January 06, 2024
RuPaul's Drag Race/YouTube
Philly-based opera singer and drag queen Sapphira Cristál made a splash in the opening episode of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 16, winning both the mini and maxi challenges.
Fans of "RuPaul's Drag Race" around the country got their first taste of Philly's self-proclaimed "crown jewel" on Friday night. Local drag queen Sapphira Cristál made her debut on the program, and she's already a favorite of many viewers.
Season 16 of the reality competition show premiered last night on MTV, featuring seven of the 14 contestants, Cristál among them. Before entering the Werk Room, where the season's competitors gathered for the first time, Cristál made spooky vocal noises for her entrance, before walking in and saying, "I think this place is haunted."
It was the first preview of the performer's classically trained opera talents. "My hair is big, my drag is big — more is more, and bigger is better," Cristál said in a talking head interview. "She gonna be some tough competition, I see it," said New York City-based competitor Xunami Muse, pointing to Cristál. "There is no competition," Cristál replied.
And Sapphira Cristál quickly backed up her words in the subsequent challenges. The "mini challenge" of the first episode was a photo shoot through a doorbell camera, and Cristál emerged as the winner.
Afterward, RuPaul announced to the contestants that the "maxi challenge," which would be an "MTV Spring Break Talent Show," would reward the winner not just with $5,000 but also immunity from a future elimination. Additionally, the contestants would rank each other's performances through a new "Rate-A-Queen" system.
For the talent show, which featured Oscar winner Charlize Theron as a guest judge, Cristál gave a rousing live operatic vocal performance in Italian, while a video screen provided dirty lyrics translations. As one of the top two contestants through the Rate-A-Queen results, Cristál faced off against drag performer Q, who hails from Kansas City, in a lip-sync battle.
Performing to Beyoncé's "Break My Soul," Cristál's routine started understated before sliding across the floor in a split. By the end of her dance performance, her fake prosthetic breasts were bouncing up and down the ground in what appeared to be a malfunction, although with hilarious results. RuPaul quickly decided that Cristál was the winner after the face-off.
Judging from social media reactions and comments, Sapphira Cristál is already looking like a winner to many viewers. Now that the Philly drag queen has won immunity, her fans can expect her to stay in the competition for quite some time. "RuPaul's Drag Race" airs Fridays at 8 p.m. on MTV.
