Despite the recent news of Drag Race UK being dropped by the BBC, the world of drag reality television is growing. Following its first season, which garnered a lot of excitement and a cult following, King of Drag Season 2 premiered this month on Revry… and there may be a connection closer to Ireland than we first thought.
Ahead of the premiere, GCN had the pleasure of speaking to the one-and-only Chase Lounge, a king vying for the crown this year.
Chase is a self-described “transsexual Chippendale who loves to further the gay agenda, throw ass, and glamorise obesity”, and he does it well. Boasting a striking look of white foundation, eyebrows so sharp they would make Divine jealous, and a body that won’t quit, Chase commands attention.
But how did Chase get into performing? The inspiration perhaps first began in Dublin, in the 2010s. After studying Irish literature at UC Santa Barbara, the performer was inspired by a professor to study for an MPhil in Irish Writing at Trinity. There, in between performing comedy in Whelan’s and studying, the “genderf*ck dykefag dream boy” was already developing an adoration for drag.
“I just was obsessed with drag and heavily closeted at the time, and kind of knew I was queer and (I was) scared to come out, and definitely didn’t know I was trans at all.
“But I really felt attached and connected to the world of drag and everything that it stood for. And then, finally, I came out, and then I really wanted to start doing drag, but I didn’t totally see a way in for myself as a drag queen. And then I went to my first all-drag-king show, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I’m meant to be doing’.
“I moved to LA originally to do comedy, so I was performing, but it wasn’t feeling 100% authentic. And then I saw the drag kings, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is, like, 1,000% meant for me’. So then I just talked to the host at the show, and they were like, ‘Yeah, you can do the show next month’.”
It’s been five years since that fateful day, and now Chase is ready to storm the stage on global television. But just what can we expect from the voluptuous performer this season?
“I’ve given myself the moniker of the Body of Season 2.
“If someone calls themselves the body of season whatever of Drag Race, it’s always like a really skinny, fit person, and I’m like, ‘No!’ I’m the Body of Season 2 of King of Drag because I’m proud of my body, and I love my body, and I’m not afraid to show it off.”
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This message is absolutely central to the king’s drag.
“There’s this really great book called The Body is Not an Apology that was very influential to me. My version of that is: the body is a confrontation, and it should be used explicitly and in people’s faces.”
We’re incredibly excited to see Chase on this season, but even more excited to see the performer expand his art further. Chase has just released his first music video on YouTube, for a track called ‘Bottom Growth Sucker‘. In a world that insists on increasingly politicising trans bodies, the celebration of “trans boy drag kings as the go-go dancers” and the simple refrain “put your T dick into my mouth. I really, really like you, and I wanna go south” isn’t just hot as f*ck; it’s radical.
You can stay up to date with Chase Lounge on his Instagram and see him in this season’s King of Drag, streaming on Revry now.
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