The eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on March 7, 2016. Returning judges include RuPaul and Michelle Visage, along with Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley, who shared judging responsibilities on an alternating basis. Twelve drag queens competed for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". The prizes for the winner are a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000. The full list of contestants was revealed during the NewNowNext Awards on February 1, 2016. The song "U Wear It Well" from RuPaul's album Butch Queen was featured in promotion for the show. On March 31, 2016, it was announced LogoTV renewed the show for a ninth season. It was the last season to solely be played on Logo, as the show moved to VH1 for its ninth season.
The theme song played during the runway segment every episode was "The Realness", and the song played during the closing credits was "Die Tomorrow", both songs from the album Realness.
The winner of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race was Bob the Drag Queen, with Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls being the runners-up, and Cynthia Lee Fontaine being crowned season 8's Miss Congeniality.
On August 20, 2020, Chi Chi DeVayne died after battling scleroderma and pneumonia.
Contestants
Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
+Contestants of RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 and their backgrounds Contestant Age Hometown Outcome Bob the Drag Queen 29 New York City, New York Kim Chi 27 Chicago, Illinois Naomi Smalls 21 Redlands, California Chi Chi DeVayne 29 Shreveport, Louisiana 4th place Derrick Barry 32 Las Vegas, Nevada 5th place Thorgy Thor 31 New York City, New York 6th place Robbie Turner 33 Seattle, Washington 7th place Acid Betty 38 New York City, New York 8th place Naysha Lopez 31 Chicago, Illinois 9th place Cynthia Lee Fontaine 34 Austin, Texas 10th place Dax ExclamationPoint 31 Savannah, Georgia 11th place Laila McQueen 22 Gloucester, Massachusetts
Notes:
Contestant progress
Lip syncs Legend:
Episode Contestants Song Eliminated 1 Laila McQueen vs. Naysha Lopez "Applause"(Lady Gaga) Naysha Lopez 2 Dax ExclamationPoint vs. Laila McQueen "I Will Survive"(Gloria Gaynor) Dax ExclamationPoint Laila McQueen 3 Cynthia Lee Fontaine vs. Robbie Turner "Mesmerized (Freemasons Radio Edit)"(Faith Evans) Cynthia Lee Fontaine 4 Chi Chi DeVayne vs. Naysha Lopez "Call Me"(Blondie) Naysha Lopez 5 Acid Betty vs. Naomi Smalls "Causing a Commotion"(Madonna) Acid Betty 6 Derrick Barry vs. Robbie Turner "I Love It"(Icona Pop ft. Charli XCX) Robbie Turner 7 Chi Chi DeVayne vs. Thorgy Thor "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"(Jennifer Holliday) Thorgy Thor 8 Bob the Drag Queen vs. Derrick Barry "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"(Sylvester) Derrick Barry 9 Bob the Drag Queen vs. Chi Chi DeVayne vs. Kim Chi vs. Naomi Smalls "The Realness"(RuPaul) Chi Chi DeVayne
Guest judges Listed in chronological order: Nicole Richie, television personality Ester Dean, singer/songwriter Jamal Sims, choreographer Lucian Piane, music producer Faith Evans, singer Tasha Smith, actress and comedian Chris Stein, musician Debbie Harry, singer Chanel Iman, model Gigi Hadid, model Marc Jacobs, fashion designer Todrick Hall, singer and internet personality Thomas Roberts, journalist Vivica A. Fox, actress Amy Sedaris, comedian and actress David Sedaris, writer
Special guests Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
Episode 1 BeBe Zahara Benet, winner of season 1 Tyra Sanchez, winner of season 2 Raja, winner of season 3 Sharon Needles, winner of season 4 Chad Michaels, runner-up of season 4 and winner of All Stars season 1 Jinkx Monsoon, winner of season 5 Violet Chachki, winner of season 7 Shannel, contestant on season 1 and All Stars season 1 Latrice Royale, contestant and Miss Congeniality of season 4 and contestant on All Stars season 1 Raven, runner-up of season 2 and All Stars season 1 Morgan McMichaels, contestant on season 2
Episode 2 AB Soto, musician
Episode 4 The Vivienne, RuPaul's Drag Race UK Ambassador
Episode 5 Charo, musician and comedian
Episode 6 Marc Snetiker, Entertainment Weekly journalist Cast of Little Women: LA
Episode 7 Andrew Christian, fashion designer
Episode 9 Jayson Whitmore, director Bianca Del Rio, winner of season 6
Episode 10 BeBe Zahara Benet, winner of season 1 Tyra Sanchez, winner of season 2 Raja, winner of season 3 Sharon Needles, winner of season 4 Chad Michaels, runner-up of season 4 and winner of All Stars season 1 Jinkx Monsoon, winner of season 5 Bianca Del Rio, winner of season 6 Violet Chachki, winner of season 7 Shangela, contestant on season 2 and season 3 Carol Channing, actress and comedian (via video message) Trixie Mattel, contestant on season 7 Margaret Cho, comedian and actress (via video message) Lena Headey, actress (via video message) Gia Gunn, contestant on season 6 Nancy Grace, legal commentator and television journalist (via video message) Jennifer Holliday, singer and actress (via video message) Katya, contestant and Miss Congeniality on season 7
Episodes
Reception In August 2022, Time listed season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race as among the Top 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons.
Ratings
See also
List of Rusicals
References
External links
Ratings