RuPaul’s Drag Race has become one of the most-watched shows over the past few years with a brand expansion that includes major Drag-Con conventions across the country. Despite all of its over-the-top fun, Drag Race is a serious competition show earning multiple Emmy awards for its mix of glitter, glam, camp, and that fan favorite surprise musical challenge – lipsync for your life.
When two queens faceoff to lipsync for their lives, it’s undeniably one of the biggest highlights of the show, and half the fun is not knowing what song will be featured. On the Jan. 22 broadcast of RuPaul’s Drag Race queens Denali and Kahmora served up their sassiness to the Crystal Waters hit track, 100% Pure Love. According to Billboard Magazine, this particular lip sync battle’s popularity was so fantastic; it returned Waters’ global dance hit back to the Billboard Charts.
100% Pure Love – originally released in 1994, was the lead single from Waters’ second album Storyteller. That year it reached No.11 on the Hot 100, shot to the top of the Club Dance charts that summer, hit the top 20 globally in multiple countries, and solidified that Crystal Waters was no one-hit-wonder.
With a slick video directed by Matthew Rolston, the hottest video director of the day, 100% Pure Love, was up for Best Dance Video at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards. Fans of the song were recently surprised to discover that actor Michael K. William actually created the video’s choreography and was also one of the featured dancers. With over 17 million views on Youtube, 100% Pure Love is a bonafide timeless dance floor classic and its return to the Billboard charts is a well-deserved opportunity for discovery by a whole new generation of club music lovers.
For me personally, the Storyteller album is one of my favorites of all time, as it weaves together a seamless journey that showcases Waters’ mastery of lyrical assignment, unique Eartha-Kitt-esque tonality in her vocal delivery, wrapped in the relentless signature ‘jazz meets tribal house’ production style of The Basement Boys who also produced Waters’ debut mega-hit Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless). Other standouts on the LP are What I Need, Is it for me, Ghetto day, and the album’s title track, Storyteller.
Seriously, if you don’t already have this in your music collection, download it and GET INTO IT! (Especially all the hot remixes of 100% Pure Love!)
As for the recent chart action of 100% Pure Love, Billboard reports,
Crystal Waters wades to her first top 10 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart (dated Feb. 6) with “100% Pure Love,” a re-entry at No. 9. The ’90s classic appears for the first time in a decade, having previously spent a week on the list in February 2011.
“Love” sold 1,000 downloads, up 705%, in the week ending Jan. 28, according to MRC Data. Sparking its surge, the track was the subject of a competitive lip sync between drag queens Denali and Kahmora Hall on the Jan. 22 broadcast of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Congratulations, Crystal Waters! Slay them charts mama!
Watch the Lipsync battle between Denali and Kahmora here!
Read more at Billboard.
