Grand Finale (RuPaul's Drag Race season 14)

"Grand Finale"
RuPaul's Drag Race episode
Episode no.Season 14
Episode 16
Presented byRuPaul
Featured music"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" by Cher
Original air dateApril 22, 2022 (2022-04-22)

"Grand Finale" is the sixteenth episode of the fourteenth season of the American television series RuPaul's Drag Race.[1][2][3][4] It was filmed at Flamingo Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and originally aired on April 22, 2022. The episode sees the final five contestants perform to original songs. After a final lip-sync between Lady Camden and Willow Pill to "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" by Cher, Willow Pill is crowned the season's winner.

Episode

External media
Angeria Paris VanMicheals “Check My Track Record” Performance at RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 Finale on YouTube
Bosco - “Devil” Performance at RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 Finale on YouTube
Daya Betty - “Fighter” Performance at RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 Finale on YouTube
Lady Camden - “I Fell Down (I Got Up)” Performance at RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 Finale on YouTube
Willow Pill - “I Hate People” Performance at RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 14 Finale on YouTube

All of the contestants return for the grand finale. RuPaul enters the stage, welcomes the audience, and explains how a winner will be crowned. Michelle Visage reveals that Clark County has declared April 22 as "RuPaul Day" on the Las Vegas Strip. Visage presents RuPaul with a key to the city.[5]

The final five contestants each perform to a song that was written specifically for them. Angeria Paris VanMicheals lip-syncs to "Check My Track Record", Bosco lip-syncs to "Devil", Daya Betty lip-syncs to "Fighter", Lady Camden lip-syncs to "I Fell Down (I Got Up)", and Willow Pill lip-syncs to "I Hate People".[6] Former contestants perform Jaida Essence Hall, Kameron Michaels, Trinity K. Bonet, Kahanna Montrese, Naomi Smalls, and Derrick Barry perform "Losing Is the New Winning" from the concert residency RuPaul's Drag Race Live!,[7] which concludes with the season's eliminated contestants returning to the stage. The show pays tribute to the drag performer Hot Chocolate, who is in the audience.

RuPaul tells the contestants that only two will be advancing to the final lip-sync of the season. It is announced that the final two contestants are Lady Camden and Willow Pill, meaning Angeria Paris VanMicheals, Bosco, and Daya Betty are eliminated from the competition. Reigning winner Symone invites LaLa Ri to share that Kornbread "The Snack" Jeté is this season's Miss Congeniality. Lady Camden and Willow Pill face off in a lip-sync contest to "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" by Cher. It is announced that Willow Pill is the winner, making Lady Camden the runner-up.[8][9][10]

Production

The episode originally aired on April 22, 2022. It was filed at Flamingo Las Vegas.[11][12] The original songs were produced by Leland.[13]

Joey Nolfi of Entertainment Weekly described "I Hate People" as a "hilarious curmudgeon anthem".[14] The song was written by Willow Pill, Leland, and Gabe Lopez. VH1 submitted the song for consideration in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category of the Primetime Emmy Awards. According to Bustle, this marked the first time a Drag Race contestant was eligible for an Emmy for work from their original season.[15][16]

Willow Pill became the first transgender contestant to win a regular season of the show.[17]

Fashion

Lady Camden wears a gold-and-pink outfit and a long braid.[18] Tony Bravo of the San Francisco Chronicle described her outfit as "a witty callback to her Freddie Mercury moment, with an added touch of deconstruction".[19] Bosco wears an angelic outfit that tore away to reveal a darker bodysuit. Her headpiece was created by Cameron Hughes. Daya Betty wears an insect-inspired outfit with 5-foot-long antenna. The outfit was painted and rhinestoned by Joshuan Aponte. Symone wears a "very stylized version of a streetwear look", according to Screen Rant.[18]

Reception

Trae DeLellis of The A.V. Club gave the episode a rating of 'B'.[20] Paul McCallion of Vulture rated the episode four out of five stars.[21] Bernardo Sim of Out called Willow Pill's "I Hate People" performance "relatable and hilarious".[22] He also included the song in Pride.com's 2023 list of the show's ten best original song, in which he described "I Hate People" as "hilarious and campy".[23] The song was described by Hugh McIntyre of Bustle as "catchy"[15] and by the San Antonio Current as "bitchy".[24] McKinley Franklin of The Hollywood Reporter said the song "spotlighted Willow's not-so-subtle sharp-witted nature that made viewers fall in love with her".[25]

