A great lip sync on RuPaul's Drag Race can forever alter your perception of a song.
I can't listen to Crystal Waters' "100% Pure Love" without thinking of Denali's absolute annihilation of Kahmora Hall in Season 13. Hearing "Boss Bitch" by Doja Cat gives me flashbacks to Anetra leaping, Free Willy–style, over Marcia Marcia Marcia in Season 15. And Natalie Cole's "This Will Be" is now forever tied to Season 4's DiDa Ritz killing the song in front of Cole herself.
Crucially, all these songs are bangers, so I'm happy to listen to them and think about the corresponding lip syncs at any given time. But what happens when a great lip sync gets a terrible song stuck in your head?
That's been my plight ever since Drag Race's Season 17 premiere, which saw talent show winners Suzie Toot and Jewels Sparkles duking it out to Katy Perry's "Woman's World" — with Perry herself looking on as a guest judge.
There's no beating around the bush: "Woman's World" is not a good song. Meant to be Perry's big comeback single, it was a commercial and critical flop for a whole host of reasons. They vary from the silly — like laughable, surface-level feminist lyrics and a cringeworthy music video — to the serious — like the involvement of controversial music producer Dr. Luke, whom singer Kesha accused of sexual assault in 2014.
Given "Woman's World"s failure, it's hilarious that it pops up as a Drag Race lip-sync song — as the premiere lip sync, no less. (For reference, Season 16 secured Beyoncé's "Break My Soul" for its premiere, a song that doesn't even exist on the same material plane as "Woman's World.") It's doubly hilarious that, due to Drag Race's filming schedule, the premiere may have been shot before "Woman's World" was officially released in July 2024. If so, could any of the queens or judges have foreseen the drubbing Perry was about to receive? Oh, to be a fly on the wall the first time Jewels Sparkles and Suzie Toot listened to their lip-sync song.
For their parts, Suzie Toot and Jewels Sparkles do a great job with the material they were given. Jewels Sparkles turns out a high-energy dance number complete with splits, hairography, and perhaps one too many finger licks, all very reminiscent of her talent show. Suzie Toot also draws on her own toe-tapping talent show, embracing her love for tap dancers of the 1920s and '30s to deliver a uniquely hilarious — and instantly memorable — lip sync.
Suzie Toot nails the pacing on her number, starting out sweet and slow while Jewels Sparkles exhausts her bag of tricks. As Jewels Sparkles pulls out split after split, it's easy to think Suzie Toot's getting steamrolled. Fellow contestant Kori King even hits her with a "you in danger, girl" in a confessional.
Yet as the second verse of "Woman's World" starts, Suzie Toot takes control, gesturing to her foot and proceeding to tap out the lyrics to the song — a reference to her talent show's Morse Code rendering of the Gettysburg Address. It's the ideal elevation of a prior gag, enough to make RuPaul lose it and secure the win.
But Suzie's not done! As "Woman's World" jumps back into its chorus, she breaks out a perfectly timed Charleston — a refreshing dance style amid a Drag Race lip-sync landscape where big stunts often reign supreme. Watching Suzie Toot embrace her inner flapper made me screech and snap more than any of Jewels Sparkles' splits. It's such a perfect way to bring her drag persona to the lip-sync stage, and it scratches my brain in the same way Anetra's jump does. I'm still thinking about it, almost a week later. I'm a woman possessed, a woman attempting to do the Charleston in her kitchen to a notorious pop flop.
And frankly, that's a problem! Because when I think of Suzie Toot's big moment, I'm also thinking, "It's a woman's world, and you're lucky to be living in it" against my will. I do not want these lyrics in my head! I do not want Drag Race to Stockholm syndrome me into liking "Woman's World"! Someone, please save me from the horrors of "sexy, confident."
However, if this lip sync and its apparently permanent place in my memory have taught me anything, it's that Suzie Toot is powerful enough to (maybe) get me to like "Woman's World." That's a pretty incredible power to have! Because of that, I'm excited for more of Suzie Toot and her nine tapping toes. Here's hoping that if she lip syncs again, it'll be to a song I actually want stuck in my head. Maybe something by Carly Rae Jepsen?
RuPaul's Drag Race Season 17 airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
