Featured photo by Nick Merzetti. Courtesy of Fancy PR.

What’s her name? Queen Priyanka — and with her new album Devastatia, she’s making sure you’ll never forget it.

Since winning the first season of Canada’s Drag Race, Priyanka has stayed a fan favorite in the world of drag, making her mark with TV shows like We’re Here and her hit EP Taste Test (including the viral track “Come Through”). Now, she’s back with a new collection of bops in the form of her debut album, including songs like the Bollywood-infused banger “Gucciyanka” and the sultry, ultra-confident album opener “I’m a Star.”

INTO caught up with Priyanka ahead of the album’s release to chat all things Devastatia, from finding her confidence as a musician to sharing her big day with Sabrina Carpenter.

Photo by Shaun Vadella. Courtesy of Fancy PR.

Hi, Priyanka! Congrats on releasing your debut album, Devastatia! The album is full of bops, including the single “Gucciyanka,” which you co-wrote with Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying. What’s the story behind the song?

I have this mission to be taken seriously as a musician. Because I’m making bops! And with the success of Taste Test and Lemon’s verse on “Come Through” going viral and stuff, it added to this validity that I was like, “Okay, I can do this. I’m meant for this.” I love music! I hid this music bone for so long, but I feel like this is my purpose. 

So I was like, okay, I’m gonna create my second album, but I want to work with some music people. Because there’s still a little bit of like, “You’re a drag queen, hon. Can you just lip sync ‘I Drove All Night’ again?” And I was like, what if I did both? What if I sang my song, and then the encore was “I Drove All Night”?

I was like, I need to work with real music industry people and see if they accept me. Like, maybe this is not for me, maybe this is just me having this dream and not seeing the reality of the situation. And when I DMed Scott, it was very just like, “Yeah, let’s f*cking do it.” It was just so easy.

The song’s hook is so catchy. Where did the title come from?

I told Scott this story about how when I won Drag Race and won $100,000 — which is, sidenote, crazy. Like, just a casual 100k? Let’s talk about that for a second. What the f*ck? 

When I went into a store to buy my first designer bag, I was so excited. I could feel a little bit of pressure, because I was like, oh, they probably think that I’m not going to actually buy anything, or they think I can’t afford it. But I was like, no, that’s society in my head. That’s not true! This can’t be true. 

Whether or not it was true — because I still walked out of there and bought the bag — I’m like, how do I eliminate that out of people? Even if you want to go browse Louis Vuitton and you can’t afford it, you should still be allowed to. You want to go to Gucci just to see how much this dress is and think it’s ridiculous? Go!

That’s where “Gucciyanka” came from, because I was telling Scott that I wanted to be taken seriously as a music artist, and he was like, “You just have to say it.” You know: “to number one-ka,” “like Arian-ka.”

I have this mission to be taken seriously as a musician. Because I’m making bops!

– Priyanka

And of course, your Drag Race sister Lemon is also featured on the song. How did she get involved?

It was kind of the same way that the “Come Through” feature happened. There was a second verse to “Gucciyanka” that I did, and we listened to it, and it was such a big production that I was like, we just need my girl on this. We just need to call her. 

The reason why Lemon and I are so close is because we just wholeheartedly support each other. Like, when we were competing against each other on Drag Race, she was like, “You’re winning. And I’m here to support you to do that.” Like, it takes a f*cking very confident person to say that to somebody. “Gucciyanka” is a celebration of our friendship and a celebration of how much you can just support your girl. 

Are you rooting for Lemon on this season of Canada’s Drag Race vs The World?

I’m mostly rooting for her because she said if she wins, she’s gonna buy me a pair of Louis Vuittons. Because when she went to UK vs The World, I bought her a pair. And she actually wore the pair that I bought her for her best drag look. 

So, fingers crossed! I am Team Lemon all the way, nobody else. I do love Tynomi Banks so much; she’s my girl. And Fiercalicious is kind of f*cking hilarious. Like, what a mess.

The Devastatia album cover. Photo by Nick Merzetti. Graphics by Dan Polyak. Courtesy of Fancy PR.

