Anetra is the stage name of Isaiah Padua, an American

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

who was runner-up on the 15th season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

''.

Career

Anetra was cast for and competed in the fifteenth season of ''

''. She won three challenges and placed in the final two, finishing as runner-up to

Sasha Colby Sasha Kekauoha (born July 26, 1985), known professionally as Sasha Colby, is an American drag performer and beauty pageant competitor. She is slated to compete on the upcoming fifteenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. She is the "drag mother" of ...

. One of the challenges Anetra won was the

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

(episode " One Night Only, Part 2"). Her performance included " duck-walking,

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

moves, and a fierce original song", according to Pride.com's Bernardo Sim. The song was the first Anetra ever recorded, which she created after taking an

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

. Anetra's performance became "the most-viewed cross-platform scene ever published to ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' social media accounts with over 13.1 million views across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube Shorts, and Twitter". This performance also made her the queen with the biggest amount of growth on social media from Season 15, gaining more than 500,000 followers on Instagram while the season was airing. Stephen Daw of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called her performance "iconic", and Charlie Duncan of ''

PinkNews ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in 2005. It closely follows political progress on LGBT rights aro ...

'' said the song's phrase "walk that fucking duck" is "set to be the catchphrase that will define season 15". Sam Damshenas of ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

'' wrote, "Anetra's martial arts lip-sync extravaganza has been hailed as one of the best talent show performances in ''Drag Race'' herstory." ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...

''s Michelle Konopka Alonzo included Anetra in a list of 15 "queens who made amazing first impressions" on ''Drag Race'' and said she "quickly became a fan favorite and internet sensation after the premiere".

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After col ...

shared a video of herself lip-syncing to the song. Anetra also won the

Rusical A Rusical (portmanteau of "RuPaul" and "musical") is a musical production on the television series ''RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, ...

challenge on episode 12, in which she portrayed Mama Bacon in " Wigloose: The Rusical!", as well as

episode 13 An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...

makeover A makeover is a radical change in appearance. When the word is used to describe a change in human physical appearance, it may imply a change in clothing, haircut, or cosmetics. A personal makeover might also include weight loss, plastic surgery, ...

challenge. In the lip-sync marathon episode, Anetra competed against Sasha Colby to

Fifth Harmony Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, was an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and previously Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group signe ...

's "

I'm in Love with a Monster "I'm in Love with a Monster" is a song recorded by American girl group Fifth Harmony for the 2015 computer animated fantasy-comedy film, ''Hotel Transylvania 2''. It was written by Harmony Samuels, Carmen Reece, Sarah Mancuso, Edgar Etienne and E ...

", against Jax and

Luxx Noir London Luxx Noir London (born September 5, 1999) is an American drag performer, singer and songwriter most known for competing on the fifteenth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race.'' Early life and education Luxx Noir London was raised in East Orange, N ...

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

" The Right Stuff", and against Jax to "

Finally Finally may refer to: Albums * ''Finally'' (Namie Amuro album) (2017) * ''Finally'' (Blackstreet album) or its title song * ''Finally'' (Sean Ensign album) or its title song "It's My Life (Finally)" * ''Finally'' (Layzie Bone & A.K. album) ...

" by

CeCe Peniston Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song "Finally" rea ...

. In

episode 11 An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning th ...

, Anetra placed in the bottom two and had to lip sync against Marcia Marcia Marcia to "

Boss Bitch "Boss Bitch" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat, featured on the ''Birds of Prey'' soundtrack '' Birds of Prey: The Album'' (2020). It was released as the soundtrack's third single on January 23, 2020. The song was written by Doja ...

" by

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

. The battle became season 15's first to reach one million views on YouTube. Coleman Spilde of ''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'' said "we'll always remember where we were" in describing Anetra's "running jump-and-dive into a somersault" over Marcia Marcia Marcia. In June 2023, Anetra was awarded the

key to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Las Vegas, and June 22 was subsequently pronounced "Anetra Day" in the city.

Personal life

Anetra is based in Las Vegas, Nevada and has a Filipino, German, Japanese, and Puerto Rican background. She attended

Desert Oasis High School Desert Oasis High School is a public high school located in Enterprise, in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States. Opened in August 2008, the school is a part of the Clark County School District and was the first new public school to be opened i ...

. She is a former competitive Judo fighter, training from the age of 7. She has stated that taekwondo helped her embrace and find strength in her Asian heritage. A week after Anetra's mother discovered her drag, she was kicked out of her home, abruptly estranging her from her siblings. Anetra's father accepted her and took her in. She and her father bonded while watching ''Drag Race'' during

COVID-19 lockdowns Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...

, and were especially fond of

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

queen

Rock M. Sakura Bryan Steven Bradford, better known by the stage name Rock M. Sakura, is an American drag performer most known for competing on the twelfth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race''. Early life and education Bradford is Filipino and Vietnamese. They wer ...

Discography

As a featured artist

Filmography

Television

Web series

Music videos

References

{{RuPaul's Drag Race Living people 21st-century American LGBT people American drag queens American people of Filipino descent American people of German descent American people of Japanese descent American people of Puerto Rican descent RuPaul's Drag Race contestants LGBT people from Nevada Drag performers from Las Vegas Year of birth missing (living people)