| Christmas Queens 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by various artists | ||||
| Released | November 11, 2016 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 58:54 | |||
| Label | Producer Entertainment Group | |||
| Various artists chronology | ||||
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Christmas Queens 2 is aholiday compilation album by various artists. It was released byProducer Entertainment Group on November 11, 2016. Consisting of 30 tracks, the album is a sequel toChristmas Queens (2015) and featuresRuPaul's Drag Race contestants alongsideJackie Beat,Michelle Visage, andCarnie Wilson performing mostly original material; exceptions include ensemblecovers of "Deck the Halls" and "Auld Lang Syne, as well as Visage's rendition of "O Holy Night". The compilation was promoted by amusic video for "Working Holiday", which featuresAlaska Thunderfuck andManila Luzon, a web series entitledChristmas Queens, and a tour by various artists with December 2016 shows in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. It received mixed reviews frommusic critics and peaked at number two onBillboard'sComedy Albums chart.
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Christmas Queens 2 is a 30-track compilation album that features various artists;[1] these include a number ofRuPaul's Drag Race contestants who perform collectively as the "Christmas Queens" as well asJackie Beat,Michelle Visage, andCarnie Wilson. The album consists mostly of originalparody material,[2] "tailored to the personalities and styles of the various queens", according to Sean Maunier ofMetro Weekly.[3] It also contains two ensemblecovers: one of theChristmas carol "Deck the Halls" and one of "Auld Lang Syne",Robert Burns' 1788 poem set to the tune of atraditional folk song. Also featured is Visage's rendition of "O Holy Night", a Christmas carol composed byAdolphe Adam in 1847 from the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" ("Midnight, Christians") byPlacide Cappeau.[3]
Alaska Thunderfuck, known mononymously as Alaska, performs "Chr!$Tm@$ $Ux".Jinkx Monsoon's "Passive Aggressive Christmas" features Major Scales.Katya performs "Merry Christmas, It's Whateva" as heralter ego, Trish.[4]Jiggly Caliente's "Xmas Hams" featuresGinger Minj.Phi Phi O'Hara performs "Fireside". Ginger Minj's "Down Home Country Christmas" features Wilson.[5]
BenDeLaCreme's "The Nativity Twist" is followed by Jackie Beat and Katya's "Bossa Nova Christmas in Outer Space" onChristmas Queens 2.Detox's "Homemade for the Holidays" precedesSharon Needles' "Snow Machine", which was described byBillboard's Joe Lynch as a "tribute to the coke-fueleddisco days ofStudio 54".[2] "Working Holiday" is performed byManila Luzon and Alaska. Visage's "O Holy Night", which featuresThorgy Thor onviolin, is followed byIvy Winters performing "Elfy Winters Night". Interludes are spread throughout the album, which runs for approximately one hour and ends with "Auld Lang Syne".[5]
Christmas Queens 2 was released byProducer Entertainment Group on November 11, 2016.[1][6] It is the second compilation in theChristmas Queens series, followingChristmas Queens (2015) and precedingChristmas Queens 3 (2017).[7][8]
Themusic video for "Working Holiday" debuted throughBillboard on November 25, 2016. According to Lynch, a "drag queen Christmas tale unfolds" as Alaska plays a "disgruntled"elf from theSouth Pole who "grumbles about Santa's less-than-generous overtime policy" and Manila Luzon portrays "one ofSanta's most exuberant" elves from theNorth Pole who "gushes about making families happy".[4]Out's Glenn Garner said of the video, "Alaska appears to be channeling someDivine with thathoarse voice and someWicked Witch of the West with that nose. She also serves someGrinch over having to work during the holidays."[9] A web series, titledChristmas Queens, was announced in early November 2016; the first episode hadmaking-of footage with Alaska and "Chr!$Tm@$ $Ux" co-writer Ashley Levy.[10]
Alaska,[11] Detox, Ginger Minj, Jiggly Caliente, Katya, Manila Luzon, Sharon Needles, Thorgy Thor, and Visage performed on the album's holiday-themed tour called Christmas Queens, which was also hosted by Visage.[1] The tour started in the United Kingdom, with performances atGlasgow'sO2 Academy, theManchester Academy inManchester,East London's Troxy Theater,Birmingham's O2 Institute, andCardiff'sTramshed from December 3–8, 2016.[10] Shows for the tour were later held in Canada and the United States at Toronto'sDanforth Music Hall; New York City'sPlayStation Theater;[2] Ironwood Hall inAustin, Texas; Chicago'sVic Theatre; andThe Novo in Los Angeles from December 10–17.[10][11][12]
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The New York show featured four "impressive, stylistically fluid" dancers according to Lynch, who also analyzed Sharon Needles' performances of "Snow Machine" and "Jingle Bells" from the originalChristmas Queens compilation, opining, "Needles turned the merry classic into a hellacious heathen rallying cry that would haveMs. Claus clutching her pearls in horror andJohnny Rotten clapping."[2] Ginger Minj and Manila Luzon competed in alip sync battle toMariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (1994), during which both stripped down to their "seasonalskivvies". Lynch said, "Minj won based on the audience applause, but by our reckoning, it was an equally matched Mariah lip sync that we'd happily watch over and over alongsideA Charlie Brown Christmas."[2] He also complimented Detox's outfits, which included a redsequined dress that he said "floated effortlessly like one of those dancing flowers inFantasia" andassless chaps which he called "pure XXXmas delight".[2]
