Alaska Thunderfuck

Alaska Thunderfuck
Thunderfuck performing on the AAA Girls tour in Denver (c.2017)
Born Justin Andrew Honard
(1985-03-06) March 6, 1985
Erie, Pennsylvania
Residence Los Angeles, California, US
Other names Alaska, Alaska Thunderf*ck 5000, Alaska 5000, Alaska Thunderfun
Alma mater University of Pittsburgh
Occupation
Years active 2006–present
Known for RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 2) winner
Height 6'1"
Predecessor Chad Michaels
Successor Trixie Mattel
Musical career
Genres
Website alaskathunderfuck.com

Alaska Thunderfuck 5000 (primarily known mononymously as Alaska) is the stage name of Justin Andrew Honard,[1] an American drag performer and recording artist best known as the runner-up on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race[2][3]and the winner of the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.[4]

Early life

Honard was raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Fort LeBoeuf High School in 2003.[1][5] He studied theater at the University of Pittsburgh.[6]

Career

2007–2012: Career beginnings

Thunderfuck at Dayton Pride in 2010

Alaska originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Dissatisfied with the auditioning process, she turned to drag and got a job at the West Hollywood club, Fubar.[7] She frequently performed in the Trannyshack shows in Los Angeles.[8] In 2009, she performed in Palm Springs Gay Pride with Tammie Brown and Jer Ber Jones.[9]

Alaska met future boyfriend Sharon Needles (real name Aaron Coady) through Myspace in December 2009 and eventually moved back to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to live with him in 2010.[5] Along with Needles and Cherri Baum, she formed the band Haus of Haunt, which later evolved into a drag troupe based out of the bar the Blue Moon. As part of the Haus of Haunt, she helped present the Pittsburgh debut of fellow drag queen and recording artist Christeene Vale in 2013. Alaska later impersonated Vale for the music video "RuPaulogize" by Willam Belli.[10]

2013–2015: RuPaul's Drag Race

Alaska Thunderfuck competed on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, under the mononym Alaska.[5][11] She had previously auditioned for every season of the show.[7] Alaska won the fragrance commercial-themed main challenge in the episode "Scent of a Drag Queen" and the main challenge for "Sugar Ball."[12][13] As part of the show, Alaska sang on the "We Are the World"-inspired song "Can I Get an Amen?". The song's proceeds helped benefit the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.[14] At the season finale in May 2013, Alaska was declared the runner-up along with fellow competitor Roxxxy Andrews. Jinkx Monsoon was the winner of the season.

In October 2013, Alaska performed as Dr. Frank N. Furter in Woodlawn Theatre's production of The Rocky Horror Show in San Antonio, Texas. RuPaul's Drag Race judge Michelle Visage and season four contestant Willam Belli also starred in the musical.[15]

Since appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, Alaska has toured and performed, appearing in RuPaul's Drag Race Battle of the Seasons shows, the Drag Stars at Sea cruises, custom one-woman shows such as a Stevie Nicks tribute called "Stevie Forever", a cabaret show called "Red for Filth", and a holiday show called "Blue Christmas".[16][17] During the summer of 2014, she starred in a stage production of Sex and the City.[18] With brother Cory Binney, Honard has a web series sponsored by World of Wonder, called Bro'Laska.[19] In 2014, Alaska became a spokesmodel for American Apparel alongside Willam Belli and Courtney Act.[20]

Alaska has since released a string of singles, namely "Ru Girl", "Your Makeup Is Terrible", and "Nails". In June 2015, Alaska's debut album, Anus, was released to positive reviews. Singles from the album included "Hieeee" and "This is My Hair".[21][22][23]

2016–present: RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2

In 2016, Alaska returned to Drag Race for the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars.[24] She received some backlash due to some of her choices of eliminations and her behavior toward the end of the competition. In response, Alaska donated $5,000 to the charity Trans Kids Purple Rainbow and posted an apology video online. In the season finale, she was crowned the second winner of All Stars.[25][26][27]

On October 14, 2016, Alaska released her second album, titled Poundcake.[28] Three singles from the album have been released: "The T",[29] "Stun",[30] "Puppet". The album is named after the puppet challenge on RuPaul's Drag Race where Alaska and fellow contestant Lineysha Sparx created a rebellious puppet called Lil' Poundcake.[31]

Alaska competed in the first season of VH1's Scared Famous, which premiered on October 23, 2017.[32]

Public image and artistry

She has stated, "I am a huge fan of drag for many reasons; first and foremost being that it is an extremely important form of performance art. Drag uses humor as means of relaying a message, and because humor tends to get overlooked as a valid way to communicate through art, drag tends to get pigeonholed into being something "less than" when you think about it in terms what you’d see at a museum. I can’t think of almost anything more artistically redeeming than a huge museum full of drag queens, but maybe that's just me."[33][34] Due to Honrad's devotion to drag, she has been referred to by fellow drag queens as RuPaul's prodigy.

