Kiara (born July 28, 1998), also sometimes credited as Kiara Schatzi, is the stage name of Dimitri Nana-Côté, a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

drag entertainer from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

who is most noted as a competitor in the first season of ''

Canada's Drag Race ''Canada's Drag Race'' is a Canadian reality competition television series based on the American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and is the Canadian edition of the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by Blue Ant Studios. In a similar format to th ...

''.

Early life and education

The biracial son of a Black Canadian father and a Québécois mother, Nana-Côté grew up in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, and moved to Montreal to study film at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

. He began performing drag at Cabaret Mado, including as

Mel B Melanie Janine Brown (born 29 May 1975), commonly known as Melanie B or Mel B, is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sc ...

in a regular

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

tribute show,Brendan Kelly
"Montreal's Kiara pumped to be part of Canada's Drag Race drive-in tour"
''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', September 28, 2020. choosing the drag name Kiara in reference to the character Kiara from ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...

''.

Career

Kiara appeared on the first season of ''Canada's Drag Race'', and was eliminated from the competition in the fifth episode after performing a poor impression of

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

in the

Snatch Game Snatch Game is a challenge on the ''Drag Race'' reality competition television franchise. Beginning with the second season of the original American series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', the challenge has taken place on every season since. It has also o ...

challenge; however, her Lip Sync for Your Life performance against

Priyanka ''Priyanka'' is a popular female given name in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. It is a name derived from the Sanskrit word 'Priyankera' or 'Priyankara', meaning someone or something that is amiable, lovable, or makes you happy and the one who has lov ...

, to

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

's cover of "

I Drove All Night "I Drove All Night" is a song written and composed by American songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly and originally intended for Roy Orbison. Orbison recorded the song in 1987, the year before his death, but his version was not released until ...

", was widely labelled as the best lipsync battle of the season and one of the best in the history of the ''Drag Race'' franchise. In a post-elimination interview with the entertainment website ''

PopBuzz Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrys ...

'', Kiara revealed that she had considered impersonating ''Canada's Drag Race'' judge

Stacey McKenzie Stacey McKenzie (born March 27, 1977) is a Jamaican-born Canadian model, runway coach, motivational speaker, and television personality. McKenzie has been a judge on the reality television shows ''America's Next Top Model'', ''Canada's Next Top Mod ...

. On June 24, 2020, after production on ''Canada's Drag Race'' had wrapped but before the series had begun airing, Kiara was the host of Sainte-Jeanne, an LGBTQ-themed

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (french: Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la Saint-Jean, Fête nationale du Québec), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec and by Fren ...

celebration coordinated by singer-songwriter

Safia Nolin Safia Nolin is a French Canadian folk-pop singer-songwriter from Quebec City, Quebec.Gabrielle Tremblay Gabrielle Tremblay (born July 27, 1990 in La Malbaie, Quebec) is a Canadians, Canadian actress and writer, who received a Canadian Screen Award nomination as Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actress at the 5th Can ...

, songwriter and producer Annie Sama (Apigeon), rapper

Backxwash Ashanti Mutinta, known professionally as Backxwash, is a Zambian-Canadian rapper and producer based in Montreal, Quebec. She is most noted for her 2020 album ''God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It'', which won the 2020 Polaris Music ...

and drag queens Matante Alex and

Gisèle Lullaby Gisèle Lullaby is the stage name of Simon Gosselin (born August 8, 1988), a French Canadian drag performer most known for winning the third season of ''Canada's Drag Race''. Career Originally from Boucherville, Quebec, Gosselin began as a ...

. For the special online edition of

Fierté Montréal Fierté Montréal, also called Montreal Pride, is an annual LGBT pride festival in Montreal, Quebec. The event was founded in 2007 at the initiative of Montreal’s LGBTQ+ communities after the city's prior Pride festival, Divers/Cité, reposit ...

's Drag Superstars show, which saw all of the queens from ''Canada's Drag Race'' appearing in prerecorded video performances, Kiara performed to

Marie-Mai Marie-Mai (born Marie-Mai Bouchard on July 7, 1984, in Varennes, Quebec) is a Canadian singer from Quebec. She was initially known as one of the finalists of the first season of the Quebec reality show '' Star Académie''. Background Marie-M ...

's single "Qui prendra ma place" in a video which climaxed with her dancing in front of the

Montreal Biosphere The Biosphere (french: La Biosphère), also known as the Montreal Biosphere (french: La Biosphère de Montréal), is a museum dedicated to the environment in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is housed in the former United States pavilion constructed ...

. Following the conclusion of the season, Kiara participated in the national Canada's Drag Race Live at the Drive-In tour. In October 2020, Kiara appeared in the video for Cœur de pirate's single "T'es belle". In the same month, Kiara released her first single as a vocalist, a bilingual collaboration with Matante Alex and Marc-André Sauvageau titled "Straight to Your Heart" in English and "Droit sur ton cœur" in French.Jonathan Currinn
"DISCOVER: Last Week Saw Canada’s Drag Race Star Kiara Drop Debut Single In Collaboration With Matante Alex Titled “Straight To Your Heart” & “Droit sur ton coeur”"
''CelebMix'', October 1, 2020. Kiara also had a small acting role in "The Son", an LGBT-themed episode of the 2020 television anthology series '' Little America''.

Filmography

Television

* ''

'' (

season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguati ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiara Living people Black Canadian LGBT people 21st-century Black Canadian male singers Canada's Drag Race contestants Canadian drag queens Canadian pop singers Concordia University alumni French Quebecers LGBT singers from Canada Singers from Montreal Musicians from Quebec City 1998 births