Over the course of 11 seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race and 4 seasons of its All Stars spin-off, we have seen quite a few queens absolutely conquer the Lip Sync For Your Life and Lip Sync For Your Legacy segments of the franchise. Despite the fact that this is typically a low moment for the queens who land in the Bottom Two, it certainly is a moment for contestants to display their nerve and tenacity.
Within the Drag Race franchise, the queens who consistently deliver great lip sync performances have been classified as Lip Sync Assassins. This title has been granted to a select few after so many seasons (some of which did not make this list), but it comes without saying that certain queens have been more memorable than others. Read below to learn about the very best Lip Sync Assassins in RuPaul’s Drag Race history!
Updated April 13th, 2020 by Mariana Fernandes: If there's one thing that the queens from RuPaul's Drag Race have continuously given us, that's unbelievable performances. Whether they are lip-syncing for their lives, their legacy, or the crown, they turn the party and leave audiences everywhere gasping for air. With the twelfth season of the original show currently airing, we decided to take a look back at some of the most prominent lip-sync assassins on RuPaul's Drag Race and complete the list. Boot the house down, honey, it's showtime!
Brooke Lynn Hytes
The Queen of the North and Miss Continental 2014, Brooke Lynn Hytes, is a legendary figure in the LGBTQ community. When it came time for Brooke to show her skills, she did not disappoint.
Brooke Lynn Hytes’ first time in the Bottom Two was none other than the “Snatch Game At Sea” episode. Along with Yvie Oddly and to the tune of Demi Lovato’s “Sorry Not Sorry,” Brooke delivered what is regarded as the all-time best lip sync of RuPaul’s Drag Race. As a result, both Yvie and Brooke remained in the competition in a Double Shantay.
Kameron Michaels
Kameron Michaels might have been one of the shiest queens of all time on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but the fire in her came out whenever it came to a Lip Sync For Your Life.
Kameron lip synced 5 times on season 10, besting the competition with relative ease. As the underdog of the Drag Race season 10 finale, Kameron made it to the very end through lip syncing. The only lip sync Kameron ever lost was season 10’s Lip Sync For The Crown, which Aquaria came out victorious.
Roxxxy Andrews
There is no doubt that Roxxxy Andrews changed RuPaul’s Drag Race forever during the “RuPaul Roast” episode of season 5. During her Lip Sync For Your Life against Alyssa Edwards, the queen revealed a wig under another wig, gagging the entire judging panel and introducing the importance of lip sync reveals to the franchise.
In All Stars 2, Roxxxy faced Tatianna on the very first Lip Sync For Your Legacy of the Drag Race franchise, which was to the tune of “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift. Despite Tatianna’s great lip sync skills, Roxxxy was deemed the winner.
Alyssa Edwards
It says a lot that Alyssa Edwards’ very first time lip syncing was during the famous “RuPaul Roast” of season 5. After making it through, Alyssa sent Ivy Winters home only to be eliminated by her nemesis Coco Montrese on the next episode.
On Drag Race All Stars 2, Alyssa Edwards lip synced twice. Most notable was her performance during “Revenge Of The Queens," where Alyssa and Tatianna were responsible for the lip sync performance that, until Yvie and Brooke’s “Whip My Hair” performance, was regarded as the best lip sync of all time on Drag Race.
Jujubee
RuPaul’s Drag Race season 2 and All Stars 1 contestant Jujubee is regarded as the original Lip Sync Assassin of the franchise. All in all, the queen lip synced 6 times during her two appearances on the show.
In season 2, Jujubee made it to the Top 3 through lip syncing while she also beat her many rivals during the All Stars run. Then, Jujubee had to lip sync against her teammate Raven, but both were chosen to stay in the competition. Jujubee is the ultimate queen of never losing a lip sync!
Peppermint
Peppermint came into season 9 of RuPaul’s Drag Race as a legendary queen from New York City. She proved her royalty when it came to her lip sync performances on the main stage.
During her two times in the Bottom Two, Peppermint delivered some truly stunning performances. As the underdog of the season 9 finale, Peppermint won the lip sync to land a spot in the franchise’s first-ever Lip Sync For The Crown against Sasha Velour. That lip sync remains to be Peppermint’s one and only lip sync loss in the series.
Yvie Oddly
There’s definitely something to be said about queens who absolutely killed it during the few times they lip synced.
