ELIM | Guest | ||
| Regina Voce | ADV | BTM | ELIM | Guest | ||
| Matante Alex | ADV | ELIM | Guest | |||
| Jujubee | ELIM | Guest | ||||
| Betty Bitschlap | ELIM | Guest | ||||
| Chy'enne Valentino | ELIM | Guest | ||||
| Novaczar | ELIM | Guest | ||||
| Woowu | ELIM | Guest | ||||
Performance shows
Round 1: This Is Me (December 2)
Queens were to impress the judges with their W.A.P. - What they were wearing, All-star Attitude and Performances during these two-part premiere episodes. At the end of this round, six contestants were eliminated by the judges.
| Queen | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grag Queen | 1 | "Rehab" | Safe |
| Betty Bitschlap | 2 | "Dance Monkey" | Eliminated |
| Chy'enne Valentino | 3 | "Wrecking Ball" | Eliminated |
| Woowu | 4 | "Material Girl (200 Du)" | Eliminated |
| Novaczar | 5 | "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" | Eliminated |
| Gingzilla | 6 | "Human" | Safe |
| Leona Winter | 7 | "Non, je ne regrette rien" | Safe |
| Queen | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada Vox | 1 | "At Last" | Safe |
| Regina Voce | 2 | "Caruso" | Safe |
| Rani Ko-He-Nur | 3 | "Piya Tu Ab To Aja", "Laila Main Laila" | Safe |
| La Voix | 4 | "Mourir sur scène" | Eliminated |
| Jujubee | 5 | "Into You" | Eliminated |
| Matante Alex | 6 | "He Taught Me How To Yodel" | Safe |
| Aria B Cassadine | 7 | "Rise Like a Phoenix" | Safe |
Round 2: Turn Back Time (December 9)
La Voix was initially eliminated in the previous round but was brought back by the judges. At the end of this round, the in-studio audience saved six Queens, leaving one of the bottom three Queens eliminated by the judges.
| Queen | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aria B Cassadine | 1 | "You Make Me Feel" | Safe |
| Leona Winter | 2 | "The Winner Takes It All" | Bottom Three |
| Regina Voce | 3 | "Un-Break My Heart" | Bottom Three |
| Grag Queen | 4 | "Dream a Little Dream of Me" | Safe |
| Matante Alex | 5 | "9 to 5" | Eliminated |
| Rani Ko-He-Nur | 6 | "My Heart Will Go On" | Safe |
| Ada Vox | 7 | "I Put a Spell on You" | Safe |
| Gingzilla | 8 | "Believe" | Safe |
| La Voix[lower-alpha 1] | 9 | "Car Wash" | Safe |
Round 3: Duets (December 16)
Queens paired themselves up and wrote an original song based on four categories. At the end of this round, the audience saved two pairs of Queens and eliminated one pair. The remaining pair must perform a "Survival Song" to stay in the competition, where the judges eliminated one more Queen.
| Queens | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rani Ko-He-Nur & Grag Queen | 1 | "Damn That Man" | Safe |
| Gingzilla & Regina Voce | 2 | "Girl Power" | Eliminated |
| La Voix & Leona Winter | 3 | "Friends Forever" | Survival Sing-Off |
| Ada Vox & Aria B Cassadine | 4 | "Back Off Bitch" | Safe |
| Survival Sing-Off details | |||
| La Voix | 1 | "Don't Rain on My Parade" | Saved |
| Leona Winter | 2 | "The Edge of Glory" | Eliminated |
Round 4: Bad Girls (December 23)
At the end of the semi-finals round, the audience sends two Queens to the finals, while the judges save one of the remaining Queens.
| Queen | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada Vox | 1 | "Cuz I Love You" | Bottom Three |
| Rani Ko-He-Nur | 2 | "Bad Romance" | Eliminated |
| Aria B Cassadine | 3 | "Bad Girls" | Safe |
| La Voix | 4 | "Welcome to Burlesque" | Eliminated |
| Grag Queen | 5 | "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" | Safe |
Round 5: Holi-Gay Finale (December 30)
The final three Queens perform two songs, and one Queen takes home the top prize of $250,000 and the title of Queen of the Universe.
| Queen | Order | Song | Order | Song | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grag Queen | 1 | "Jingle Bell Rock" | 6 | "Rise Up" | Winner |
| Aria B Cassadine | 2 | "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" | 4 | "This Is the Moment" | Third Place |
| Ada Vox | 3 | "Pure Imagination" | 5 | "Open Arms" | Runner-Up |
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title [3] | Original release date [3] | Prod. code [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "This Is Me" | December 2, 2021 | 101 |
| 2 | 2 | 102 | ||
| 3 | 3 | "Turn Back Time" | December 9, 2021 | 103 |
| 4 | 4 | "Duets" | December 16, 2021 | 104 |
| 5 | 5 | "Bad Girls" | December 23, 2021 | 105 |
| 6 | 6 | "Holi-Gay Finale" | December 30, 2021 | 106 |
Notes
- La Voix was originally eliminated, but was later brought back by the judges.
References
- Zorrilla, Mónica Marie (February 24, 2021). ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Producers to Develop International Drag Queen Singing Competition Series "Queen of the Universe"". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- Nolfi, Joey. "Queen of the Universe cast adds Drag Race, American Idol stars: Meet the queens!". EW.com. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- "Shows A-Z – Queen of the Universe on Paramount+". The Futon Critic. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved May 22, 2023.