Do you have a favorite lyric from “Gucciyanka”?

So many. Oh my god. “It’s hard to be a designer in a world that’s always fake. It’s hard to be expensive when nobody wants to pay. I don’t just want an Oscar, he’ll be lonely without friends. Call up Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and carve my name in all of them.” That’s so iconic. That’s crazy! That’s crazy. That’s actually crazy to think about. 

I’ll never forget, at the end of drag shows, I’d always do “My Heart Will Go On,” and everyone would be like, “Why are you doing ‘My Heart Will Go On?’” I’m like, because it’s that singalong. It doesn’t matter. Music is a universal language of love, and we all can sing a song together without knowing each other, and that’s where that energy came from. 

One day, I know for a fact that everyone will belt this verse out. One day! It might be soon, it might be in a few years, but I know that one day everyone will be holding hands and being like, [screaming] “It’s hard to be a designer!”

Thinking about the album as a whole, what are you most excited for people to hear?

I’m excited for everyone to hear the elevation. There’s a clear elevation in the music, and there’s a clear ownership of identity when you hear it. ‘Cause I recorded some songs in 2023, and then I re-recorded a song, because I don’t sing like that anymore — and if you play them side by side, there’s such a difference.

I’m always so finicky about what I put in the songs, and I always set the stage. I’m like, here’s the situation of what I’m personally going through, but I want this song to be a song that someone sings in the shower. Because I am belting Reneé Rapp in the shower every day.

What’s your favorite Reneé Rapp song?

“Snow Angel.” And when I met her at the GLAAD Awards, I told her that. I’m singing you in the shower, b*tch.

One day, I know for a fact that everyone will belt this verse out.

– Priyanka.

You’re also taking the album on the road with The Devastatia Tour across the United States and Canada. Are there any tour stops you’re especially looking forward to?

I’m excited for my Chicago show. For some reason, something in my heart is telling me that that’s gonna be a really unique show. I’m also excited to play Montreal on the same night as Sabrina Carpenter, and that’s also hilarious because we’re dropping our album on the same day. 

Would you say that you are the Sabrina Carpenter of drag?

I would say it. Except they haven’t even gotten their “Espresso” yet.

That’s that Pri espresso, if you will. You also recently announced your upcoming TV show with Bell Media, Drag Brunch Saved My Life, which sounds like a mix between We’re Here and Kitchen Nightmares. Where did your concept for the show come from?

It’s a wild, wild show concept and quite ambitious. I was like, I want to do a show that’s for everyone. There’s Drag Race that everyone loves, and there’s We’re Here that a very niche audience loves, but what about the everybody everybody? What’s the exception when it comes to the gays? It’s drag brunch. That’s the exception. Like, protesting at 9 a.m. but hitting drag brunch at 11 a.m. is the culture. So that’s where that show idea came from.

Was drag brunch a big part of your career before Drag Race?

I remember in Toronto, there was a drag brunch at Glad Day Bookshop, and when I first started drag, it was the coveted drag brunch to do — because it was honestly probably one of the only ones. I remember being genuinely nervous when I got booked for my first drag brunch there. 

The craziest sh*t would happen. I did my first split at that drag brunch. I poured water all over myself. I went out the window — not went out the window, but there was this glass door that led to the street and I got on the back of someone’s motorcycle during “Power” by Little Mix and he took off. Just funny sh*t like that. It really is one of the things that really built a lot of my foundation as a performer.

Is that the energy you’ll be bringing on the show?

I’m excited to bring that to my fellow queens that I’m gonna be casting throughout the show, but also to the restaurant owners. Drag is so magical, whether you want it to be or not. There’s something about it that’s so special, which is why everyone’s always talking about it all the time, and I’m excited to bring that to the small towns in Canada. 

I’m excited to show that there’s a cohesiveness in, you could be a restaurant owner and do your thing, and you could be straight and have your wife, and also still host the drag brunch in this space. We don’t have to be separate. ♦

Devastatia is now streaming on all platforms, and tickets for The Devastatia Tour are on sale here.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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