She has cited Gianni Versace, Lady Gaga and Marc Jacobs as her favorite fashion influences.[35] Thought Catalog described her style as "risk-taking" and "creative", with "weird choices";[36] Yahoo! called her Lil Poundcake outfit a "pink nightmare" and "clownish crazy", and "the drag and music world would certainly be very quiet without Ms Thunderfuck".[37]

Billboard listed Thunderfuck the seventh-most-active drag queen on social media on its August 2015 Social 50 chart.[38]

Honard's drag name is derived from Alaskan Thunderfuck, a strain of cannabis. Alaska counts Divine and Marilyn Monroe as her "role models".[39]

Personal life

Alaska is openly gay and was in a relationship with fellow drag queen Sharon Needles for four years before separating in December 2013. Although they did not speak for months after the relationship they now continue to remain good friends. [40]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
US
Dance
[41]		 US
Heat.
[42]		 US
Indie
[43]		 BEL
(FL)
[44]
Anus 3 4 14 —
Poundcake
  • Released: October 14, 2016[46]
  • Label: Producer Entertainment Group
  • Format: Digital download
 4 3 28 200

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Comedy
Digital
[47]
"Ru Girl"[48] 2013 — Non-album single
"Your Makeup Is Terrible"[49] 2014 — Anus
"Nails"[50] —
"Hieeee"[51] 2015 5
"This Is My Hair"[52] —
"Gimme All Your Money"
(featuring Laganja Estranja)[53]		 2016 —
"Anus"[54] —
"Puppet"[55] — Poundcake
"The T"
(featuring Adore Delano)		 —
"Stun"
(featuring Gia Gunn)		 2017 —
"Come to Brazil" —
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
US
Comedy
Digital
[47]
"Let's Get Something Started"[56] (Candy Apple Blue featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2013 — Night Tracks
"Can I Get an Amen?"[57] (RuPaul featuring Drag Race Season 5 Cast) — Non-album single
"Kai Kai" (Sharon Needles featuring Ana Matronic & Alaska Thunderfuck) — PG-13
"I Look Fuckin' Cool"[58] (Adore Delano featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2014 — Till Death Do Us Party
"American Apparel Ad Girls"[59] (with Courtney Act & Willam) 10 Shartistry in Motion
"Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man"[60] (with Courtney Act & Willam) — Non-album single
"Ride for AIDS" (Willam featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2015 12 Shartistry in Motion
"Miss Fame" (Miss Fame featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) — Beauty Marked
"Read U Wrote U" (RuPaul featuring Alaska Thunderfuck, Detox, Katya & Roxxxy Andrews) 2016 — Non-album single
"Yet Another Dig" (Bob the Drag Queen featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) 2017 — Non-album single
"Shade" (Cake Moss featuring Alaska) 2018 — Non-album single
"All This Body" (Jiggly Caliente featuring Alaska Thunderfuck & Ginger Minj) — Thot Process
"America's Sweetheart" (Blair St. Clair featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) — Call My Life
"La China Mas Latina" (Gia Gunn featuring Alaska Thunderfuck) — Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that failed to chart or was not released in that territory.

Other appearances

Title Year Other artist(s) Album
"Everyday Is Christmas", "Christmas Sweater" 2015 Various artists Christmas Queens
"Chr!$tm@s $ux!", "Working Holiday" 2016 Various artists Christmas Queens 2
"Angels We Have Heard On High", "We Three Queens" 2017 Various artists Christmas Queens 3

Tours

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2015 TupiniQueens Herself In production. Brazilian film.
2018 Hurricane Bianca 2: From Russia With Hate Herself Cameo
2018 The Last Sharknado: It's About Time Morgana Television film [62]
2018 The Quiet Room Hattie Independent film [63]

Television

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2011 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Season 3 – Episode 1: "Casting Extravaganza"
2012 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked Herself Season 4 – Cameo in video message
2013 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Season 5 – Runner-up
2013 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked Herself Season 5
2015 The Art Of Herself Episode: "The Art of Drag"
2015 RuPaul's Drag Race Anna Wintour Season 7 – Episode 1: "Born Naked"
2016 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Season 8 – Episode 10: "Grand Finale"
2016 RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race Herself Season 2 – Winner
2017 The New Celebrity Apprentice Herself Episode: "Candy for a Billionaire"
2017 @midnight Herself Episode 580
2017 Scared Famous Herself Season 1 – 6th Place
2018 RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race Herself Season 3 - Cameo