References

  1. ^ Rosario, Alexandra Del (2022-04-23). "'RuPaul's Drag Race': [SPOILER] Crowned Season 14 Winner In Milestone Finale For Franchise". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 2022-04-23. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  2. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (2022-04-19). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14: The Top Five Queens Share Their Red Carpet Finale Looks". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. ISSN 0042-2738. OCLC 60626328. Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  3. ^ "Here's Who Won 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14". Out. ISSN 1062-7928. Archived from the original on 2025-01-19. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  4. ^ Harrison, Frankie (2022-04-23). "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 Episode 16 Recap: Grand Finale!". IN Magazine. Archived from the original on 2024-12-06. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  5. ^ Gregory, Drew Burnett (2022-04-23). ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Episode 1416 Recap: Shoutout to Kornbread's Ankle". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on 2024-04-29. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  6. ^ Lynch, Joe (2022-04-23). "Here's Who Won 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14". Billboard. Penske Media Corporation. ISSN 0006-2510. OCLC 732913734. Archived from the original on 2022-07-10. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  7. ^ Richards, Jared (2022-04-23). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' S14 Finale Recap: How's Your Heads?". Junkee. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  8. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14 finale recap: Long may she reign". Xtra Magazine. Pink Triangle Press. 2022-04-25. ISSN 0829-3384. Archived from the original on 2022-04-25. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  9. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14 finale power ranking: At last, a champion". Xtra Magazine. 2022-04-26. Archived from the original on 2025-06-22. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  10. ^ Swift, Andy (2022-04-23). "RuPaul's Drag Race Finale Recap: Did The Right Queen Win Season 14?". TVLine. Archived from the original on 2025-12-08. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  11. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 14 Episode 16: "The Grand Finale"". Honeysuckle Magazine. 2022-04-23. Archived from the original on 2025-11-11. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  12. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (2022-04-25). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 14 Finale: Three Things You Didn't See on TV". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  13. ^ Stevenson, Mike (2022-04-25). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Winner Willow Pill's Finale Song Achieves iTunes Milestone". Music Times. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  14. ^ "'Drag Race' winner Willow Pill plans to 'get more disgusting and dirty' — and fun". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  15. ^ a b "'Drag Race' Winner Willow Pill Might Win An Emmy For Hating People". Bustle. Bustle Digital Group. 2024-02-20. Archived from the original on 2025-11-08. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  16. ^ Dresden, Hilton (2022-06-25). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Winner Willow Pill on Historic Win: "This Is My Future and Reign, and It Goes How I Want It to Go"". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. ISSN 0018-3660. OCLC 44653726. Archived from the original on 2025-06-03. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  17. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Crowns Season 14 Winner". Paper. ISSN 1073-9122. Archived from the original on 2025-11-10. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  18. ^ a b Schacht, Elsa (2022-04-26). "RuPaul's Drag Race 14: Most Sickening Finale Looks Explained". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on 2023-01-13. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  19. ^ "After Lady Camden, could San Francisco's 'Drag Race' curse be finally over?". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. OCLC 8812614.
  20. ^ DeLellis, Trae. "Finally, the finale of RuPaul's Drag Race crowns its new reigning Queen from Vegas". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 2022-04-24. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  21. ^ McCallion, Paul (2022-04-22). "RuPaul's Drag Race Recap: And the Winner Is …". Vulture. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2024-12-25. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  22. ^ Sim, Bernardo. "The 2022 Out100: Drag Artists of the Year | Out.com". Out. Archived from the original on 2023-11-28. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  23. ^ Sim, Bernardo. "10 Best Original Songs From 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". Pride.com. Archived from the original on 2025-12-05. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  24. ^ Rindfuss, Bryan (2023-02-07). "Reigning Drag Race queen Willow Pill finally arrives at San Antonio's Bonham Exchange this week". San Antonio Current. OCLC 14222766. Archived from the original on 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  25. ^ Franklin, McKinley (2026-01-02). "Old Friends Gold: Where Are the 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Winners Now?". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2026-01-12. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
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