RuPaul's Drag Race (season 8)


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.

Contestants

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ContestantAgeHometownOutcome
Bob the Drag Queen29New York City, New YorkWinner
Kim Chi27Chicago, IllinoisRunners-up
Naomi Smalls21Redlands, CaliforniaRunners-up
Chi Chi DeVayne29Shreveport, Louisiana4th Place
Derrick Barry32Las Vegas, Nevada5th Place
Thorgy Thor31Brooklyn, New York6th Place
Robbie Turner33Seattle, Washington7th Place
Acid Betty37Brooklyn, New York8th Place
Naysha Lopez31Chicago, Illinois
Cynthia Lee Fontaine34Austin, Texas10th Place
31Savannah, Georgia11th/12th Place
Laila McQueen'''2211th/12th Place

Contestant progress

Lip-syncs

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 and All Stars season 3
Episode 2:
  • AB Soto, musician
Episode 5:
  • Charo, musician and comedian
Episode 6:
  • Marc Snetiker, Entertainment Weekly journalist
  • Cast of '
Episode 7:
  • Andrew Christian, fashion designer
Episode 9:'''
  • Jayson Whitmore, director

    Episodes

Future appearances

returned on the ninth season as a surprise contestant to compete with the other 13 drag queens. She placed 10th overall.
Chi Chi DeVayne and Thorgy Thor competed on the of . Thorgy placed 10th and Chi Chi placed 8th overall.
Kim Chi competed on RuPaul's Drag Race Holi-slay Spectacular on December 7, 2018. She was crowned the Christmas Queen along with the other competing contestants.
Naomi Smalls competed on the fourth season of All Stars. She placed 3rd/4th overall with season 10 contestant Monique Heart.
Derrick Barry competed on the fifth season of All Stars, placing 10th.