Rupaul

RuPaul Andre Charles first captured widespread attention when the exclamation "Sashay, shantay!" launched his 1993 single "Supermodel (You Better Work)." Born in San Diego, the future actor, model, author, television personality, musician, and LGBTQ trailblazer relocated to Atlanta during his teenage years to pursue performing-arts studies. Early in the 1980s he began performing with the new-wave outfit Wee Wee Pole; soon afterward he entered New York’s club circuit as a backup singer and dancer.

Success arrived in the following decade with the release of his debut album Supermodel. This uplifting Euro-house collection spotlighted the title track that ignited dance floors and catwalks in a manner reminiscent of Madonna’s “Vogue” three years earlier. Capitalizing on the momentum, RuPaul partnered with Elton John for a reimagined version of the 1976 hit “Don't Go Breaking My Heart,” published the memoir Lettin' It All Hang Out, guest-starred on All My Children, and hosted his own program, The RuPaul Show, which ran from 1996 to 1998. Although the follow-up album Foxy Lady did not reach the Billboard 200, he maintained a steady presence on the Dance charts in subsequent years.

A holiday project surfaced in 1997 while his attention shifted toward acting and television. Seven years later he resumed recording with the independently issued Red Hot on his own RuCo, Inc. imprint; the set blended hip-hop rhythms with his customary club tracks and included a distinctive cover of Depeche Mode’s “People Are People” featuring Tom Trujillo.

In 2006 RuPaul issued the remix anthology ReWorked. Three years afterward he reentered the mainstream spotlight through the reality competition RuPaul's Drag Race, on which he appeared both out of drag and in full persona. That same year saw the arrival of the Champion album and its companion remix collection Drag Race. As the series earned recognition from GLAAD and NewNowNext, he maintained his recording output with the 2012 album Glamazon and a standalone collaboration, “Peanut Butter,” alongside New Orleans bounce music queen and fellow LGBTQ figure Big Freedia. The seventh studio album, Born Naked, followed in 2014, succeeded by a paired 2015 release comprising the holiday set Slay Belles and the album Realness.

Butch Queen, his tenth long-player, entered the Billboard Dance albums chart at number three in 2016—his strongest placement at that point—and earned him an Emmy nomination for Best Reality Host.