Adore Delano | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Adore Delano atDragCon 2024 | |
| Born | (1989-09-29)September 29, 1989 (age 36) Glendora, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2009–2022 |
| Genre | Music |
| Subscribers | 519,000 |
| Views | 87 million |
| Last updated: 22 April 2025 | |
| Website | adoredelano |
Adore Delano[1] (formerlyDani Noriega; born September 29, 1989)[2] is an Americandrag queen, singer-songwriter, and television personality. She first appeared as a contestant on theseventh season ofAmerican Idol in 2008 before competing onRuPaul's Drag Raceseason 6 (2014) andRuPaul's Drag Race All Stars season 2 (2016). She has recorded and released three studio albums:Till Death Do Us Party (2014),After Party (2016),Whatever (2017), and one EPDirty Laundry (2021).
Delano was born inGlendora, California on September 29, 1989, to Bonnie Pimentel Noriega.[3][4] She was raised inAzusa, California, where she attended Sierra High School, acontinuation school for at-risk teenagers.[5]
When Delano was cast forAmerican Idol, she had been living as atransgender woman. Shedetransitioned in order to become a contestant.[6] She competed on theseventh season of the show in 2007, and reached the semi-finals. The season was broadcast from January to May 2008. Delano gained a reputation among viewers for her flamboyant personality and sassy rapport with the judges. A comment she directed toward judgeSimon Cowell went viral.
| Stage | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Singer's Choice | "Proud Mary" | Creedence Clearwater Revival | Advanced |
| Hollywood | Singer's Choice | "When I Need You" | Albert Hammond | Advanced |
| Top 24 | The 1960s | "Jailhouse Rock" | Elvis Presley | Safe |
| Top 20 | The 1970s | "Superstar" | Delaney & Bonnie | Safe |
| Top 16 | The 1980s | "Tainted Love" | Gloria Jones | Eliminated |
After watching Delano onIdol,Rosie O'Donnell invited her to perform on her R Family Vacations cruise.[7] Talk show hostEllen DeGeneres invited Delano to be a guest onher show.[8]
FollowingAmerican Idol, Delano became aYouTube personality. On her channel, she performed skits in drag under the names Adore Delano and Angel Baby. In June 2009, she released the music video for the song "24/7," featuring sister Diamonique.[9]
After seeingRuPaul's Drag Race contestantRaven perform at the nightclubMicky's in West Hollywood, Delano was inspired to enter a drag competition at the club, which she won.[10] She began performing as Adore Delano in Southern California.[11] Along with otherRuPaul's Drag Race contestants, she walked the Marco Marco runway forLos Angeles Fashion Week in 2013.[12] In December 2013,Logo TV announced her as one of 14 drag queens who would be competing on thesixth season ofRuPaul's Drag Race.[13] She had previously competed for theseason 5 fan-vote, ultimately losing to Penny Tration. Adore Delano eventually went on to win three challenges and made it to the final three. WithCourtney Act, she finished as runner-up to season winnerBianca Del Rio.
