The season 13 finalist may not have come to make friends, but she made them anyway.
RuPaul's Drag Race finalist Rosé will soon find out whether she can sing the future. All the way back on season 13, episode 3, the self-proclaimed fashion clown belted that she couldn't wait to hear RuPaul say, "The winner is Rosé!" Now, there's a one in four chance that will happen.
"This is my dream come true and I worked really hard for it," Rosé reflects on making top four after beginning her Drag Race journey in The Porkchop Loading Dock. She just doesn't want to sing about it right now. ("I didn't warm up," Rosé deadpans.) But, "I absolutely will tell you that I want to take home the crown," Rosé adds. "Venmo me and I'll sing you a tune!"
ET's Brice Sander spoke with the queen ahead of Friday's finale about what winning the crown would mean to her and whether that psychic was onto anything predicting romance between Rosé and season 13 sister, Denali.
ET: What would taking home that crown mean to you after seeing what this season has meant to so many people?
Listen, this crown to me means so much more than I ever thought it could. I've always dreamt of being on Drag Race. I've heard people tell me for years, "I think you could do really well. I think you could win," and I've always thought, "Maybe I could win." But through the struggle and growth that I had to endure during filming, I really, really realized towards the end, I was like, "I can win this." And I can win this. So, it would mean the world to prove that to myself and to everybody else, especially because it took the world a second to catch onto what was inside the bottle, baby, but it's delicious, right?
Or inside the can, because I feel like the soda-branding episode ["Pop! Goes The Queen"] was your aha moment. Was that it for you, too?
It really was. It was fabulous for me to have achieved a win a few episodes prior for the Rusical, for several reasons, of course, but the branding challenge? That is tough. They can really goop and gag you on those episodes in other seasons I've seen. And listen, on TV, I'm telling ya, it was Symone's night. We were watching it like, "Damn, Symone did great." In the moment, I can't even describe to you what it felt like in the room. It was like Symone just ascended into heaven. The judges were just living for the b**ch, and so were we! So, then to have gotten that surprise double win, I was like, "Oh, I'm crashing Symone's party tonight, baby!" It was definitely a turning moment to be on the same level all of a sudden as, at that point, the frontrunner.
Looking back at your journey, what's the biggest lesson you learned about yourself?
That I'm capable of literally f**king anything. And a lot of stuff is really hard, but I can do it.
I know we're in for a different kind of finale. It might look different than what we know. I'm sure there's going to be surprises. Give me one word to describe what this finale is going to be like.
Sparsely attended. That's a two-word answer. [Laughs]
Still got those COVID protocols in place. The sisterhood of this season seems on another level, and I can only imagine being in the COVID bubble contributed to that. Seeing the bonds that this group has made, what does that mean to you?
It means so much. I really meant what I said on several occasions throughout the season. I was like, "Baby, I did not come here to make friends, mama!" It was an honor and a thrill to have been able to do that in addition to why I was really there. But I can't believe how many very, very close friendships I have attained from this group of girls, and that's just the best, because drag is really hard to do, and you need support and you need help to do it. To really have undying support, especially at this part of the competition at the end, we've talked about that. I don't know if there's been a group of finalists on a season before who clearly are just enamored with each other. We talk all day every day, and it's great conversation.
And getting to a place of friendship with Tina Burner was cool to see.
Oh my god, totally. It's so funny. I saw Tina the other week, and our relationship is completely different. We have such a tangible level of respect for each other, which is what we were avoiding before the season. We obviously knew what the other one was capable of. We knew who the other one was. We have our reputations, this and that, but I really see Tina for not only what she can do, but who she is. And I know that she feels likewise about me. I'm so happy to call Tina a true friend now.
I feel like that's one of the life lessons that the older you get, you realize you don't have to compete with everybody. You can make space for people and both be there to shine.
Oh yeah. But it's got to be mutual.
And then you and Denali got very close. The psychic [in episode 10] felt some vibes, and I need to know what your boyfriend thought about the psychic picking up on those vibes.
[Laughs] Oh my god. Well, my boyfriend has met Denali at this point, and that's all of it. Listen, baby, we're all filming for weeks and weeks and weeks. Yeah, Denali's cute as hell, so listen, the menu, I can look at it. I'm not ordering but I was looking at the menu.
Well, plenty of people were looking at you, too, out of drag in those confessionals. How are you receiving all the thirsty attention of the world?
Oh, I mean, I love it. [Laughs] It's nice. A compliment's a compliment. I'll take it. It's cute!
I want to speak something into existence. Rosé from BLACKPINK is releasing solo music, and I would like to see Rosé featuring Rosé on a song called "Rosé."
I would love that. Oh my god, that'd be amazing. I would love to meet Rosé. I'm a huge fan. And it's so humbling to know that somebody who shares your name will always be infinitely more famous than you, so I bow to thee, Rosé.
The RuPaul's Drag Race season 13 finale airs on Friday, April 23 on VH1.
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