3 ‘Drag Race PH’ queens win at 2023 WOWIE Awards 

MANILA, Philippines – Drag Race Philippines Season 1 finalists Marina Summers, Eva Le Queen, and winner Precious Paula Nicole secured wins from three different categories at the 2023 WOWIE Awards held on May 13.

Season 1 runner-up Marina Summers bagged the Wowlebrity On The Rise Award, which is also known as the Can’t Get You Out of My Head Award. This award recognizes a drag queen’s rising fame, attributed to memorable performances and entertainment. Marina also shared on Twitter that she won right after her seven-minute performance of Beyonce’s “Love on Top.”

I JUST WON THE WOWIES RIGHT AFTER MY 7 MINUTE PERFORMANCE GURL I WAS CRAWLING BACK FOR MY AWARD! WE DID IT! 😭🫶🏽🇵🇭 https://t.co/rYjRbxUcH2

— Marina Summers (@marinaxsummers) May 14, 2023

Fellow Season 1 finalist Eva Le Queen took home the award for Best Beauty Guru. Also known as The Painted Award, this merit honors queens, makeup enthusiasts, and beauty content creators with unrivaled makeup skills. 

Now I can proudly say it. EVA LE QUEEN BEST BEAUTY GURU BIIIIIIITCHHH!! Thank you to all who voted!! pic.twitter.com/bVuqho5COs

— Ms. Eva (@eva_lequeen) May 15, 2023

The Best Beauty Guru also expressed her gratitude to family and fans on Twitter, sharing that it blew her mind to have come this far. She also celebrated the fact that “Filipino drag is loved and raved” even on an international stage. 

After all the madness I just want to say that I had the best time of my life with my family. It just blows my mind to think that this was beyond our wildest dreams a few years back. And to know that Filipino drag is LOVED AND RAVED all the way here. Thank you everyone! ❤️🇵🇭👑 pic.twitter.com/4QmuxwbJHT

— Ms. Eva (@eva_lequeen) May 14, 2023

Season 1 Drag Race Philippines winner Precious Paula Nicole was also announced as Breakout Star. She shares this award with queens Admira Thunderpussy, Danny Beard, Drag Couenne, Gisele Lullaby, La Diamond, Matt Rogers, Paloma, Spankie Jackzon, and Stephanie Hsu, who hail from different Drag Race franchises. 

Paolo Ballesteros, host of the popular Philippine drag show, was also nominated under the category Best Viral Moment along with contestant Prince for their “The shoes!” moment from the first episode of the show. 

The WOWIE Awards is an annual event that closes out RuPaul’s DragCon, a convention that began in 2015 for enthusiasts of the hit reality show, RuPaul’s Drag Race. It is organized by World of Wonder (WOW) – the production company behind the Drag Race franchise. Winners were voted on through WOW’s website, where fans were allowed to cast their votes once a day.

Season 1 of Drag Race Philippines premiered in August 2022 and saw viral success with only 10 episodes. WOW announced a second season on October 19, 2022. It opened its casting at the end of the same month. – with reports from Cheska Lingad/Rappler.com

Cheska Lingad is a Rappler intern.