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Katya performed "Merry Christmas, It's Whateva" as her "trashy" alter ego Trish (described as "a recovering drug addict who still smokespot") as well as her "hysterical, marathon" rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas".[2] Lynch called her New York performance "perfect".[4] He also praised Visage for her "joke-free" rendition of "O Holy Night" and her "inspiring words about the need for theLGBT community to spread love and kindness as we move intoTrump's America". He wrote that "she absolutely stunned the crowd with the purity of her voice—no small feat, given that this was an audience otherwise primed forkitschy outfits anddick jokes. Adding a layer of seasonal sweetness was Thorgy Thor backing Michelle on violin, keeping the music elegant andminimal while her voice soared."[4]
Jinkx Monsoon performed her songs from the first twoChristmas Queens albums forJinkx Monsoon and Major Scales: Unwrapped, which played at London'sSoho Theatre during November and December 2016.[13] Alaska, Ginger Minj, Phi Phi O'Hara, Sharon Needles, andWillam performed at A Royal Holiday, an event in Los Angeles that was also streamed online and raised funds for theHuman Rights Campaign.[6]
Lynch wrote ofChristmas Queens 2, "Of all the songs on an album of dirty, joke-laden seasonal offerings, [Visage's] might be the most shocking: It's a (gasp) reverent rendition of a religious Christmas classic."[14] In his list of the "hottest (and coldest) holiday albums of 2016",Entertainment Weekly's Eric Renner Brown gave a B rating to the compilation, which he said is "as wild and packed with hilarity as its 2015 predecessor". Brown wrote, "The beats don't always work out—cuts like Jiggly Caliente's 'Xmas Hams' and Alaska Thunderf—'s 'Chr!$Tm@$ $Ux' have little replay value—but side-splitting skits andsynth jams like Sharon Needles' 'Snow Machine' redeem the set."[15]
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Maunier called the compilation "an hour-long celebration of camped up holiday cheer" and a "sprawling, indulgent, and incredibly campyode" toDrag Race, with many references to the show's "iconic" moments andin-jokes.[3] He opined, "WhileDrag Race alumni have become somewhat infamous for putting out albums that might have been better off not seeing the light of day,Christmas Queens 2 reminds us that when a group of talented queens comes together with veteran producers (andWorld of Wonder's budget), the results can be magical... It's enough to be exhausting, but might also be exactly what's needed to get us through the off-season."[3]
Renowned for Sound's Michael Smith called the album "much less exciting than the first volume despite its increased scope", noting that some songs "feel awkward rather than creative". He found a number of the interludes "entertaining" but unnecessary and unsubstantial.[16] Smith complimented tracks by Phi Phi O'Hara and Sharon Needles, and he said that Visage and Thorgy Thor "smash it out of the park with a faithful, powerful" rendition. He thought Jackie Beat and Katya "mixe[d] humour and quality the best, melding with the personalities of both queens perfectly", further stating that their duet stood out from the other carols anddance tracks. He commended Alaska for "capturing the apathy of modern Christmases perfectly while working in her own funny attitude", before summarizing his feelings as follows: "Christmas Queens 2 is an overwrought, overthought package... Die hardDrag Race fans will surely enjoy seeing their favourites come back again, but for the most partChristmas Queens 2 is still a follow-up that loses the spark that made the first one so interesting."[16]
Christmas Queens 2 reached a peak position of number two onBillboard'sComedy Albums chart, matching the debut and peak of its prequel.[6]
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "'Twas the Night (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 2:02 |
| 2. | "Deck the Halls" | Christmas Queens | 1:39 |
| 3. | "Christmas Stories (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 1:30 |
| 4. | "Chr!$Tm@$ $Ux" | Alaska Thunderfuck | 3:04 |
| 5. | "A Hanukkah Moment (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 1:41 |
| 6. | "Passive Aggressive Christmas" (feat. Major Scales) | Jinkx Monsoon | 4:06 |
| 7. | "Katya's Smelly Friend (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:33 |
| 8. | "Merry Christmas, It's Whateva" | Trish | 2:39 |
| 9. | "Hangry Queens (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:37 |
| 10. | "Xmas Hams" (feat. Ginger Minj) | Jiggly Caliente | 2:37 |
| 11. | "Food Coma (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:29 |
| 12. | "Fireside" | Phi Phi O'Hara | 3:07 |
| 13. | "Not-So-Secret Santa (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 1:11 |
| 14. | "Down Home Country Christmas" (feat.Carnie Wilson) | Ginger Minj | 2:59 |
| 15. | "Pandora Boxx's Gingerbread Person (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:50 |
| 16. | "The Nativity Twist" | BenDeLaCreme | 2:23 |
| 17. | "This Party Blows (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:52 |
| 18. | "Bossa Nova Christmas in Outer Space" | Jackie Beat,Katya | 3:01 |
| 19. | "Mother Lovin Rotary Call (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:43 |
| 20. | "Homemade for the Holidays" (feat. Mamatox) | Detox | 3:04 |
| 21. | "Tardy for the Party (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:46 |
| 22. | "Snow Machine" | Sharon Needles | 3:09 |
| 23. | "Darienne Lake vs. Egg Nog (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 3:32 |
| 24. | "Working Holiday" | Manila Luzon, Alaska Thunderfuck | 3:04 |
| 25. | "Blackout Fantasy (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:48 |
| 26. | "O Holy Night" (feat.Thorgy Thor) | Michelle Visage | 3:50 |
| 27. | "Let There Be Light! (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:43 |
| 28. | "Elfy Winters Night" | Ivy Winters | 3:33 |
| 29. | "Miss Fame Serving Santa (Interlude)" | Christmas Queens | 0:48 |
| 30. | "Auld Lang Syne" | Christmas Queens | 1:37 |
| Total length: | 58:54 | ||
Track listing adapted from theApple Store.[5]
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USComedy Albums (Billboard)[6] | 2 |
