Last year Blair St. Clair’s debut dance pop album Call My Life reached the number one spot on iTunes Dance and Billboard Dance & Electronic charts. She is also a former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant, providing one of season ten’s most poignant moments by revealing her first sexual experience was as a victim of a college party rape. “From that,” she told the judges, “I’ve looked to find pretty things.” Today, she brings her message of self-love, acceptance and overcoming adversity as she lights up stages around the world. Here she talks confrontation, marriage and her upcoming appearance at DragWorld UK.
With the skillset you have, did you go into Drag Race with an idea of what sort of challenges you’d cope well with and which ones would be more tasking?
Watching the show you think you could do something really well, and then doing it in person is different. I thought I would do really well if there was a singing challenge, a scripted acting challenge, a ‘Rusical’ challenge – it definitely threw me when I got there because nothing was as it seemed while watching on TV.
You gave us a very moving moment of your season. If you could go back with hindsight, would you still disclose the horrible thing that happened to you?
I don’t know – it wasn’t planned, it just happened. The judges knew something was going on with me, they could see I was upset, and were trying to understand why my aesthetic at that time was so prim, proper and sweet, and it’s because I was subconsciously trying to overcompensate for my sexuality. But without having done that, I don’t think I would be as strong as I am today. I’ve really been able to get myself free, go to therapy, talk about that experience and grow from it. So I don’t know if I would go back and do the same thing – I don’t know what would happen in that situation – but I know I’m very grateful for what has happened since.
The season wasn’t without its arguments – are you one for confrontation?
When we were filming season ten, it was over a year and a half ago. At that point in my life I was much meeker, more reserved, and I really avoided confrontation. Today, if I was to do the experience again, I don’t think I would necessarily be more confrontational, but if I had an opinion I would definitely voice it immediately.
Moving on to weddings, what would you wear for your own?
I’m very happily in a relationship where we’ve been together for almost two years. Wedding bells are something we’ve definitely talked about. If that were to come true, Blair wouldn’t be a part of the wedding at all – there would be no dresses involved. It would be really nice designer tuxes, probably all white with flashes of colour. But if Blair St Clair was getting married, she would have the most sickening wedding dress of all time – and I don’t think it would be white at all.
What venue would you have?
I went to a friend’s wedding almost two years ago; they got married in a theatre which I thought was really fun. I want to take it to the next level and do a huge theatre on Broadway or in the West End, where the reception and ceremony can all be in the same venue.
Which of your own tracks would you play on your wedding day?
If I had to use one of my own I would probably use ‘One Day at a Time’. Each day spent with my partner is special, so that song would mean a lot.
In August you’ll appear with a whole host of other performers at DragWorld UK where there will be queens you’ll be meeting for the first time presumably.
If they’re from Drag Race I’ve probably met them, but I’m so excited because I know there’s going to be a lot of UK queens I haven’t met.
What are your hopes for when Drag Race comes to the UK?
I’m hoping for it to be completely different to the US Drag Race; a different kind of stage, runway, workroom – brand new.
What else have you got in the pipeline?
A lot of really exciting projects, unfortunately some of them are kind of secret, I wish I could go into detail and tell you all the different things coming up. If you want a few clues and hints, there is a lot of new music on the horizon coming sooner than you may think, and I have been auditioning for a lot of different TV shows and movies. I’ve been trying to take my career to the next level by making as much of a mainstream splash as I can.
Blair St. Clair will be appearing at this year’s DragWorld UK, taking place 17-18 August at Olympia London.
dragworld.co.uk | blairstclair.com
