Aquaria (drag queen)
Aquaria | |
|---|---|
 Aquaria at RuPaul's DragCon in 2019 | |
| Born | Giovanni Palandrani February 12, 1996[1] |
| Occupation | Drag queen, television personality, recording artist |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Known for | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) winner |
| Predecessor | Sasha Velour |
| Successor | Yvie Oddly |
| Website | ageofaquaria |
Giovanni Palandrani (born February 12, 1996),[1] better known by his stage name Aquaria, is an American drag queen, television personality, and recording artist best known for winning the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2018.[2] In June 2019, a panel of judges from New York magazine placed her 11th on their list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 former Drag Race contestants.[3]
Early life and education[]
Palandrani was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania to Gina and David Palandrani, has a sister named Francesca, and is of Italian descent. He trained as a dancer for four years and experimented with drag in high school.[4] He attended the Fashion Institute of Technology for two semesters before dropping out, studying women's wear design.[5][6]
Career[]
Aquaria is the drag daughter of Drag Race season four winner Sharon Needles.[7] However, she has said that she "does not support him" and "feels awful for anyone he has hurt" in 2020.[8] She began performing in drag in 2014.[9] Like RuPaul, Aquaria received early support from Susanne Bartsch.[4] Aquaria was featured in a Vogue Italia spread in January 2016 with Bartsch and other Drag Race alumnae.[10]
In early 2018, it was announced that Aquaria was chosen as one of fourteen contestants for the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, upon her first audition for the program.[6][11] She won three main challenges, never ranked in the bottom two, and was the first queen in the show's history to win both the ball and the "Snatch Game" in the same season.[12] Aquaria was announced as the winner of the season on June 28, 2018, beating out Eureka O'Hara and Kameron Michaels in the final three.
Aquaria was nominated with Miz Cracker for the "Competition Contestant of 2018" for the 2018 People's Choice Awards.[13]
In October 2018, Aquaria appeared solo in an issue of Vogue Italia, photographed by Michael Bailey-Gates.[14] She was a model for Moschino and H&M's November 2018 Capsule Collection with Bria Vinaite and Jeremy Scott.[15][16] She received a contract from IMG Models, and was announced as the Entertainment editor for Dazed.[17]
In 2019, Aquaria was announced as one of the faces of MAC's Viva Glam campaign.[18][19] She attended the 2019 Met Gala, and was the first drag queen to walk the red carpet.[20][21][22] In June 2019, Aquaria was one of 37 queens to be featured on the cover of New York Magazine.[23]
In 2019, Aquaria released her very own makeup palette in collaboration with NYX Cosmetics.[24]
In September 2019, at RuPaul's DragCon NYC, Aquaria was named as one of a rotating cast of a dozen Drag Race queens in RuPaul's Drag Race Live!, a Las Vegas show residency from January to August 2020 at the Flamingo Las Vegas.[25]
Aquaria performed as a part of Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Beauty Fashion Show during the Fall 2019 New York Fashion Week.[26]
Music[]
As part of the final challenge of season 10, Aquaria and the other top four contestants wrote and recorded their own verses for RuPaul's song "American." The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[27] Aquaria was featured in the song "Looks" by Linux in 2016.[28] He released his debut single, "Burn Rubber", in June 2018. The song was written by Jesse Saint John.[29]
Personal life[]
Palandrani lives in Brooklyn, New York City.[30]
On July 3, 2018, singer Bebe Rexha criticized Aquaria and the other Drag Race top four queens over Twitter for supposed bad behavior toward her at the VH1 Trailblazer Honors, such as not talking to her and being "cold". Aquaria responded with a series of tweets defending herself and her fellow queens.[31][32]
In May 2018, she criticized rapper Travis Scott for removing Amanda Lepore, a transgender woman, from the cover art of his 2018 album Astroworld.[33]
Discography[]
As lead artist[]
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| "Burn Rubber" | 2018 |
As featured artist[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Dance Digital [34] | |||
| "Looks"
(Linux featuring Aquaria) |
2016 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical"
(RuPaul featuring the Cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 10) |
2018 | — | |
| "American"
(RuPaul featuring the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race, season 10 |
23 | ||
| "Rim"
(Brooke Candy featuring Violet Chachki and Aquaria) |
2019 | — | Sexorcism |
Filmography[]
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Real Housewives of New York City (Season 10) | Herself | Season 10, episode 2: "Running Your Mouth" |
| 2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) | Herself | Contestant (winner) |
| 2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (season 10) | Herself | |
| 2019 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 11) | Herself | Guest |
Music videos[]
| Year | Title | Artist(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | "Malibu" (At Home Edition) | Kim Petras | [35] |
| 2020 | "Always" | Waze & Odyssey | [36] |
| 2020 | "Cum" | Brooke Candy ft. Iggy Azalea | [37] |
Internet series[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | M.U.G.[38] | Herself | Guest (with host Naomi Smalls) |
| 2018 | Queens of Kings[39] | Self (in and out of drag) | Subject of one episode |
| 2019 | Portrait of a Queen[40] | Herself | Guest |
| 2019 | Fashion Photo RuView | Herself | Judging Season 11 runway looks (with Raja) |
| 2019 | Drag Queens React[41] | Herself | Episode: "Giving Birth" |
| 2019 | On/Off[42] | Herself | Filmed and assisted by Jordan Stawecki |
| 2020 | Werq The World[43] | Herself | Featured queen |
Awards and nominations[]
| Year | Award Ceremony | Category | Work | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | People's Choice Awards | Competition Contestant | Herself | Nominated | [44] |
| 2020 | Shorty Awards | Best in Fashion | Herself | Won | [45] |
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b "The Unauthorized Rusical". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 10. Episode 8. 2018-05-10. Event occurs at 8:22. VH1. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
My name's Aquaria and my birthday is February 12, 1996.
- ^ Dommu, Rose (2018-04-05). "Aquaria: The Unreal Housewife of New York". Paper. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
- ^ The Editors (June 10, 2019). "The Most Powerful Drag Queens in America: Ranking the new establishment". New York. Archived from the original on June 10, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- ^ a b "West Chester-born drag queen Aquaria makes it to 'RuPaul's Drag Race' finale". Philly.com. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ Katz, Evan Ross (2018-01-16). "It's the age of Aquaria — and we're just along for the ride". Mic.
- ^ a b Cuby, Michael (2018-04-05). "Aquaria Doesn't Need Drag Race To Become a Superstar". them. Retrieved 2018-07-04.
- ^ Lorusso, Billy (2018-02-08). "The 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 10 Cast Will Be A Doozy If These Queens Are In The Running". Bustle. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ "i feel awful for anyone he has hurt. i have also said this a million times already, but i do not support that man and SERIOUSLY do not wish to continue speaking on my experiences beyond being supportive towards the victim. if i had a problem, yall know i wouldnt be shy to say so". Aquaria - Twitter. Retrieved 2021-10-01.
- ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' queens share their beauty secrets". New York Post. 2018-06-02. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ "Yes. It's me… Susanne Bartsch - Vogue.it" (in Italian). Retrieved 2018-07-04.
- ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race': 5 Memorable Moments From Season 10 Finale". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ Baggs, Michael (2018-06-25). "Drag Race: Who should win season 10?". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ "30 Viacom Shows and Movies Up for People's Choice Awards: Vote Through October 19". Viacom Corporate. 2018-09-26. Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
- ^ "Aquaria on Instagram: "