The Philippines has finally named its first Drag Race Superstar in the person of Precious Paula Nicole.
The 36-year-old drag queen from Daet, Camarines Norte won the crown and title of the Philippines’ first Drag Race Superstar in the final episode of Drag Race Philippines, besting fellow Top 4 contestants Marina Summers, Eva Le Queen and Xilhouete.
Precious showed off her lip-sync and dancing abilities during the final episode’s Lip Sync Smackdown for the Crown, winning her first lip-sync with Eva to RuPaul’s hit Sissy That Walk and the final lip-sync with Marina to the iconic Gloc-9 and Ebe Dancel song, Sirena.
“Life is precious, and so are we. Let’s continue to inspire and let’s continue to love. I am Precious Paula Nicole, your Drag Race Superstar!” she declared after being crowned by Drag Race Philippines host Paolo Ballesteros.
Apart from Precious, Davaoeña drag queen Lady Morgana was named the show’s Miss Congeniality after a majority vote from her fellow Season 1 queens.
“Hindi man ako ang napili sa Top 4 pero para po sa akin, panalo na po ako as Miss Congeniality,” Morgana said. “Ang pagkapanalo na ’to ay hindi lamang para sa akin, para po ito sa lahat ng queens at sa lahat po ng mga Pilipino na pinatunayan po namin na kahit kompetisyon po ito ay nanaig ang (pagiging) makatao at pagiging palakaibigan, hindi lang po sa Pilipinas kundi sa buong mundo.”
During a Drag Race Philippines finale viewing party at the Okada Nightclub in Cove Manila, Parañaque held last Oct. 12, Precious was crowned in front of a live audience by one of the show’s resident judges, impersonator-host KaladKaren, rotating judges Jon Santos, BJ Pascual and Rajo Laurel, as well as guest judge Nadine Lustre.
After a round of cheers from the live audience, Precious gave a short speech, recounting her experience filming Drag Race Philippines with her fellow Season 1 queens and saying how she wanted to share the crown with show runner-up Marina.
“Tinanggap ko na sa sarili ko na it’s a yes or no lang kung mapupunta sa akin ’tong korona or hindi. Pero gusto ko rin i-share itong korona na ’to kay Marina,” she said.
“Sobrang saya ng time namin sa Drag Race Philippines. Ito na ang pinakahuli sa gusto kong mangyari, heto na ang pinakahuling goal ko. Ang sabi ko lang sa sarili ko bago dumating sa Drag Race, ayoko lang ma-Porkchop or ma-Vanjie,” she added, referring to going home first as Victoria Porkchop Parker and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo are two Drag Race queens who famously went home first.
Precious, then, thanked her fans, the production staff of Drag Race Philippines, and RuPaul for giving her the opportunity to be the Philippines’ first Drag Race Superstar.
“Sobra-sobrang pasasalamat ko sa inyong lahat, sa Diyos, and kay RuPaul po, of course. Maraming maraming salamat din sa ating mga supporters and, of course, lahat po ng queens na nakasama ko po sa loob. My Divine sisters, para sa ating lahat ito,” she said.
“Hindi lang ito para sa akin kundi para sa mga drag queens na nandito sa Pilipinas at malapit niyo ng makilala ang iba pa sa Season 2. Maraming salamat po ulit. God bless you all, thank you,” she concluded.
With her victory, Precious won a one-year supply of ONE/SIZE beauty cosmetics by Patrick Starrr and a cash prize of P1,000,000 powered by the live-streaming platform Kumu.
The final episode of Drag Race Philippines, along with its first nine episodes, is currently available to watch on discovery+, HBO GO, and WOW Presents Plus, along with its Untucked show, which features behind-the-scenes drama and unseen footage from the show.
The show is a Filipino franchise of RuPaul’s Drag Race, which was created in 2009 by RuPaul and World of Wonder. The Emmy-winning reality series, along with its international franchises, has featured the excellence of Filipino drag queens in the past, including the likes of Ongina, Manila Luzon, Jiggly Caliente, Rock M Sakura, Kyne, Stephanie Prince and Kimmy Couture.