We had four dynamic finalists (Jewels Sparkles, Onya Nurve, Lexi Love, and Sam Star) and a Miss Congeniality title to give out; the finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17 was finally upon us.
The queens all came in their finale finest, with Suzie Toot, Crystal Envy and Arrietty bringing some truly stunning finale looks that will truly go down in herstory. (The season would not have been complete without a lip sync from Mama Ru herself, either.)
This season, the game was changed up once again, with RuPaul having all four finale Top Four lip singing their own vocals for the finale performances in front of the judges panel. This season, RuPaul was joined by Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, and Jamal Sims, all ready to judge the Season 17 crowns and help crown a winner.
Sparkles performance was perfect for this season’s ingenue, while Love brought her “Drag Race” experience full circle by bringing out her roller skates. Both Sparkles and Love spoke lovingly about their family, and Love’s drag mothers were in the audience, emotionally delivering their stories about how they came into each other's lives.
Nurve’s performance was next and was a true show-stopper in every sense of the word. Star’s performance delivered quintessential Star, and the crowd was very engaged throughout. Both Nurve and Star also spoke about their families as well, with both Nurve’s parents and Star’s mother speaking about their own pride for their fantastically talented children.
We caught a fantastic roll from this season of “Untucked” and then both current reigning Miss Congeniality winners, Xunami Muse and Sapphira Cristál, hit the stage and both looking exquisite. They crowned this season’s winner, who was Asbury Park, NJ’s Crystal Envy.
This season’s “Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award” winner was an EGOT winner and an inspiration to queens across the globe: Liza Minnelli. After a stunning video package, Liza appeared onstage-complete with regal and well-deserved throne! RuPaul had a wonderful conversation with Liza about the past (including her life as a child star) as well as her legacy within the LGBTQ community, bringing the audience (and Toot in particular) to tears.
Nymphia Wind appeared on stage and the Season 16 winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” looked larger than life and regal. The first two queens eliminated from the Season 17 finale were Love and Star, leaving Sparkles and Nurve to battle it out for the crown. The song the queens faded off to this season was Lady Gaga’s “Abracadabra” and each queen put their own spin on it. Nurve gave the track all new choreography, while Sparkles had a mini-reveal and then gave a layered and fantastic performance of her own.
At the end of the day, only one queen could win, and this season it was Ohio’s Onya Nurve, who was crowned the winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17!
Follow RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 17 on Instagram @rupaulsdragrace.
