Start Your Engines: Here’s What Happened on the Premiere of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10’ 

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for Episode 1 and 2 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” Season 10.

The landmark tenth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” debuted on Paramount+ today (Friday, May 9) with six returning queens facing off in the first bracket of the competition dubbed the “Tournament of All Stars.” While 18 queens from the franchise will compete across the season, the first three episodes will highlight Bracket One contestants Aja, Phoenix, Deja Skye, Bosco, Irene the Alien, and Olivia Lux. 

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‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10’ Episode 1 Recap

The premiere episode kicked off with the six queens walking the runway in their entrance looks. Once they were gathered on stage, host RuPaul, joined by Michelle Visage, revealed the details of the season’s bracket format. 

“In the preliminary rounds, no one will be eliminated,” the host revealed, adding that, instead, the Bracket One queens would be competing for points, similar to the format of “All Stars” Season 9. RuPaul continued, “At the end of this three episode bracket, the three All Stars with the most points from this bracket will advance to the semi-finals, where [they] will face off against the Top Three All Stars from the other brackets.”

Here’s how the points system will work: The top two All Stars from each week of the preliminary round will receive 2 points each. A lip sync between the top two will determine the week’s winner, with the victorious queen receiving an additional point. 

The bottom four queens will receive 1 point each, but will have to transfer the point to the contestant they identify as the “Most Valuable Queen” of the week. Once the three episode bracket has concluded, the three queens with the most points will advance to the semi-finals. 

Episode 1 watched as the queens were challenged to perform in a live music video for the original track “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner,” with rapper Ice Spice joining the panel as this week’s extra-special celebrity guest judge. While Aja (Season 9 / All Stars 3) was critiqued for her Pokemon-inspired look on the runway, the queen was later revealed as one of the week’s top two contestants alongside Season 15’s Irene the Alien. 

Paramount+

The top two queens then faced off in a lip sync for the win to Ice Spice’s chart-topper “Think U the Sh–t (Fart),” with Aja emerging victorious. As a result Aja earned 3 points while Irene the Alien earned 2. The remaining queens (Bosco, Deja Skye, Phoenix, and Olivia Lux) were then tasked with awarding 1 point each to who they thought was the “Most Valuable Queen,” though these were not handed out until the beginning of Episode 2. 

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’RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 10’ Episode 2 Recap

Trademark “All Stars” strategy came into play in Episode 2 as the bottom four queens distributed their points amongst themselves. Bosco (Season 14) awarded her point to Phoenix (Season 3). In turn, Phoenix awarded her point to Bosco. Deja Skye (Season 14) and Olivia Lux (Season 13) also traded their points with one another. 

After the MVQ points were awarded, RuPaul revealed that Episode 2 would see the queens perform in “Murder on the Dance Floor,” a murder-mystery acting challenge. Emmy award winning actor Colman Domingo joined the panel as the episode’s celebrity guest judge. After the queens took to the runway in their “Coming and Going” outfits, Bosco and Irene the Alien were announced as the top two All Stars of the week. 

Bosco and Irene then faced off in a lip sync to Sophie Ellis-Baxter’s “Murder on the Dance Floor,” with Irene once again failing to snatch the win. The episode’s results left Bosco with an additional 3 points and Irene with an additional two. 

Paramount+

While the MVQ points for Episode 2 won’t be awarded until next week’s episode, here’s what the Bracket 1 leaderboard looks like after the premiere: 

Bosco: 4 points

Irene the Alien: 4 points

Aja: 3 points

Deja Skye: 1 point

Olivia Lux: 1 point

Phoenix: 1 point
The final challenge for the Bracket 1 queens will air next Friday, May 16 on Paramount+. The challenge will determine which three All Stars will continue on to the semi-finals round of the competition.