Here’s Who Won the ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Season 17 LaLaPaRuza Smackdown

With the finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17 set to air on MTV on Friday, April 18, the cast reunited on the season’s penultimate episode for one final challenge: The Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown. 

The challenge, which offers the season’s eliminated contestants to lip sync their way to a $50,000 cash prize, has become a staple on recent seasons of the Emmy Award winning series. So far, Season 16’s Morphine Love Dion and “All Stars 7” contestant Raja have won the lip synch tournament, earning the coveted title of ‘Queen of She Already Done Had Herses.’

The lip sync tournament took place on the 15th episode of Season 17, which aired on Friday, April 11. While the season’s four remaining contestants – Sam Star, Lexi Love, Onya Nurve, and Jewels Sparkles – watched from the Werk Room, the 10 contestants who’d already been eliminated returned to battle it out in a series of eight show-stopping lip syncs. 

Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown Round 1 Results

The first round of the Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown saw the 10 eliminated queens face off in five head-to-head lip syncs. 

Hormona Lisa, who was eliminated during Episode 6’s Sea Sickening Ball challenge, was randomly selected to compete in the night’s first lip sync. After being selected, Hormona was given the choice to either select her opponent from the remaining eliminated queens, or to choose the lip sync song from a list of pre-selected tracks. The Tennessee queen opted to select the song, ultimately landing on Liza Minelli’s “Say Liza (Liza with a ‘Z’).” 

After choosing the track, Hormona’s opponent was randomly selected from the remaining eliminated queens, with Lydia B Kollins’ name being pulled. Lydia, who performed well in her Episode 5 lip sync to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Boogie Wonderland,” emerged victorious from the match up and moved on to the second round of lip syncs. 

Suzie Toot, who was eliminated just short of the Final 4, was selected next. The Florida queen elected to lip sync against Joella, who was eliminated in the season’s fourth episode. Despite being able to select the lip sync song – Dua Lipa’s “Training Season” – Joella ultimately lost the lip sync, allowing Suzie to advance to the next round. 

The night’s third lip sync saw first-eliminated queen Lucky Starzz face off against Acacia Forgot to the song “Step by Step” by Whitney Houston. Despite not winning a lip sync before her elimination in Episode 3, Lucky was able to edge out a win over Acacia, joining Lydia and Suzie in the second round of lip syncs. 

Arrietty, who wowed fans with her outfits throughout the season before exiting the competition during Episode 10’s ‘Villains Roast’ challenge, was the first queen selected for the episode’s fourth lip sync. Opting to select the lip sync song – P!nk’s “Blow Me One Last Kiss” – instead of her opponent, Arrietty was ultimately forced to lip sync against Kori King. 

Kori, who won two lip syncs before being eliminated in Episode 9’s Betsey Johnson-inspired design challenge, was the clear winner of the match up. The episode marked Arrietty’s third lip sync loss over the course of the season. 

With only two queens left to lip sync, New Jersey queen Crystal Envy and New York queen Lana Ja’Rae faced off in the final lip sync of Round 1 of the LaLaPaRuza Smackdown. Lana was randomly selected to choose the lip sync song, ultimately deciding on Sylvester’s “You Make Me Feel.” The lip sync marked a rematch between the two queens, who similarly battled it out in a Bottom 2 lip sync following Episode 7’s Snatch Game challenge, where Lana emerged victorious, sending Crystal home. 

Lana managed to out-lip sync Crystal yet again during the LaLaPaRuza Smackdown, earning the final spot in the episode’s second round of lip syncs. 

Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown Round 2 Results

With an odd number of queens remaining in the tournament, host RuPaul announced that Round 2 of the LaLaPaRuza Smackdown would consist of one head-to-head lip sync, followed by one three-way lip sync battle. 

Lucky Starzzz, whose unconventional drag style made her a fan favorite before she was eliminated in the season’s third episode, was randomly selected to compete in Round 2’s head-to-head lip sync. The queen opted to choose Rihanna’s “We Found Love” as the lip sync song instead of choosing her opponent. Left to fate, Suzie Toot was selected to face off against the queen. 

In the end, Suzie was named the winner of the lip sync, earning her a spot in the final lip sync of the night. 

The final lip sync of Round 2 saw the remaining queens – Lydia B Kollins, Kori King, and Lana Ja’Rae – leave it all on the stage to Charli XCX’s “360.” Despite losing a lip sync to Lydia earlier in the competition, Kori was ultimately named the winner of the three-way lip sync.

Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown Final Round Results

With eight queens eliminated, Kori King and Suzie Toot took to the Main Stage for one final lip sync to “APT” by Rose and Bruno Mars. In the end, Suzie’s musical theater dance moves won over the judges, earning the queen a cash prize of $50,000 and the title of ‘Queen of She Already Done Had Herses.’

The victory spelled redemption for Suzie, who was eliminated just shy of the finale despite a historic track record. The queen’s 1920s-inspired drag style was often the subject of jokes from other competitors throughout the season, often painting Suzie as the odd queen out. After she was announced the winner of the Lip Sync LaLaPaRuza Smackdown, Suzie addressed her haters and competitors, saying, “This goes out to everybody who thinks that I am cocky and delusional and overconfident. This is proof that I’m better than you!”

The finale of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 17 airs on MTV on Friday, April 18 at 8pm.

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