Aston Joshua (born 11 February 1993), better known by the stage name Asttina Mandella, is a British

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 of ...

and dancer from East London. She is best known for competing on the second series of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. T ...

'', where she came eleventh on the series.

Career

Mandella has been a drag queen since 2012, but before 2020 she was mostly known for being a dancer. Asttina is trained in

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

voguing Vogue, or voguing, is a highly stylized, modern house dance originating in the late 1980s that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene of the 1960s. It gained mainstream exposure when it was featured in Madonna's song and video "Vogue" (1990) ...

hip-hop dance Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in ...

, waacking and street dance. She has also performed as a

backup dancer A backup dancer also known as background dancer is a performer who dances with or behind the lead performers in a live musical act or in a music video. Their movements (especially where there are many moving together) improve the visual aesthetic ...

alongside prestigious performers such as:

Hercules & Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, d ...

The Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...

, Little Mix and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

. Her drag name derives from a hybrid of her birth name, American singer

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

and former President of South Africa and philanthropist Nelson Mandela. In December 2020, Asttina was announced as one of twelve contestants competing on the second series of ''

'', and placed eleventh overall in the competition. Mandella was the eleventh contestant to enter the ''Werk Room'' and penned the now synonymous catchphrase 'Rude!", and also won the first episode of the series, and performed well in episode two, however shortly after in episode three she placed in the bottom, and was eliminated in a lip sync challenge against contestant Tia Kofi to the song "

Don't Start Now "Don't Start Now" is a song by English-Albanian singer Dua Lipa. Lipa wrote the song with Caroline Ailin, Emily Warren, and its producer Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer), Ian Kirkpatrick. The song was released for digital download and streami ...

" by Dua Lipa. In February 2022 Asttina will embark on ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK: The Official Tour'' alongside the entire cast of the second series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'', in association with World of Wonder and promoter Voss Events. In August 2021, she will be a featured performer in ''Klub Kids London Presents: NOIR: The Tour'', where 25% of the proceeds from the production will be donated to the

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police br ...

movement.

Personal life

Mandella currently resides in East London. She also drew media attention when discussing the representation of Black Queer icons within the United Kingdom, alongside fellow contestant Tayce, as it was a conversation that "opened up to so many people" according to '' Digital Spy''.

Filmography

Television

Music videos

Discography

As featured artist

Stage

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mandella, Asttina 1994 births Living people 21st-century British LGBT people English drag queens Gay entertainers LGBT Black British people RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestants