How Angeria’s YouTube Show Extends Her ‘Drag Race’ Legacy

A Smart Pivot After ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – AUGUST 09: Angeria Paris VanMicheals performs onstage for RuPaul’s Drag Race Werq The World Tour at Ryman Auditorium on August 09, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images)

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Angeria Paris VanMicheals, the winner of the 9th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, recently announced her new YouTube show, Angie’s Drag Corner. Known by fans simply as “Angeria,” she is the latest drag queen from RuPaul’s Drag Race to create a space where she can expand her reach beyond lip syncs and live tours.

For queens like Angeria, reaction content for shows like Drag Race might seem like a simple passion project, but it also serves as a smart business move. When reviewing a reality competition show like Drag Race, it’s challenging to create content that truly stands out in an already crowded review space. Still, Angeria is in a unique position as a Drag Race alumna who has competed in multiple seasons and won the prestigious crown on her second attempt. Anyone can review a reality TV competition, but Angeria offers a rare perspective as someone who has managed to win. Her thoughts and opinions from that point of view are uncommon, and she uses her title’s prestige to turn her experience into a new business opportunity.

Many queens from Drag Race have spoken about how, after their respective runs on the show, they didn’t gain the fame or business opportunities they expected just from being on the show. Compared to queens who competed in earlier seasons, newer queens find it harder to stand out from past contestants who have already established certain archetypes in the eyes of fans. Fans have already seen queens who can lip sync for their lives, queens who create stunning looks, and queens who perform well. Now, fans want to see queens who can do all that and showcase what makes them unique. That uniqueness is what makes Angeria stand out—not only as a winner or a strong performer, but also as a cultural commentator with a distinctive voice and the personality and authority to support it.

Success in Drag Race Commentary

Drag Race commentary isn’t a new field. Other contestants from the show have their own successful projects as examples. For instance, Race Chaser, hosted by Alaska Thunderf*ck, the winner of All Stars 2, and Willam, who competed in the 4th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, have helped set the standard for post-Drag Race commentary. Providing entertaining insights and an insider’s perspective from queens who were on the show before it moved to VH1 and later MTV, Race Chaser reminds fans, both old and new, that authenticity is highly valued.

Roscoe’s Tavern, also known as “Roscoe’s,” by fans, in Chicago, for example, hosts a live viewing party for Drag Race episodes. It has grown from a casual spot for queens to connect with fans into a must-watch staple within the Drag Race community. Batty Davis and Drag Race alumna Naysha Lopez built something that fosters community, provides entertainment, and guarantees views by bringing queens from current airing seasons to share inside scoops about what really happened on each episode, which keeps fans coming back for more. Like Race Chasers, it also demonstrates that authenticity remains a key currency in the world of reality TV.

Angeria is a Perfect Fit

With her charm, polish from her years in the Atlanta pageant scene, quick wit, and heartfelt moments that shine through episode after episode, fans already trust her perspective. Her daily posts on X about her thoughts on Drag Race and its many international spin-offs make curating a YouTube channel a perfect match, as YouTube offers a straightforward way to showcase authenticity along with charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to an audience already aware of her abilities.

For Angeria, winning All Stars was only the beginning. Now, she has the opportunity to move into an entirely new space, alongside queens who have already shown that money can be made from popularity. In a franchise that gives its contestants built-in fanbases, it’s up to the queens to elevate that new platform to new heights to give fans a continuation of the person they fell in love with. Angeria Paris VanMichaels already has a crown; if any queen is up to the task, she’s more than capable.