RuPaul's Drag Race season 8


The eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race began airing on March 7, 2016. Returning judges include RuPaul and Michelle Visage, along with Ross Mathews and Carson Kressley, who shared judging responsibilities on an alternating basis. Twelve drag queens competed for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar". The prizes for the winner are a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics and a cash prize of $100,000. The full list of contestants was revealed during the NewNowNext Awards on February 1, 2016. The song "U Wear It Well" from RuPaul's album Butch Queen was featured in promotion for the show. On March 31, 2016, it was announced LogoTV renewed the show for a ninth season. It was the last season to solely be played on Logo, as the show moved to VH1 for its ninth season.
The theme song played during the runway segment every episode was "The Realness", and the song played during the closing credits was "Die Tomorrow", both songs from the album Realness.
The winner of the eighth season of RuPaul's Drag Race was Bob the Drag Queen, with Kim Chi and Naomi Smalls being the runners-up, and Cynthia Lee Fontaine being crowned season 8's Miss Congeniality.
On August 20, 2020, Chi Chi DeVayne died after battling scleroderma and pneumonia.

Contestants

Ages, names, and cities stated are at time of filming.
ContestantAgeHometownOutcome
Bob the Drag Queen29New York City, New York
Kim Chi27Chicago, Illinois
Naomi Smalls21Redlands, California
Chi Chi DeVayne29Shreveport, Louisiana4th place
Derrick Barry32Las Vegas, Nevada5th place
Thorgy Thor31New York City, New York6th place
Robbie Turner33Seattle, Washington7th place
Acid Betty38New York City, New York8th place
Naysha Lopez31Chicago, Illinois9th place
Cynthia Lee Fontaine34Austin, Texas10th place
Dax ExclamationPoint31Savannah, Georgia11th place
Laila McQueen22Gloucester, Massachusetts11th place

Notes:

Lip syncs

Legend:

Guest judges

Listed in chronological order:

Special guests

Guests who appeared in episodes, but did not judge on the main stage.
;Episode 1
;Episode 2
  • AB Soto, musician
;Episode 4
;Episode 5
  • Charo, musician and comedian
;Episode 6
;Episode 7
;Episode 9
;Episode 10

Episodes


Reception

In August 2022, Time listed season 8 of RuPaul's Drag Race as among the Top 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons.

Ratings