Drag Race Philippines crowns Precious Paula Nicole as first winner

MANILA, Philippines — Bicolana drag queen and Divine Diva Precious Paula Nicole was crowned the first-ever winner of "Drag Race Philippines," earning her the title of "the country's first drag superstar."

Precious was victorious among the Top 4 finalists that included Marina Summers, Xilhouette, and Eva Le Queen.

The finale saw the remaining queens face off in Lip Sync Smackdowns for the Crown, where Precious went up against Eva while Marina faced off her drag mother Xilhouette.

Precious won against Eva in a lip sync battle of RuPaul's — host and showrunner of the original "Drag Race" — song "Sissy That Walk" while Marina narrowly beat Xilhoutte as they lip synced another RuPaul hit "Call Me Mother."

Marina and Precious then battled to a lip sync performance of "Sirena" by Gloc 9 feat. Ebe Dancel, and while both queens had Ru-veals to up their chances, Precious' winning move was when she pulled out the pride colors to drape around her neck.

While the show was filmed last year, two crowning moment versions were filmed for both Top 2 queens, leaving it a mystery for even the competing queens who the actual winner was until the finale aired.

At a finale viewing party held at The Cove in Okada, Precious was visibly shocked and holding back tears when she was announced the winner surrounded by all the contestants except for Gigi Era, who is in Australia.

Precious then took the stage as the first drag superstar of the Philippines and was crowned by main judge KaladKaren. Fellow judges Rajo Laurel, Jon Santos, BJ Pascual and Nadine Lustre were also in attendance, while main judge and host Paolo Ballesteros caught up later in full drag.

Precious Paula Nicole takes the stage for the first time as winner of Drag Race Philippines and the country’s first drag superstar. @PhilstarShowbiz @PhilstarNews #DragRacePH pic.twitter.com/kp4uBIi3Vh

— Kristofer Purnell (@kjpurneII) October 12, 2022

"Sobra-sobrang pasasalamat sa inyong lahat, sa Diyos, at kay RuPaul — pareng RuPaul thank you at see you soon!" Precious said after composing herself with curses, and expressing she wants to share the win with Marina.

The winning queen also shared her love for her fellow contestants, namely Marina, Eva, Xilhouette, her Divine Diva sisters Viñas DeLuxe and Brigiding, Minty Fresh, Lady Morgana, Turing, Corazon, Prince and the absent Gigi.

"Sa lahat ng mga queens na nakasama ko sa loob... para sa atin lahat 'to, sa lahat ng queens dito sa Pilipinas na makakikilala niyo," said Precious, teasing more was to come.

Precious' time on "Drag Race Philippines" was highlighted by her charm and authenticity which had her voted president during the Ru-lections, her many outfits dedicated to her mother, and an entertaining impersonation of Regine Velasquez in front of "Asia's Songbird" herself.

Many will agree one of her best moments was during the "Twinning!" episode where she transformed her youngest brother John-John, who traveled from Bicol, into a drag queen; John-John was also at the finale vieweing party to see his older sibling crowned.

As the winner Precious was awarded P1 million and one-year supply of ONE/SIZE beauty cosmetics by Filipino-American make-up artist Patrick Starrr.

Drag Race Philippines judge KaladKaren officially crowns Precious Paula Nicole as the winner! @PhilstarNews @PhilstarShowbiz #DragRacePH pic.twitter.com/024AQhgBll

— Kristofer Purnell (@kjpurneII) October 12, 2022

In the finale the competing queens voted Lady Morgana as Ms. Congeniality of "Drag Race Philippines" where Miss Universe 2015 and guest judge Pia Wurtzbach-Alonso made a stunning return; a similar awarding took place at the finale viewing party where the sole drag queen from Mindanao took to the stage.

Later during the night, Eva and Brigiding expressed their own hopes for the future of "Drag Race Philippines," that it wasn't just a trend and would enter mainstream territory.

"We don't think this is the end, it's just the beginning of another race," the two queens told Philstar.com, before going onstage to perform the show's viral hit "Pop Off Ate!" with the other queens, including Prince and Corazon even though they were eliminated early.

No official announcement for a second season has been announced by HBO Go and discovery+, this despite celebrity fashion designer and rotating judge Rajo Laurel telling Philstar.com in a separate exclusive interview that Season 2 of "Drag Race Philippines" is on its way.

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