‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Onya Nurve & Jewels Sparkles On Their Drag Start, Cultural Inspirations & The Key To A Great Lip Sync

After 17 seasons, you would think a reality series would either lose some of their fanbase or settle into a formulaic structure… and the 10 Emmy nominations this year for RuPaul’s Drag Race tells you that the MTV series is not going to settle into anything. Season 17 winner Onya Nurve and runner-up Jewels Sparkles both started watching Drag Race at different points in their lives, though it served as an entry point into the world of drag for both queens. Their journeys may have started differently, but both queens rose to the challenges and gave it their all in every performance – whether that be the Snatch Game, a Lip Sync for Your Life, or an incredible finale.

DEADLINE: What was your entry point into to RuPaul’s Drag Race?

JEWELS SPARKLES: I remember I was in Puerto Rico at the time with my cousin – she’s the cousin that you get down with. She let me play with her dolls and she let me play with her clothes and she was like that cousin for me. I think I was 16 and she was obsessed with Drag Race and she was telling me about it all week. She goes, “finale’s this week, you need to watch it.” And I was like, “girl, I’m not into that. I have no interest in watching that.” And she was like, “no, no, no, no, you need to watch.” She was trying to tell me something telepathically and I was not into it. I was like, “girl, I’m not watching this gay stuff. I’m not into it.” And she was like, “okay, well I’m going to put it on and you’re just going to have to sit there because it’s coming on at eight o’clock.”

I remember she put it on and I felt like this anxiety. She just clocked my shit. That’s me. Everything just made sense. I remember feeling this feeling inside where everything that I was insecure about, everything that I had hated about myself, these people on TV were being celebrated for and they were getting paid for it and they had careers out of it and they were all so beautiful. And I was like, everything just makes sense now. That’s what I’m supposed to do. And yeah, here I am a few years later.

ONYA NURVE: I’m 32 now, I first started watching RuPaul’s Drag Race when I was 27, so really late in life. I just really honestly started watching the show and was obsessed with everything about it. I ended up dating someone at the time who was doing drag, and I went to their first show and that’s how I first started getting into it. And the rest is herstory girl. I just literally started doing it and I didn’t stop. I got into a drag competition and it’s just been a part of my life for the past four years now.

DEADLINE: What are some of the inspirations for your drag? I know you’ve talked about bringing cultural influences into drag, do you have any specific inspirations?

NURVE: Well, definitely my culture. Our cultures are deeply embedded inside of drag and outside of drag, it’s just who we are thoroughly. So, it’s really refreshing to see us both bring our cultures to the table when it comes to our drag. For me, also, theater is a big aspect of my drag. When I perform, I think about performances that I’ve seen on stages and I see myself in a theatrical element. I love to bring the drama and the theatrics and my black culture to my drag for sure.

SPARKLES: I mean, going back to what I was just saying, as a kid, I was always so fascinated with feminine things and girl toys, dolls, dress up stuff… anything that was hyper-feminine, I just gravitated towards. When I’m thinking of drag looks and stuff, my mind always tends to go to things that my younger self would love and appreciate. Anything pink, really hyper-feminine, but also a little bit more of a mature version of that. Also, bringing my Latina culture is really important for me too because when I was watching the show growing up, the Latina queens, the queens who were so unapologetically like, ‘yes, I am Latina, it’s just who I am.’ They were so inspiring to me and I saw my look in them.

DEADLINE: I definitely see the theater influence and your performative aspect as soon you get on that stage, even just on the runway. The first thing that comes to mind is that lip sync battle between the two of you where you punted that wig…

SPARKLES: We were fighting, were fighting for our lives. Our lives. Absolutely. What goes through your head when you’re in that kind of scenario and the other person does something where you’re like, ‘oh shit, she has just revealed a new look.’ Did you know I did that?

NURVE: No, that’s the thing though. I did not know she did that, and you cannot think about those things when you’re lip syncing for your life. You have to first be proud of yourself. Regardless of if I’m in the bottom, I did the best that I can. And since you’re in the bottom, you have to be like, ‘I’m going to fight for my life, do the best that I can and not worry about what the other girl is doing.’ Because if you’re worrying about what the other girl is doing, you’re not worrying about yourself. So, what’s going through my head is, do the best you can and try to get them to pay attention to you. I never have tricks or gags, so punting the wig was the next best thing.