Web series

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2013 Pure Camp Herself Produced by World of Wonder [64]
2014–present Bro'Laska Herself Produced by World of Wonder [19]
2017 Shane and Friends Herself Season 5 – Episode 27
2017 Dragula Herself Season 2 – Episode 4
2018 The Pit Stop Herself Produced by VH1
2018 Ass Controller Alexis Thunderstorm Produced by Men.com [65]

Theatre

Year Title Role Theatre Ref.
2013 The Rocky Horror Show Dr. Frank N. Furter Woodlawn Theatre [15]

Music videos

Year Title Artist(s) Role Ref.
2015 "Do It Like Miley" Team Heartbreak Herself [66]
2016 "Expensive" Todrick Hall Herself [67]
2017 "Power" Little Mix feat. Stormzy Herself [68]
2018 "666" Sharon Needles Herself -

References

  1. 1 2 McCracken, Sean (March 13, 2013). "High school friend on national reality competition". Erie Times-News. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  2. ↑ Rezsnyak, Eric. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 5 Reunion: The winner revealed!". City Newspaper. Rochester, New York. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Alaska Thunderfuck - Official Pornstar Profile on Men". www.men.com. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  4. ↑ "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 2' Winner on Snatching the Crown, Her Haters and Who She Wanted To Win". People. 2016-10-14. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Nunn, Jerry (April 18, 2013). "Alaska from RuPaul's Drag Race dishes with Jerry Nunn". ChicagoPride.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2013. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  6. ↑ Sciullo, Maria (January 28, 2013). "Pittsburgh's 'Alaska' takes a turn on 'Drag Race'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  7. 1 2 Middleton, Josh (March 29, 2013). "Interview: Alaska From RuPaul's Drag Race Talks About Life Post-Show and Her Love Affair with Sharon Needles". Philadelphia. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  8. ↑ Lucid, Michael (July 23, 2009). "Daily Freak Show: James Goes to Trannyshack". World of Wonder. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  9. ↑ Lucid, Michael (November 18, 2009). "James St. James Goes to the Ace Hotel". World of Wonder. Archived from the original on February 7, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2013.
  10. ↑ Higbee, Jonathan (April 22, 2013). "Willam's Back With Brand New Video, "RuPaulogize"". IInstinct. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  11. ↑ Coughlan, Maggie (November 19, 2012). "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5 Contestants Announced". People. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  12. ↑ Sava, Oliver (March 19, 2013). "Scent of a Drag Queen". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  13. ↑ Sava, Oliver (April 16, 2013). "Sugar Ball". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  14. ↑ Parker, Lyndsey (March 5, 2013). "Great Musical Moments In Reality TV: RuPaul's "Can I Get An Amen"". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  15. 1 2 Shorey, Eric (8 October 2013). "Willam, Alaska And Michelle Visage Get Ready To Rock "Rocky Horror Show": PHOTOS". New Now Next. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Alaska: Stevie Forever-The Laurie Beechman Theatre In New York".
  17. ↑ "Alaska Opens New Show, "Red For Filth," In NYC //". NewNowNext.
  18. ↑ "Sex and the City Live! San Francisco Tickets - $15.00 at Victoria Theatre". Goldstar,com.
  19. 1 2 "BroLaska Starring Alaska Thunderfuck and Cory Binney". World of Wonder.
  20. ↑ "Exclusive: Alaska, Courtney Act, and Willam Belli Team Up With American Apparel". Out Magazine.
  21. ↑ "The Magic Critique: 'Anus' by Alaska Thunderfuck Album Review". themagiccritique.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Alaska Thunderfuck Makes Better Dance Music Than Your Vanilla Garbage". NOISEY.
  23. ↑ Reynolds, Daniel. "Why Alaska Thunderfuck Titled Her New Album 'Anus'". The Advocate.
  24. ↑ "'RuPaul's All Stars Drag Race' season 2 cast revealed — exclusive". Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  25. ↑ Shah, Karim (October 11, 2016). "Alaska Responds To 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Fan Uproar". Instinct Magazine. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Alaska Responds to 'Drag Race' Backlash via Video, Snake References Abound". Pop Crush. October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  27. ↑ Morgan, Joe (October 11, 2016). "RuPaul's Drag Race stars Alaska and Detox are donating $10,000 via Paypal before taxes to charity". Gay Star News. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  28. ↑ http://alaskathunderfuck.com/music/
