RuPaul’s Drag Race has had a longstanding relationship with Cher, given that RuPaul himself is one of her biggest fans. Despite the fact that the popstar has yet to make an appearance on the series, both her mother Georgia Holt and son Chaz Bono have been featured on different Drag Race episodes.
All in all, Cher has been impersonated by Drag Race queens on two main occasions: during the Snatch Game challenge (on different seasons) and in “Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical” from season 10. While many contestants certainly embodied the spirit and energy of this legendary superstar, it is fair to say that some were more successful than others.
DELTA WORK
Delta Work will always be remembered as the OG RuPaul’s Drag Race queen to have impersonated Cher on the series. However, her Snatch Game performance as the pop star did not entirely land on TV.
Season 3 gave us the second-ever Snatch Game episode of all time, which means that the queens had seen it before but were still not entirely sure of how to win the challenge. Delta Work definitely looked beautiful as Cher, but she lacked the Rolodex of references one needs to really embody the character during this challenge.
Unfortunately, we have to rank Delta Work in last place when it comes to Cher impersonations on Drag Race. If only she was able to ‘snap out of it!’
THE VIXEN
On season 10, the queens were challenged to act, dance, and sing live for “Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical.” Each contestant was assigned a particular phase in Cher’s life, and The Vixen was given one-half (along with Monet X Change) of the 70s Variety Show Cher era.
In the grand scheme of it all, The Vixen’s impersonation wasn’t really that bad. However, the queen followed Kameron Michaels and Monet X Change, who were the top two contestants of the week. Coming after such strong performances, The Vixen’s few mistakes in choreography and singing became very visible to the judges.
Ultimately, The Vixen landed in the Bottom Two during that episode and was sent home after a dramatic lip-sync.
ASIA O’HARA
The other less-than-stellar performer during the “Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical” was Asia O’Hara, who was assigned the role of Movie Star Cher.
Essentially, the judges felt that there were way too many great references and nuances from Cher’s film career that Asia failed to convey. In addition, Asia O’Hara’s singing abilities were not up to par when compared to some of the other queens that challenge.
Despite the fact that she is certainly a great entertainer, Asia O’Hara failed to shake off her nerves when impersonating Cher, resulting in one of the weakest impersonations of the pop star on Drag Race.
EUREKA
Eureka had a pretty rough experience on season 10 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, given that she had gotten badly injured during the previous season due to a physically demanding challenge. In addition, Eureka discussed how terrified she was of singing in public, recounting terrible childhood stories where she was made to feel like she couldn’t sing.
All in all, Eureka did not provide us with a stellar Rockstar Cher impersonation in “Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical.” However, she was certainly able to get into her performance after a shaky start. Largely due to this improvement halfway through her number, Eureka’s Cher turned out better than most imagined it would be.
MIZ CRACKER
When it comes to singing and choreography, it is safe to say that Miz Cracker had the toughest role in “Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical.” The queen was assigned Comeback Cher, which involved standard singing, auto-tuned singing, dancing, and being carried by dancers.
Given the several little nuances required by the role of Comeback Cher, Miz Cracker did a pretty solid job in the challenge. However, it still left the judges thinking that the queen was too in her head, more worried about what she had to do next than actually embodying the character and focusing on the performance.
AQUARIA
Aquaria is certainly not the best singer, but just like her Snatch Game performance on season 10, Aquaria somehow managed to turn it out when it came to her impersonation of Disco Cher in “The Unauthorized Rusical.”
Overcoming a shaky voice and a complicated choreography, Aquaria sold Disco Cher to the judges by adding a few comedic nuances to the performance. Overall, the judging panel appreciated how funny the queen was, rather than getting stuck in her head by hitting every mark perfectly.
MONET X CHANGE
Monet X Change was assigned a very controversial period in Cher’s life, when the popstar dressed in Native-American attire to perform. While this was certainly a tone-deaf choice made back in the 1970s, it is widely considered one of the most memorable Cher eras of all time.
As someone who sang for a living, Monet X Change’s choices to sing live for “Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical” were not entirely perfect. However, Monet was able to poke fun at the ridiculousness of that era while still fully channeling and respecting the popstar for who she was. It was absolutely one of the most exciting impersonations of Cher in the history of Drag Race.
KAMERON MICHAELS
By the time that “Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical” came along on season 10, we knew that the ever-shy Kameron Michaels was able to turn it out on stage. However, it still came as a shock that Kameron was able to sing, dance, and act as well as she did while impersonating 60s Cher. What’s more, Kameron absolutely resembled the popstar through and through.
In the end, Kameron Michaels won the “Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical” challenge not only due to how surprising it was to see this queen shine, but also because she literally gave us a sickening Cher performance worth celebrating.
CHAD MICHAELS
It must come as no surprise to most fans that Chad Michaels has given RuPaul’s Drag Race its best-ever impersonation of Cher. After all, pretending to be and look like Cher has been Chad’s gig for over two decades.
On season 4 of Drag Race, Chad Michaels served a little bit of Cher realness on different occasions. However, nothing compares to his performance on the Snatch Game, which Chad won through impersonating the pop star. During the challenge, Chad changed wigs, leaned in on true Cher-isms, and was generally funny throughout the entire game.
The winner of the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars has made several televised appearances as Cher outside of the franchise that made him a global superstar. To name a few, the queen was featured in full Cher fantasy on episodes of 2 Broke Girls and Jane The Virgin. Moreover, Chad made cameos on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and on The Queen Latifah Show.