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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: August 10, 1981
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: In this age of Carpool Karaoke and Lip Sync Battles, it’s important to remember that while awkward straight people performing the songs of others for attention and prizes is fun and popular at the moment, it’s been an instrument of slayage in the drag community for decades, and in particular it’s been a cornerstone of RuPaul‘s Drag Race since its inception in 2009.
The apex of the Lip Sync For Your Life challenges — held at the end of each episode to help lone decision-maker RuPaul determine which drag queen will be eliminated from the competition — occurred in the show’s third season, when close pals Delta Work and Manila Luzon found themselves in the bottom two after uninspiring attempts at stand-up comedy. (This is an important piece of context that explains why Delta is wearing a baggy bikini t-shirt and Manila is dressed up like Slutty Big Bird.) The song chosen for this particular lipstick was not at all out of place in the Drag Race universe; a disco-diva anthem that has been a tried and true staple of many a drag performance. A song whose lyrics demand attention followed by WTF expressions. A song … called “MacArthur Park.”
Whereas the imperative in most LSFYL performances is ENERGY, both Manila and Delta were smart enough to know that the trick to “MarArthur Park” is to sell — really sell, OVERsell — the drama of the early part of the song, and then bug the fuck out when the beat kicks in. And while Delta opts for stately regret — like a queen in the last days of her reign, appropriately enough — Manila decides to serve Woman on the Verge of Several Nervous Breakdowns.
The resulting psychic break was enough to blow back even Michelle Visage’s hair.
It was, in a word, the best. The best Lip Sync For Your Life of all time. And when drag is finally recognized as an Olympic event, it will stand as the perfect 10 in the lip-sync event that all but the most dedicated Hungarian drag queens will be able to achieve.
Happy birthday, Manila Luzon. Here’s hoping you enjoy that rainy birthday cake.
