New Year, New Slay.

Some people go on reality TV hoping to become stars. On RuPaul’s Drag Race, they already are. Since its premiere in 2009, the show has helped turn beloved contestants like Trixie Mattel and Jinkx Monsoon into household names — and 29 Emmy Awards, 10 All Star seasons, and a growing list of international spin-offs later, Drag Race hasn’t lost appointment-viewing status. With every passing season, the stakes get higher, the death drops drop lower, and the drama gets juicier. Season 18, set to premiere on MTV on Jan. 2, is no different.

Hold onto your wigs, folks. Drag Race fans will soon be introduced to a whole new cast of queens. Fourteen fresh-faced stars, including Briar Blush, Discord Addams, and Vita VonTesse Starr, will enter the werk room — but before RuPaul’s incoming court is tasked to lip sync for their lives, Bustle got the chance to get all the tea. Where were they when they found out they made the Season 18 cast? What’s the strangest thing they’ve done in the name of drag? Which queen is the most dramatic — and why is it almost unanimously Athena Dion? See what the they have to say below, before they duke it out on screen.

The Legends

Alyssa Edwards

Fantasy All Winners casting: RuPaul! Come on, she’s the mother of them all. She's the one cutting the checks, after all.

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: Sitting on my genitalia for 14 hours straight, and I don’t do nothing straight.

What I say before going onstage: What I heard in To Wong Foo as a young gay: “And this land was made for you, and her.”

Angeria Paris VanMicheals

Fantasy All Winners casting: Symone. I know that we would have the best time in the world.

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: Avoided a ticket with the police, honey. My drag got me out of the ticket — so yes, thank you, drag!

Dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Diana Rosses... Hopefully if I get on All Winners, honey, we can have it then, and I’m going to shut it down.

Aquaria

What I don’t want to see on Snatch Game: Don’t do something inspired by 2025. The year was rotted, and I think sometimes pulling from the vault is a bit more successful and effective.

Fantasy All Winners casting: I would gag to see the winner of Drag Race Season 10 on an all-winners season.

Ginger Minj

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: I am notorious for losing my bra and leaving it behind with my breast form in it. I have had everything from rice to bird seed… If you could smell the cooked rice, you know that the show needs to be over.

Dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Tina Turners. Nobody’s ever done it like her before or since, and she has so many iconic eras. Taylor Swift has her eras, but Tina Turner was eras.

Jaida Essence Hall

Fantasy All Winners casting: Sasha Colby... You see what she brought the first time, you can only imagine what's going to happen the second time.

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: I literally have done drag where I have to get ready in the bathroom, literally off a bathroom floor… But that was back in the day.

Dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Jaidas, bitch, wake that up!

Jimbo

What I’d like to see on Snatch Game: Some sort of AI chatbot. Maybe ChatGPT as the embodied form — some weird AI creature with too many fingers and too many eyes.

The weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: My whips. Sometimes I do a little S&M number where I’m whipping and dipping and flipping, so I bring my whips with me.

Sasha Colby

Fantasy All Winners casting: I’d love to see Bianca [Del Rio]. Let’s do it.

What I say before going onstage: “You’re sickening, you’re lovely, you’re gorgeous.”

Beauty product I never go onstage without: the Patrick Starrr setting spray.

Sasha Velour

Weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: A ton of Krazy Glue. I believe you should just glue it to yourself if it's not just sticking in a more traditional method.

Fantasy All Winners casting: Sasha Colby. I would love to see Jimbo, Angeria [Paris VanMicheals]. We'd have fun.

Dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Elton Johns.

Symone

Fantasy All Winners casting: Now that Alyssa [Edwards] is a winner, I would like to see her. If it can’t be me, then we would like it to be her.

What I say before going onstage: “Let go, let go, let go. Have fun. Collect the money.”

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: I broke into someone's house in the name of drag once. It was important. I mean, it was illegal, but we got the photo.

Willow Pill

Dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Bjorks... That’s the only way they’re going to get me back on Drag Race.

Weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: I always keep a little sucker around if I'm wanting to party after or go to a rave… It's a choking hazard, but I'm willing to risk that for the slay.

Fantasy All Winners casting: I would love to see Tammie Brown on All Winners. I know she didn't win, but she’s a winner in my heart.

Yvie Oddly

International drag race franchise to watch: Thailand. It was my first international franchise, and bitches were literally lighting themselves on fire. If you're not willing to do that for drag, is it drag?

Weirdest thing in my drag bag: Probably important paperwork, actually. Like, oh my God, those bills from last year. I hope the IRS doesn’t care!

Kylie Sonique Love

Fantasy All Winners casting: I would love to see my sister Sasha Colby on All Winners with me. I would love to get to do that experience with her.

International drag race franchise to watch: Season 6 of UK's Drag Race was absolutely incredible. I think that season really stepped their p*ssy up.

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: That’s between me and God, honey.

Onya Nerve

Dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Beyoncés would be fun.

BeBe Zahara Benet

Who I’d like to see on Snatch Game… Law Roach. I just love the attitude. I love the energy. I love the hair.

Dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 BeBes, duh... Because I am full of a lot of colors and different shades and different personalities.

What I say before going onstage: I pray for love. I pray that people are able to connect with me. I pray that people leave feeling really good about themselves.

Bruno Alcantara

Fantasy All Winners casting: Sasha Colby would be interesting. I love Sasha Colby.

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: Oh my God, so many — especially balloon popping in underwear.

My favorite queen is… Mama Ru. My favorite forever in my heart, of course.