Yvie Oddly lip synced three times during season 11: the iconic lip sync to Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” against Brooke Lynn Hytes (regarded as the best Drag Race lip sync of all time), the “SOS” by Rihanna performance (against A’keria Chanel Davenport) that landed Yvie a spot in the finale’s Top 2, and then the unforgettable “The Edge of Glory” by Lady Gaga lip sync against Brooke Lynn Hytes that gave Yvie Oddly the crown.
Bendelacreme
BenDeLaCreme has one of the most impressive RuPaul’s Drag Race stats of all time. On season 7, she experienced a Double Shantay only to be eliminated later on. This remains one of the most controversial Drag Race lip syncs of all time, with many fans believing that Ben should have stayed.
Later in All Stars 3, BenDeLaCreme lip synced on basically every single episode, giving hilarious yet stunning performances every time. All in all, Ben won lip syncs against Aja, Shangela (tie), and BeBe Zahara Benet but eliminated herself from the competition in the latter competition.
Manila Luzon
Manila Luzon is one of the most indisputable Lip Sync Assassins ever. On season 3, the queen sent Delta Work packing after a stunning lip sync performance to “McArthur Park” by Donna Summer. Manila held her own during the lip sync for “Champion” by RuPaul, even if she did lose the crown to Raja.
Manila set the tone during an unforgettable Lip Sync For Your Legacy to “How Will I Know” by Whitney Houston against Trinity The Tuck. She would later lose to Monique Heart before tying with Monet X Change to make it to the Top 2.
Alaska
We saw none of Alaska’s lip sync skills on season 5, as the queen did not land in the Bottom Two even once. However, when it came time for All Stars 2, Alaska slayed hard.
Alaska won every single Lip Sync For Your Legacy she joined, defeating the likes of Katya and Phi Phi O’Hara. She even won the three-way lip sync against Detox and Katya for the “All Stars Supergroup” finale. During every All Stars 2 lip sync, Alaska mesmerized the judges with stunts, reveals, and humor, earning her place as one of the best Lip Sync Assassins.
Latrice Royale
Latrice Royale remains one of the most beloved queens to ever come out of the show. Her original run on season 4 gave us iconic moments like "get those nuts away from my face" and, most importantly, jaw-dropping lip-sync performances that sent the competition packing almost consistently.
Her rendition of "Natural Woman" put Kenya Michaels to shame and brought tears to fans' eyes, while her performance to Gladys Knight's "I've Got To Use My Imagination" blew everyone away. And let's not forget All Stars 4, when she earned a spot back into the competition after a tight lip-sync against Monique Heart where there were, effectively, no losers.
Coco Montrese
Mrs. Coco Montrese is, first and foremost, a performer. Headlining her own show in Vegas and known as the best Janice Jackson impersonator in the world, it's no wonder Coco can bring it and leave it all on stage when the time comes to perform.
In season 5, Coco was in the bottom a grand total of four times, which is impressive by Drag Race standards, since most girls don't make it past two. But Coco's skills were just that good, and she sent three queens home, which granted her the official title of season 5's lip-sync assassin.
Kennedy Davenport
Everyone knew Kennedy Davenport was an amazing dancer, but few were prepared for the queen to prove to be as lethal as she did throughout the course of season 7. And even though she didn't win, Kennedy made it to the top 3 and came back in All Stars 3 to prove everyone she still had it.
Davenport was in the bottom two twice, and twice she sent her opponent home thanks to her impressive dance moves and jumps. She literally jumped off the stage into a split during her lip-sync against Katya, a true killer move.
Trinity K. Bonet
Trinity had less than an impressive score when it comes to the main challenges, but when it was time to take the stage and lip-sync for her life, this queen brought the performances of a lifetime. Because that's just what she does!
Trinity was in the bottom two a total of three times, and only in the third time was she sent home when Adore Delano proved to be a great lip-syncer as well. Had Trinity had a better report card, this could've been a double shantay.
Sasha Velour
Sasha Velour remains, to this day, the best lip-sync assassin to ever come to the show. This is mostly because no one knew what Sasha had to offer since she did land in the bottom a single time during season 9.
It was only when the time came to lip-sync for the crown that Sasha blew the entire live audience away with her rendition of "So Emotional", her iconic wig reveal, and overall smashing talent. Up to that point, Sasha had only been safe, winning a single challenge. But her lip-sync skills were so amazing, RuPaul ended up crowning her queen and the winner of season 9. Iconic!