  29. ↑ "The T (feat. Adore Delano) – Single by Alaska Thunderfuck on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  30. ↑ "Watch Alaska And Gia Gunn "Stun" In Fierce New Music Video". LOGO News. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  31. ↑ Crowley, Patrick. "'RuPaul's Drag Race' All-Star Alaska Drops New Music Video for 'Puppet'". Billboard. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  32. ↑ Bellino, Damian. "VH1 Announces Scared Famous Starring Tiffany Pollard, Drita D'Avanzo, Alaska Thunderfuck, and More!". VH1 (Viacom). Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  33. ↑ Podell, Michael (February 21, 2014). "An Exclusive Interview With Alaska, From RuPaul's Drag Race". Thought Catalog. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  34. ↑ Madison Moore (July 9, 2015). "9 Fierce Queens Who Should Definitely Be On "RuPaul's Drag Race" All Stars 2!". Thought Catalog. Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Alaska Thunderfuck Interview – Celebrity Style". Teen Vogue. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  36. ↑ Moore, Madison (October 5, 2017). "Alaska Thunderfuck's Most Memorable Moments". Thought Catalog. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Alaska Thunderfuck's fashion extends to Pink-print body..." Yahoo! UK. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Alaska Thunderfuck – Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  39. ↑ Slice, Kymbo. "The Alaska Thunderfuck Interview". Nak You Out. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  40. ↑ http://www.dragofficial.com/phil/the-post-breakup-interview-alaska-thunderfuck-discusses-how-it-happened-sobriety-and-her-plans-for-the-future
  41. ↑ "Alaska Thunderfuck – Chart history (Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  42. ↑ "Alaska Thunderfuck – Chart history (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Alaska Thunderfuck – Chart history (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  44. ↑ "ultratop.be – Discografie Alaska Thunderfuck". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Anus – Alaska Thunderfuck". Amazon. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
  46. ↑ Poundcake by Alaska Thunderfuck on Apple Music
  47. 1 2 "Billboard Chart Archive" (To access, type "Alaska" in the artist bar, then select "Comedy Digital Tracks" in the chart name bar). Billboard. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  48. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Ru Girl – Single by Alaska Thunderfuck". iTunes.
  49. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Your Makeup Is Terrible – Single by Alaska Thunderfuck". iTunes.
  50. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Nails – Single by Alaska Thunderfuck". iTunes.
  51. ↑ "Hieeee [Explicit]". Amazon.
  52. ↑ "Alaska Launches Music Video For "Hieeee," Announces New Album". NewNowNext. June 9, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  53. ↑ Gimme All Your Money feat. Laganja Estranja [Official] - YouTube
  54. ↑ Alaska Thunderfuck – Anus [Official] - YouTube
  55. ↑ Alaska Thunderfuck – Puppet [Official] - YouTube
  56. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Let's Get Something Started (Extended Play) – EP by Candy Apple Blue". iTunes.
  57. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Can I Get an Amen? (feat. The Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5) – Single by RuPaul". iTunes.
  58. ↑ "iTunes – Music – I Look F****n Cool (feat. Alaska Thunderfuck) – Single by Adore Delano". iTunes.
  59. ↑ "iTunes – Music – American Apparel Ad Girls – Single by Willam, Courtney & Alaska". iTunes.
  60. ↑ "iTunes – Music – Dear Santa, Bring Me a Man – Single by Willam, Alaska Thunderfuck & Courtney Act". iTunes.
  61. ↑ Gutelle, Sam (August 21, 2017). "Drag Queens Willam, Alaska, Courtney Act Hit The Road For Fullscreen-Produced Tour". Tubefilter. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  62. ↑ Chappell, Les (19 August 2018). "The Last Sharknado is the last flopping gasp of a series well past its sell-by date". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  63. ↑ The Quiet Room, retrieved 2018-08-31
  64. ↑ Asea, Adam (22 August 2013). "The Premiere of Sharon Needles and Alaska: Pure Camp". World of Wonder. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
  65. ↑ "Ass Controller Part 9 - Official Free Gay Scenes - Men". www.men.com. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  66. ↑ Team Heartbreak (2015-07-01), Do It Like Miley [Official] Feat. Alaska Thunderfuck, retrieved 2018-08-31
  67. ↑ todrickhall (2016-07-20), Expensive by Todrick Hall feat: Kim Chi, Willam, Alaska, Mariah & Laganja, retrieved 2018-08-31
  68. ↑ Salandra, Anam (6 June 2017). "Alaska, Courtney Act, Willam Will Have The "Power" In New Little Mix Video". NewNowNext. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.