The New Breakout Queens

Athena Dion

I auditioned for Drag Race13 times. I was like, you don’t love me!

The most dramatic queen on set was… Everyone said I’m the most dramatic on set, and I would have to honestly agree!

The weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: A lot of perfume, a lot of shoes, and I have my dignity and my pride.

Nini Coco

My drag in three words: My drag is sharp, my drag is bold, and my drag is fierce.

My dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Nini Cocos. I have so many fierce numbers that I want to see other people attempt to do.

The most dramatic queen on set was… Kenya Pleaser. She is a storm in the best way.

Briar Blush

My drag in three words: The It girl of any time or place. Did you say three words? Well, I decided more.

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: Been the ass of a centaur.

The most dramatic queen on set was… either Athena [Dion] or me.

Ciara Myst

My drag in three words: Mystical, magical, and mysterious.

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: I’ve been in a graveyard in drag multiple times. I got hired by photographers who were like, “You’d look great around a bunch of deceased people.” One of them told me to lie on the ground, and a cricket crawled onto my eyelash. And you know what? I held that f*cking pose, and that picture was hung in a gallery.

Darlene Mitchell

When I found out I made the cast… I’m a hairstylist and I was in the middle of a blow dry. I saw the visual voicemail come across my phone and I finished that blow dry so fast. I was like, “Ma’am, you’ve got to get out of here!”

The words I say to myself before going on stage: Confident, courageous, and capable.

My dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Dolly Partons.

DD Fuego

My drag in three words: It is fiery, it is fashionable, and it is a full f*cking production.

I auditioned for Drag Race 10 times, and once for Drag Race México.

The weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: A hot glue gun, no matter what happens. I didn’t need it today, but Vita [VonTesse Starr] did.

The words I say to myself before going on stage: I went to see Celine Dion in concert and she telepathized this to me: “Nothing to prove, so much to share.”

Discord Addams

Deepest cut I’ve ever lip-synced to: I do a burlesque number as Kenny from South Park, where I just keep taking off more and more orange jackets until I’m left with just one hood and a bra.

The most dramatic queen on set was… Hands down, Athena. I’m sure everybody probably said the same thing.

The words I say to myself before going on stage: Me and my friend, we always hold each other’s hands and go, “Reba, Reba, Reba.” If you can channel Reba on stage, you’re doing something right.

Jane Don’t

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: If you were a person who’s doing drag during the COVID lockdowns, you deserve the Medal of Honor. We embarrassed ourselves weekly to make the worst music videos you’ve ever seen and put them on somebody’s Twitch stream.

The weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: I use Loctite super glue for five different things. I use it as nail glue, I used to glue my earrings on. I buy it in bulk from the hardware store. I go in and do my straight guy voice to get it.

Juicy Love Dion

My dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Naomi Campbells. Why haven’t we done that?

The most dramatic queen on set was… Athena Dion. Hands down.

The words I say to myself before going on stage: If I’m tired, I tell myself my favorite Lady Gaga quote: “You’re not tired. You’re a f*cking superstar.” And if I’m not tired, I just say, “You’re a f*cking superstar. Don’t forget it.”

Kenya Pleaser

My drag in three words: Bold, bodacious, and Black.

My dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Michelle Obamas. She has two inauguration gowns, all these sickening looks.

Deepest cut I’ve ever lip-synced to: The sound that dial-up internet makes.

The weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: Vinyl floor tape. We use that to tape our heads. It is weird to certain people, but drag queens, y’all know what we use that for.

Mandy Mango

When I found out I made the cast… I was on my lunch break at work. I was just tip-tapping at my keyboard and then I saw that I missed a call and had a voicemail from LA.

Strangest thing I’ve done in the name of drag: I work as an HIV and sexual health nurse, so there have been days when I get up at 6 o’clock in the morning, get in full drag, and walk on a college campus in Philadelphia to teach a class — come to find out when I get there, the class is virtual!

Mia Starr

My drag in three words: Hip-hop b*tch.

When I found out I made the cast… I was upstairs in my mom’s house painting my face, getting ready for a gig. I ran downstairs and told my mom, “Our lives are about to freaking change right now.”

I auditioned for Drag RaceThree times. Last season, I was an alternate, so I was like, “I’m coming back and I’m going to make this sh*t.”

Myki Meeks

When I found out I made the cast… I was at Trader Joe’s, returning cans of tuna. I thought there was a tuna recall.

My dream “Night of 1,000” challenge: Night of 1,000 Pokémon. There’s over a thousand to choose from!

The weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: A bacon, egg, and cheese.

Deepest cut I’ve ever lip-synced to: “Waitin” by Kelela. There may be three people in the audience, but that song was for me.

Vita VonTesse Starr

My drag in three words: Fierce, feminine, and powerful.

I’d never go on stage without… My MAC setting spray.

When I found out I made the cast… I was actually on my way to the fabric store — one of my favorite places to go, by the way — and honey, I almost crashed when I got the call!

The weirdest thing in my drag bag right now: A bottle of Rush. Don’t tell anybody.

Photographer: Emmanuel S Monsalve

Editorial Director: Christina Amoroso

Interviews: Eman Naseer, Mila Grgas

Editor-in-Chief: Charlotte Owen

Creative Director: Karen Hibbert

Video: Eman Naseer, Mila Grgas

Photo Director: Jackie Ladner

Production: Danielle Smit, Cassidy Gill

Fashion Market Director: Jennifer Yee

Social Director: Charlie Mock