Canadian Drag icon Priyanka, sat down for Narcity's qNa series to spill the tea on Canada's Drag Race, her new album, and what it's like being an icon.
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MTL Blog - Montreal’s largest online network, created by and catering to a new generation of Montrealers.
Website: https://www.mtlblog.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MTLBlog/
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Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/MTLBlog/
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TravelTranscript
00:00 I'm a goddess. Look at my face now.
00:02 Like, this is beauty. This is grace.
00:05 This is Miss United.
00:06 No, I'm Canadian. I'm from Ontario.
00:08 Hello, my name is Priyanka.
00:16 I am a drag superstar, pop star, icon, diva.
00:19 I'm 30 years old and I'm from Toronto, Ontario.
00:23 Hello.
00:24 I started drag about four years ago.
00:25 I had a drag queen perform at my birthday party
00:27 and she was like, "You should start drag.
00:29 You should enter this fun local bar competition
00:30 at Cruis'n Tango's."
00:32 So I did.
00:32 I came fourth place and I looked really bad,
00:35 but look at me now.
00:37 Look at me now, Toronto.
00:38 Look at me now.
00:38 I saw the posting for Canada's Drag Race come up
00:44 and I literally looked at my co-host, Spencer,
00:46 and was like, "My life is about to change."
00:48 When I first went on the show,
00:49 I definitely thought that I was a contender to win.
00:52 But when I got put in the bottom twice
00:54 and gave you two iconic lip syncs, you're welcome,
00:57 I was like, "Maybe I don't have it in the bag."
01:00 I remember the makeover challenge
01:02 and we were sitting there and I was like,
01:05 "I'm next to go home if I don't nail this."
01:06 Elton, my drag daughter, came in and was like,
01:10 "Toronto's rooting for you.
01:11 You're the reason I feel safe in the bars.
01:13 I love you."
01:13 And I was crying and crying and just painting that face.
01:17 If you watch that episode, you realize that I'm not talking
01:20 while we're getting ready because I'm so focused.
01:22 I think that it's okay to fall sometimes
01:25 because that's what really solidifies the crown on your head.
01:28 When I won, I felt nauseous, anxious,
01:33 like I was going to have diarrhea,
01:34 like my life just changed, like I was rich, like I was poor,
01:38 like my boyfriend just dumped me, like I just got married.
01:40 Like all these feelings rushed my body all at once.
01:44 The thing that I was most proud of was the look I won in.
01:48 And when I won, I was very just like to my mom,
01:51 like, "You're such a big part of this.
01:53 Like, you being open and accepting and loving me
01:57 and being here at the finale and understanding the drag
02:00 and opening your mind to it is the reason
02:02 why I feel even more like a winner."
02:03 Being a kids television host is something that's so near
02:07 and dear to my heart because I also didn't think
02:09 that I was going to be a kids TV host.
02:11 I thought I was going to be an entertainment reporter
02:13 on Entertainment Tonight or E! Talk.
02:15 And that's what I was going to do.
02:16 I was going to interview celebrities and that was it.
02:18 But now, lo and behold, I am the celebrity, surprise.
02:20 I find it so inspiring that like kids growing up,
02:24 like they're going to have this guy that they used to watch
02:26 on SpongeBob SquarePants now be the winner
02:29 of Canada's Drag Race.
02:30 And that's normal.
02:30 "Cake" is so important to me because it's the lead single
02:35 off an album that's coming out very soon.
02:37 And I get to really just enjoy my dreams.
02:41 I wanted to create music that sounded like girl group music
02:45 because I wanted like the fans to be in the girl group with me.
02:48 Every single song on my album that's coming out
02:49 is about a boy who broke my heart or made me happy.
02:52 Like it truly is just drama.
02:54 It's so amazing that you can take your traumas
02:56 and turn them into art because now you get cake.
02:58 ♪ Get a piece of this cake ♪
03:00 ♪ Cake ♪
03:01 Being one of the first ever drag queens to shoot at that castle
03:06 was like, you just feel like you're paving the way.
03:08 I had to get funding for the video.
03:10 I got a sponsor for the video
03:11 and we were able to shoot at a castle.
03:13 And I worked with this amazing director, Caroline Torti.
03:15 And I wanted to have my sisters come.
03:17 Like I'm the winner of that season.
03:19 I sent all those girls packing.
03:21 But it doesn't matter because like
03:22 we're all so iconic in our own ways.
03:24 Like all these girls like truly inspired me in a different way.
03:28 And I love sharing the love
03:29 because we all come from the first iconic season
03:32 of "Candace Driveways" and nothing will ever top it.
03:34 Drag isn't a job.
03:37 It truly is a culture.
03:39 And like learn where people have come from.
03:42 Learn about the ballroom culture.
03:43 Learn who's the top, you know, performers.
03:46 Learn from people.
03:46 I was able to walk out of my front door in drag easily.
03:50 No one even bat an eye.
03:50 But there are some drag performers that did it
03:52 and it wasn't so easy for them.
03:54 And just do it and ask questions and get excited
03:57 and know that like drag could change your life.
03:58 And know that like, if you're not seeing yourself yet
04:01 in the media, know that like
04:03 you could be the first person to do that.
04:05 Like it doesn't have to be such a negative thing.
04:08 I was driving on the Gardner
04:09 and I saw myself on a billboard.
04:10 Little old brown boy from Whitby who now is a drag queen.
04:14 Former kids TV host on a Gardner.
04:16 Just surfing.
04:17 What I want people to know is that like
04:18 if you feel like you're not represented,
04:20 like you are the representation
04:21 and we have to just keep working hard to make the strides
04:24 to make sure that we're seen everywhere.
04:26 I'm a champion of our community in whatever way
04:28 that means us to be all accepted.
04:30 If you want to find me, head over to my Instagram
04:33 @thequeenpriyanka
04:34 or you can hear my brand new single
04:36 "Cake" at thequeenpriyanka.com
04:38 Stream it, listen to it and watch the music video
04:41 to find out who killed Priyanka.
04:43 Happy Pride, everybody.
04:45 And don't forget, you could work so hard
04:46 to make your dreams come true.
04:48 (upbeat music)
04:50 (upbeat music)
04:53 (upbeat music)
04:56 (whooshing)
04:58 [BLANK_AUDIO]