Filipino drag queen Kiki Coe has impressed the judges of “Canada’s Drag Race” season 4 during its premiere episode aired Friday.
During the first episode, Kiki Coe and fellow Filipino queen Melinda Verga were proud to show their Pinoy roots.
“Hello, mga tsismosa!” Melinda Verga said in her entrance line.
Chinese drag queen Aurora Matrix was glad to be surrounded by her fellow Asian queens.
“It feels so good seeing some other Asian queens in the ‘Werk Room’ with me. We’re vibin’ and we’re looking cute together,” Aurora said.
The judges were already judging their entrance looks and Brooke Lynn Hytes liked Denim’s look, while Brad Goreski chose Aimee Yonce Shennel and Traci Melchor’s pick was Venus.
In the premiere episode, the queens were in for a ball episode serving a showgirl look and their best drag.
The judges were impressed when Kiki Coe walked the runway in a Filipiniana.
“I wanna show the judges the elevated version of this traditional Filipiniana look. I’m giving you structure and I’m giving you royalty, honey,” Kiki said.
“You just gave me drag. It’s just a feast to the eyes. That is not easy to move, when you have beading connecting your arms. You have a gigantic headdress on and you made it work,” Goreski said during the critiques.
“From your ‘Werk Room’ look to your shimmering showgirl, you are serving us drag excellence. The only note that I have is I want to see all of the ‘Kiki-ness’ here (face),” Melchor added.
However, the judges felt that Melinda Verga’s performance fell flat during the premiere.
“For your entrance look, I love the idea of pride and celebrating that, I think that’s so important right now. But I didn’t feel like it told me much about who you are as a queen. What I like about you is that you have a very bright personality so let them have that ,” Goreski said.
“It’s very pedestria. This is your first introduction to the world and I just needed a little bit more,” Brooke added.
Melinda shared her struggles after the judges’ critiques with Kiki sharing how she resonated with her fellow Filipino queen’s struggle.
“As a Filipino, I know that you always have to work for your family and support them as much as you can. That is inspiring,” Kiki added.
Kiki was safe with Denim and Venus on the Top 2 and gave a lipsync battle to “Feel It In My Bones” by Tiesto feat. Tegan and Sara. Venus won the episode.
Meanwhile, Brooke announced that it was a non-elimination episode making Melinda safe this week.
This is the first time the Canadian franchise included two Filipina queens in its roster.
Kyne was the first Filipina queen to join “Canada’s Drag Race” in season 1, followed by Stephanie Prince and Kimmy Couture in seasons 2 and 3, respectively.
Kyne and Stephanie Prince ended their journey in 11th and 12th place, respectively, while Kimmy Couture made it to the Top 4.
“Drag Race Philippines” was recently renewed for a third season along with the Thai and French franchise.
Precious Paula Nicole and Captivating Katkat are the titleholders of “Drag Race Philippines,” winning in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The Emmy Award-winning original series has featured the talents of Filipino drag queens in the US and several overseas in editions through the years.
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