Following the finale ofDrag Race, Adore Delano released the single "DTF" on May 20, 2014, as the lead single from her debut albumTill Death Do Us Party. The album was released on June 3, 2014, charting at number three on the USDance/Electronic Albums chart,[14] 11 on the USIndependent Albums chart,[15] and number fifty-nine on theBillboard 200.[16] She released music videos for the majority of its tracks, including "I Adore U", which peaked at 49 on the USBillboard Dance/Electronic Songs.[17] In November 2014, Adore Delano announced that a second album was in the works with an anticipated 2015 release date.[18]
Adore Delano's albumAfter Party was set for release March 11, 2016.[19] "Dynamite", the first single, was released on February 26, 2016; "Take Me There", the second single, was released on March 10, 2016; and the "I.C.U.", was released on September 1, 2016.[20] Adore was one of 10 contestants on thesecond season ofRuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars.[21] She chose to leave the show in the second episode for personal reasons.Whatever, her third studio album, was released on August 18, 2017.[22]
On April 4, 2017, Delano filed a lawsuit againstProducer Entertainment Group, her former management company, alleging that Delano had earned $2.5 million over the past three years, but only about $300,000 was actually paid.[23] P.E.G. counter-sued in January 2018, alleging Delano owed the company $180,000 in management fees. The suit was dismissed by a judge who awarded no money to either party.[24][25]
In 2019, Adore Delano appeared as a guest for the first challenge in the premiere ofseason 11 ofDrag Race.[26] In June 2019, a panel of judges fromNew York magazine placed her sixth on its list of "the most powerful drag queens in America", a ranking of 100 formerDrag Race contestants.[27] In August, she was featured on the cover ofGay Times.[28] In December 2019, she joined the cast of the fourth season ofEx on the Beach.[29]
Delanocame out asbisexual at age 12, then as gay.[6] In a 2012 interview, she said she is not opposed to dating women.[30] From 2017 to 2023, Delano identified asnon-binary and used any pronouns.[31] Delano said that "gender isn't a real thing … it's just something they came up with to categorize and control people".[32]
Delano came out as transgender in 2023. In an interview withEntertainment Weekly, she explained that afterdetransitioning in order to appear onAmerican Idol, she attempted to mollify her feelings about her gender identity by living as a woman through Adore. In a coming-out video she posted to Instagram on July 26, 2023, she exclaimed that she "could not do it anymore", and revealed that she was transgender. She said that she had been takingestrogen for about three months, and that she had scheduled agender-affirming surgery for the following November.[6]
On December 1, 2024, Delano announced that she was in a relationship with Sasha Allen, who was a contestant onseason 21 of thereality television seriesThe Voice.[33]
She has beensober since 2021.[6]
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Headlining
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| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Adore Delano | Drag Queen of the Year | Won | [35] |
 | Some of this article'slisted sourcesmay not bereliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed.(January 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Year | Title | Director | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Dragged | Christopher Birk | Self | [36][non-primary source needed] | |
| 2015 | TupiniQueens | João Monteiro | Documentary about the drag queen scene in Brazil | [37] |
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | American Idol | [38] | ||
| The Ellen DeGeneres Show | [8] | |||
| 2014 | RuPaul's Drag Race | Season 6 – finalist | [38] | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | companion show toRuPaul's Drag Race | [38] | ||
| 2015 | Chasing Life | |||
| 2016 | RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars | Season 2 – 9th place | ||
| 2018 | Courtney Act's Christmas Extravaganza | Channel 4 Christmas Special | ||
| 2019 | The View | Interviewed withNina West andMonét X Change | [39] 2019 | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | Guest Appearance InRuPaul's Drag Race Season 11 | |||
| Ex on the Beach | Season 4: Peak of Love – contestant | |||
| 2020 | KTLA 5 News | Interviewed with LaDemi |
| Some of this article'slisted sourcesmay not bereliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed.(January 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Let the Music Play | [40] | |
| 2015 | Hey Qween! | Episode: "Adore Delano" | [41] |
| 2018 | Portrait of a Queen | Episode: "Love & Adore" | [42] |
| Bestie$ for Ca$h | Episode: "Adore Delano andChris Crocker" | [43] | |
| 2018–23 | The Pit Stop | Guest; 4 episodes | [44][45][46][47] |
| 2019 | The View: Facebook Live | Episode: "Pride Month 2019" | |
| 2020 | Love for the Arts | Guest judge | [48] |
| 2023 | Sissy That Talk Show with Joseph Shepherd | Podcast; Guest | [49] |
| Title | Year | Artist | Director | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Oh No She Better Don't" | 2014 | RuPaul | Steven Corfe | [50] |
| "Sissy That Walk" | Steven Corfe | [51] | ||
| "Mean Gays" | Courtney Act | Kain O'Keeffe | [52] | |
| "Hieeee" | 2015 | Alaska | Ben Simkins | [53] |
| "The T" | 2016 | [54] | ||
| "You Need to Calm Down" | 2019 | Taylor Swift | Drew Kirsch | [55] |
For 18-year-old Noriega...
