RuPaul's Drag Race (season 3)

The third season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' began airing on January 24, 2011, and ended its run on May 2 of the same year. Thirteen drag queens competed for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar", a headlining spot on the Absolut Tour, a lifetime supply of Kryolan makeup, and a cash prize of $75,000.

This season had Michelle Visage replacing Merle Ginsberg at the judge's table and Billy Brasfield (better known as Billy B), Mike Ruiz, and Jeffrey Moran filling in for Santino Rice's absence during several episodes. Billy B, celebrity makeup artist and star of the HGTV mini-series ''Hometown Renovation'', appeared as a judge in five episodes. Whereas Mike Ruiz only judged for two episodes, and Jeffrey Moran for one, Moran only appeared for promotional reasons. Due to Billy B's continued appearances, he and Rice are now considered to have been alternate judges for the same seat at the judges table, both appearing side-by-side in the reunion special to announce Yara Sofia as the season's Miss Congeniality.

Other changes made included the introduction of a wildcard contestant from the past season, Shangela; an episode with no elimination; and a contestant, Carmen Carrera, being brought back into the competition after having been eliminated a few episodes prior. A new pit crew was also introduced consisting of Jason Carter and Shawn Morales.

The theme song playing during the runway every episode was changed to "Champion" while the song playing during the credits is "Main Event", both from RuPaul's album ''Champion''. As with the previous season, each week's episode was followed by a behind-the-scenes show, '' RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked''. On December 6, 2011, Amazon.com released this season on DVD via their CreateSpace program.

The winner of the third season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' was Raja, with Manila Luzon being the runner-up.

Contestants

''Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.''

Notes:

Future ''Drag Race'' appearances

* In 2012 Alexis Mateo, Manila Luzon, Mimi Imfurst, and Yara Sofia competed on ''RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'' season 1.
* In 2018 Shangela competed on ''All Stars'' season 3; later in 2018 Manila Luzon competed on ''All Stars'' season 4.
* In 2020 Alexis Mateo, India Ferrah, and Mariah competed on ''All Stars'' season 5.
* In 2021 Yara Sofia competed on ''All Stars'' season 6.
* In 2022 Raja competed on ''All Stars'' season 7, the first all winners season of the franchise.
* In 2024 Alexis Mateo competed on ''Canada's Drag Race: Canada vs. the World'' season 2.
* In 2025 Phoenix competed on ''All Stars'' season 10.

Contestant progress

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order:

*Bruce Vilanch, comedy writer, songwriter, and actor
*Mike Ruiz, photographer, director, and reality television personality
*Vanessa Williams, actress, singer, and former Miss America
*Lily Tomlin, actress and comedian
*Alessandra Torresani, actress
*La Toya Jackson, singer
* Susan Powter, motivational speaker and fitness guru
*Chloë Sevigny, actress and model
*Debbie Matenopoulos, television host
*Aisha Tyler, comedian and actress
*Amber Rose, model
*Eliza Dushku, actress
*Sara Rue, actress
*Rita Rudner, comedian
* Arden Myrin, comedian
*Cheryl Tiegs, model
*Johnny Weir, professional figure skater
*Jeffrey Moran, Absolut Vodka marketing/branding executive
*Jody Watley, R&B/pop singer
*Carmen Electra, actress
*Wayne Brady, actor, comedian, and singer
*Fantasia Barrino, singer, actress, and author
*Margaret Cho, actress and comedian
*Sharon Osbourne, television host and reality television personality
* Gigi Levangie, novelist and host of Logo's '' The Arrangement''

Episodes

Ratings

¹Based upon point/share system for Nielsen ratings. The first number represents the percentage of households within the population viewing the program (known as points). The second number (known as shares) is how many households were expected to view the program, within the population. For example, Episode 8 has a point/share of "0.3/1". This means .3% of households viewed the program from the expected 1%, showing .7% of the show's audience were watching a different program.

Controversy

Raja's win leaked

Before the season even started airing, blogger Perez Hilton revealed Raja as the winner to the public, causing an uproar from fans. It also led to the show's crowning format being changed, with the finale taped with several different winning outcomes. The true outcome would then be announced during the broadcast of the finale in an attempt to conceal the winner's identity and prevent any spoilers from taking place. This took place from the following season-onwards.

References

External links

* (U.S.)
* (Canada)

Official Facebook page

{{RuPaul's Drag Race

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2011 LGBTQ-related television
Internet leaks
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