Cebu Drag Queens celebrate power of pop girls with ‘Girlie Pop Nights’

CEBU, Philippines — The days leading up to the Grammy Awards are usually heated and toxic in online spaces, especially in the pop music “stan” community. Fans argue about which artist made the most impact with their album in the last year, using critics reviews, sales, chart achievements, and accolades from other award shows as citations for why their favorite deserves the top prizes at the so-called Music’s Biggest Night.

But it was a different tune last February 1 as Cebuana drag artists GIRL and SODA POP, through their “Girlie Pop Nights” series, celebrated the major female nominees up for the Grammys earlier this year with an event called “Pop Girls of the Year.”

Throughout their evening show at Third Wave Coffee Cebu alongside fellow drag queens Ledda Marmalade, Georgina Wales, and Neonique, they paid tribute to Album of the Year nominees Beyoncé, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, and Taylor Swift for being some of the biggest names who made headlines last year with their albums.

“These pop girls have a huge impact on our lives. I don’t think a lot of people understand and relate to pop music more than queer people because their music is oftentimes our saving grace,” GIRL told The FREEMAN backstage after the show. GIRL is one of the founders of Girlie Pop PH alongside SODA POP. “Growing up queer in a conservative country, we grew up with these pop girlies who are strong women and their songs resonate with us so we wanted to honor them.”

GIRL, 28, and SODA POP, 22, first launched the “Girlie Pop Nights” series last August with their debut drag show featuring tributes to Roan, xcx, and Carly Rae Jepsen at a Cebu City hotel. Titled “Good Luck, the Loneliest Brats,” the event’s name cleverly combined references to the artists’ respective releases: Roan’s hit single “Good Luck, Babe,” Jepsen’s album “The Loneliest Time,” and xcx’s “brat.”

One of the reasons they established Girlie Pop Nights was to foster a community of drag fans who are also pop music aficionados – some of whom are more likely to be fans of alternative artists compared to mainstream acts who are more likely to get their own listening parties at other establishments.

“We were having a fun chat at a cafe when I told GIRL that I wanted to do a Chappell drag show. She wanted to do Charli, and some of our fans wanted us to do a Carly show. We saw this as a moment where we could do something together to commemorate these pop girls,” SODA POP explained.

“There aren’t a lot of listening parties in Cebu for artists who aren’t super mainstream. When Charli’s album ‘brat’ became a pop culture phenomenon, there were only a few Charli fans here,” GIRL added. “Because of Girlie Pop, it became a community where I don’t have to listen to Charli’s songs on my own anymore. It became a communal experience.”

Following the success of their debut drag show, they went on to add more events last year, including “Sad Girl Szn” focusing on SZA, Billie Eilish, and Lorde; “Y2K-POP” celebrating Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and K-pop second-generation acts 2NE1 and Girls’ Generation; a Halloween-themed “Rest in Pop” centering on the darker eras of Taylor Swift (reputation), Lady Gaga (The Fame Monster and Born This Way), Rihanna (Rated R), and Ariana Grande (Dangerous Woman); and a Grande-centric drag show titled “Eternally Wicked,” celebrating the releases of her album “Eternal Sunshine” and her blockbuster musical film “Wicked,”

“I am so happy with our events so far, where we garnered a new audience to share our platform as drag artists. We’ve seen a lot of our audience members become friends because of our events,” GIRL said.

Most of the shows took place at Third Wave Coffee thanks to their partnership with GIRL, who is a frequent customer when she isn’t doing drag.

Third Wave Coffee Corp’s President Kaye Homecillo-Limosnero says that fostering drag shows in their establishment at F. Cabahug Street, Cebu City is a way to help Cebu’s creative community flourish.

“Our space embodies creative people with creative minds, which is why we consider drag as an art,” Limosnero said. “We wanted to have a sense of community. We are not only promoting our products but also supporting other small businesses and brands that want to collaborate with us. Their community becomes our community, and it builds a safe space where people can feel comfortable coming here on a regular day.”

GIRL and SODA POP are known members of the Cebuana drag collective Haus of Rena1ssance (HoR), which is headed by Kat Phischeur. Describing their connection, SODA POP said, “If HoR is a tree, Girlie Pop is a branch.”

It took some convincing for their fellow queens to let them establish their own drag series within the collective, which they believe strengthens HoR’s overall brand.

“Girlie Pop is powered by HoR’s blessing. I told them this wouldn’t break apart our house. Rather, it expands our horizons,” GIRL explained. “This is more of a production series for us because SODA POP and I are both pop music nerds in different spectrums. Our drag names are GIRL and SODA POP. The writing was on the wall. It was meant to happen.”

One major difference between a Girlie Pop Nights show and a HoR show is the focus: HoR emphasizes the drag performers, while Girlie Pop celebrates the pop stars who influence their drag.

“We didn’t want our drag in Girlie Pop to be pure impersonation but rather our interpretation of these artists,” GIRL said. “It’s our way of challenging ourselves to perform these songs by putting our own spin on them.”

Another difference is that they’ve attracted a new audience who attend to appreciate pop music alongside drag performances.

“I see a lot of young audiences looking for safe spaces to celebrate both drag and pop music, and I think Girlie Pop fulfills that,” SODA POP noted.

Some HoR performers are happy to help GIRL and SODA POP realize their vision, such as Ledda Marmalade who made her Girlie Pop show debut with a Beyoncé performance inspired by her 2024 NFL (National Football League) Christmas halftime show in her home state of Texas which can be streamed on Netflix.

“This was the right timing because I am a huge Beyoncé fan, and ‘Cowboy Carter’ is nominated at the Grammys,” Ledda said before Beyoncé’s eventual triumph with her first Album of the Year award.

Georgina Wales, who did a Sabrina Carpenter-inspired number, added, “I’m a sister to GIRL and SODA POP. We’re like family. Whatever their event is, it’s HoR’s event as well. We support each other.”

Neonique, a frequent performer at Girlie Pop Nights shows, thanked them for giving her a platform to explore her drag outlet.

“It’s amazing to see different people come together to celebrate pop music and drag. It’s such a powerful thing to witness, especially during these troubling times. Drag is power,” Neonique remarked.

GIRL emphasized, “This is why we always say our events are powered by HoR because Girlie Pop wouldn’t exist without them.”

On why drag culture and pop music are so intertwined, SODA POP explained: “A lot of queer people find comfort in pop girls because they are advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community, with some even being members themselves. Pop music has become synonymous with queer culture, and queer people have a unique lens on pop culture that deserves to be celebrated.”

GIRL added, “Drag and pop are twins because they shape our culture today. Pop music and queer art constantly reference each other. It’s a bond that [no reactionary political climate] can break. Pop music plays an important role in drag, not only because we use their songs in our performances, but because each art form elevates the other.”

Girlie Pop Nights plans to hold more drag shows this year, preferably around the release of new albums. They will host a Gaga drag show on March 8 to celebrate the release of her seventh solo album “Mayhem”, which drops the day before on music platforms. Details will be revealed soon on their Instagram account (@girliepopph).

They also hope to organize events featuring alternative artists like Lana Del Rey, Fiona Apple, Ethel Cain, FKA twigs, and more