For eight hours, Shelby Sanford was in country music hell.
SheB次元官网网址檇 been convinced by her best friend Ruth Krulitsky to compete in a lip sync competition, and KrulitskyB次元官网网址檚 song of choice was B次元官网网址淏eer ThirtyB次元官网网址� by the country duo Brooks & Dunn.
Sanford, not a fan of country music, reluctantly agreed. To learn the lyrics, she put the song on repeat during a long drive from Nelson to the coast. Eight hours, one song over and over, until she could sing by heart a tune she might need 30 beers to enjoy.
B次元官网网址淩uth likes to convince me to do things that I donB次元官网网址檛 want to.B次元官网网址�
Krulitsky, an honest country music fan, was less concerned with SanfordB次元官网网址檚 plight and more focused on representing the talents of Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a real story weB次元官网网址檙e trying to tell here,B次元官网网址� Krulitsky said with a wry grin. B次元官网网址淔inished for the weekend and hitting the honky tonk.B次元官网网址�
Sanford and Krulitsky were among the five sets of performers competing during Intuit StudioB次元官网网址檚 Lip Sync Battle and Variety Show at NelsonB次元官网网址檚 The Capitol Theatre on Saturday.
Drag is nothing new to Nelson, but a lip sync battle in the style popularized by the show RuPaulB次元官网网址檚 Drag Race was something the city hadnB次元官网网址檛 previously seen.
Intuit StudioB次元官网网址檚 owner MJ Armstrong said she wanted to de-emphasize stage performance with her dancers and avoid what she described as B次元官网网址渟tuffyB次元官网网址� dance showcases.
Lip sync battles between dance numbers, she decided, would mix up the program and challenge contestants who were also judged on their costume and props, dancing, and crowd engagement.
B次元官网网址淵ou donB次元官网网址檛 have to be really good at any one thing, you just have to be kind of good at a lot of things to do a good lip sync performance,B次元官网网址� said Armstrong.
One of the judges was Lev Sonego, or Aloe Vera if you prefer their stage name, who since 2017 has been performing with the local drag troupe The Dancing Legs. Sonego said contestants should exaggerate their facial movements and try to not overthink the lyrics.
The performance, Sonego said, should be an honest one.
B次元官网网址淏ecause when that happens, then they can totally sell it. When you are thinking about your lyrics, then we can see it on your face.B次元官网网址�
The Dancing Legs, which also includes Alex Pilon (Johnny Poutina) and Marjorie Jade Menard (Shiraz DeVille) who co-hosted Saturday, started as three friends chatting about drag over drinks. They decided to audition for a Christmas burlesque show, and five years later looked like seasoned professionals when they opened SaturdayB次元官网网址檚 show with their take on B次元官网网址淟etB次元官网网址檚 Have A KikiB次元官网网址� by Scissor Sisters.
B次元官网网址滱 lot of people say that drag isnB次元官网网址檛 being someone else, itB次元官网网址檚 being yourself,B次元官网网址� said Sonego. B次元官网网址淪o itB次元官网网址檚 showing the true part of yourself and I think thatB次元官网网址檚 really empowering. Even though IB次元官网网址檓 wearing a costume I am showing a really vulnerable part of myself. So I think being able to do that and feel empowered by it, thatB次元官网网址檚 a really rewarding feeling.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 also clear from the audience which performers have tapped into that feeling.
Laena Brown, one of the competitors, has a theatre background yet prior to Saturday hadnB次元官网网址檛 been on a stage in six years. But when the first notes of QueenB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淪omebody To LoveB次元官网网址� began to play Brown, wearing a bee-inspired costume, danced and jiggled and lip synced in a performance that would have made Freddie Mercury proud.
B次元官网网址淢y whole life IB次元官网网址檝e been told in many places that I go that IB次元官网网址檓 too much. Being in the world of drag, thereB次元官网网址檚 no such thing. You can never be enough. I think itB次元官网网址檚 a huge place of freedom and imagination and joy and it also gives people watching and witnessing the permission to experience that joy and that freedom.B次元官网网址�
The night ended in a lip-synced performance of MadonnaB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淟ike A PrayerB次元官网网址� between the finalists Krulitsky, Sanford and Brown. Krulitsky and Sanford won the judges over yet again by returning to the stage in monk robes with crosses in hand, and went home with a $1,000 prize.
But Sanford left with something else she admitted was B次元官网网址渉er secret shameB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� she now has country songs on her playlists. When Sanford realized she was sharing this detail with a reporter, a look of dawning horror appeared on her face.
B次元官网网址淎ll of Nelson is going to know I listen to country.B次元官网网址�
| tyler.harper@nelsonstar.com
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