SPARKLES: I didn’t even know you did that until we finished. It was just one of those moments that was so out there. Just surprising.

It’s like a fight for their attention, but it’s one of the scariest feelings when your dream is to be there close to the end and it could all be taken away from you depending on what happens in those three minutes. So, something that made me not freak out so much over it was thinking about the after effect of the lip sync. If this is my last chance to be on TV and I’m going to perform, let me do something that people will want to see in person. Let me really give my last show bit all of Jewels Sparkles. This might be my last time, this might be my last opportunity to show what I can do on TV. And thank God it wasn’t my last chance. I think that mentality makes you want to go further and push harder.

DEADLINE: What were some of the challenges you found the most interesting?

NURVE: I feel like the most fun one, and the one that everyone knows is going to happen, for me at least, is Snatch Game. I feel like that was the most fun day that I’ve ever had on the show.

SPARKLES: I agree, Snatch Game was so fun for me, I was having a ball. I think something really helpful that someone told me right before going on was no one’s going to laugh. No one’s going to laugh in that room, it’s going to be dead silence. So, convince yourself you’re doing a good job, that way you keep the ball rolling because if you start to think I’m not getting any laughs, you’re going to sink fast. So, I was convincing myself I was the funniest one in the room. I was like, I’m the fiercest. I’m the most hilarious bitch. But I had a good time. I mean, it was just so unserious.

NURVE: I feel like Snatch Game for everyone is what we know is going to happen and is what we fear the most. But it honestly is really freaking fun if you can allow yourself to have fun.

DEADLINE: Every year it seems like Snatch Game is the one that queens are either really exicted for or dreading.

SPARKLES: Definitely separates the queens for sure. It’s not just a celebrity impersonation challenge, it really is all about how fast you are, how funny you are, and it’s like a dive into your brain. I feel like that’s how Snatch Game is so much more than an impersonation challenge. I feel like RuPaul sees us as humans and as entertainers through that. He’s like, ‘how fast can you come up with a joke because you have no time.’ He’ll literally ask the question and then he’ll let us have a few seconds to write something down and then he’ll go down the line, pencils down, it’s quick. So, it really is the battle.

DEADLINE: Going into that finale, what was going through your heads before your performances?

SPARKLES: I think we both just wanted to have fun.

NURVE: Yeah, I think that at the point of getting to the finale, you’ve kind of already won in a sense. 14 other girls didn’t make it, so you have to be proud of yourself and use the moment as much as you can to have fun because that’s the last episode that they’re going to see and remember you for. Regardless of what happens, you want to be remembered in a positive light. I feel like for me and for Jewels too, it was just to have fun.

SPARKLES: Not every queen gets the opportunity to have a 15-minute dedication on the show where you get to do your interview, you get to do your performance, you get to do a runway… The episode is very dedicated to equal time for all four of us, and I took that time to push my brand into people’s brains. What I wanted people to remember, Jewels Sparkles, the vision, the identity of this character. I was like, this is it, who I am. This is it.

DEADLINE: Coming off of Drag Racewhat has the experience been after the finale for both of you?

NURVE: It’s been nonstop. Just a lot of traveling, a lot of performing, and it’s nothing like how my life was before this. Every day I’m learning something new about myself, about the world and it’s exciting.

SPARKLES: Yeah, it’s super exciting. I mean, I’ve been so blessed from the finale to have been receiving so many opportunities and experiences and getting to travel the world and meet queens from everywhere and see people who have been affected by my story and my journey on the show. It’s just the coolest thing ever. We have this year to be like rock stars – we get to travel the world, see every city, and even countries being able to perform. It’s just so surreal. If you would’ve told me five years ago as a baby queen, just doing a talent night, that bitch one day you’re going to be headlining a South American tour, you’re going to headline a tour in Australia, you’re going to headline a tour in… Oh my God, I would believe you, but I would be like, ‘okay, this is fierce.’ It’s just crazy.

DEADLINE: It sounds like it’s just a roller coaster.

SPARKLES: It is. And it’s fast. I’m learning that taking it in and appreciating the moment comes with being present in the moment and that’s something I’m trying to remind myself to do every time. It can get easy to be like, ‘oh girl, another show? I’m tired girl.’ But then I’m like, you’ve always wanted this. Bitch, get your shit together and go have fun and talk to the community and the queens and enjoy. Look at the audience in the eyes and remember why you’re on stage and why they’re here to support you.