Kameron Michaels

Kameron Michaels is the stage name of Dane Young[2][4] (born July 23, 1986),[1][3] an American drag performer best known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. She identifies as a muscle queen,[5] that is, a drag queen whose aesthetic embraces a built, muscular body. Because of her physique, she is known by the nickname "The Bodybuilder Barbie".[6] In June 2019, she released "Freedom", her debut single and music video.[7]

Kameron Michaels
Kameron Michaels at RuPaul's DragCon, 2019
Born
Dane Young[1][2]

(1986-07-23) July 23, 1986[1][3]
Massillon, Ohio, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationDrag queen
Known forRuPaul's Drag Race (season 10)
Websitekameronmichaels.com

Early life

Young was born an only child in Massillon, Ohio, where he lived until he was five years old.[8][9] He grew up in Columbia, Tennessee, and moved to Nashville at age 21.[10][11]

Career
Kameron Michaels in 2018

Young began performing in drag at age 18, having come into contact with drag queens while working as a go-go dancer at a club.[12][13] He initially took the drag name Arianna St. Claire.[14][15] After a few months, he switched to the name Kameron Michaels, as he wanted an androgynous first name paired with a last name used by no other drag queen in Nashville.[8][15] Before appearing on RuPaul's Drag Race, he worked full time as a hair stylist, doing drag only on weekends.[10][14]

During that time, Michaels performed regularly at Play Dance Bar in Nashville.[8] She auditioned for the tenth season of Drag Race in an effort to overcome a difficult breakup, and she was selected to participate.[14][16] She finished the season as a runner-up, together with Eureka O'Hara, behind winner Aquaria.[17][18] Some media outlets and fellow contestants dubbed Michaels the season's lip sync assassin, as she lip-synced for her life four times in a row without being sent home.[19][4][20] She also survived the finale's first Lip Sync for the Crown but lost the second one to Aquaria, bringing her lip sync total to six for the season.[21] Since 2019, she has toured internationally alongside other Drag Race alumni as part of the Werq the World tour.[22]

Michaels draws inspiration for her looks from cinema and video games.[9][12] She describes her drag style as hyper-feminine.[23]

Music

As part of her season's final challenge, Michaels and the other top four contestants wrote and recorded their own verses for RuPaul's song "American". The song reached number 12 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart.[24] Michaels recorded the track "Let It Snow" on Christmas Queens 4, a 2018 compilation album featuring Christmas songs performed by former Drag Race contestants.[25][26] She then embarked on the Christmas Queens tour of Europe in November and December of that year.[27] In June 2019, she released a single called "Freedom" together with its corresponding music video.[7]

Personal life

Young is openly gay.[28] He started visiting the gym with a boyfriend who pressured him to stop doing drag.[6][12] After they broke up, Young continued to focus on building muscle and returned to the drag scene, where his body drew criticism from others in the industry.[16][29]

Discography

Singles
Title Year Album Ref
"Freedom" 2019 Non-album single [7]

Filmography

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) Herself Contestant (runner-up)
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (season 10) Herself

Internet series
Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
2018 Gaymer Guys Herself Guest host [30]
Fashion Photo RuView Herself Guest host [31][32]
Hey Qween Herself Guest [15]
How to Makeup Herself [33]
Bestie$ for Ca$h Herself With Eureka O'Hara [34]
2018–present Can Do Queens Herself Co-host (with Asia O'Hara) [35]
2020 Werq the World Herself Featured queen [36]

Music videos
Year Title Ref
2019 "Freedom" [7]

References
  1. Deerwester, Jayme (June 27, 2018). "'RuPaul's Drag Race': Which queen will win Season 10? Who should?". USA Today. Maribel Perez Wadsworth. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  2. Thanki, Juli (February 23, 2018). "Nashville contestant to compete on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". The Tennessean. Laura Hollingsworth. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  3. Kameron Michaels [@kameronmichaels] (July 23, 2017). "It'sssssss my BIRTHDAY! 😁🎊And how often am I in LA?! Come celebrate with my old ass ✌🏼💋" (Instagram post). Archived from the original on August 12, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2018 – via Instagram.
  4. Kelly, Emma (June 30, 2018). "'I made them feel it was OK': Kameron Michaels on opening the drag doors to masculine people". Metro. DMGT. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  5. Campbell, Chuck (June 13, 2018). "Yas! Tennesseans slay on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". Knoxville News Sentinel. Journal Media Group. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  6. Patterson, Denny (June 6, 2018). "The Bodybuilder Barbie: Kameron Michaels". Out Front. Jerry Cunningham. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  7. Damshenas, Sam (June 25, 2019). "Premiere: Watch Drag Race star Kameron Michaels' video for debut single Freedom". Gay Times. James Frost. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  8. Nunn, Jerry (May 30, 2018). "NUNN ON ONE Kameron Michaels muscles in on drag scene". Windy City Times. Tracy Baim. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  9. Rodriguez, Mathew (May 14, 2018). "Kameron Michaels, Biqtch Puddin', and More Talk Female Video Game Characters, Drag, and Queer Identity". INTO. Grindr LLC. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  10. Malone, Janice (May 17, 2018). "5 Questions With Kameron". The Tennessee Tribune. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  11. VH1 (July 3, 2018). Whatcha Packin': Kameron Michaels | Season 10 Episode 14 | RuPaul's Drag Race Season 10 (YouTube video). 1:20 minutes in. Retrieved July 18, 2018. I moved to Nashville when I was 21.
  12. Rodriguez, Mathew (May 22, 2018). "Kameron Michaels Talks Femininity, Thirst Traps, and Her Time Away from Drag". INTO. Grindr LLC. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  13. Dalton, Paisley (July 19, 2016). "#TransformationTuesday: QWERRRKOUT feat. Kameron Michaels". The WOW Report. World of Wonder Productions, Inc. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  14. Koch, Drew (March 22, 2018). "Are Chad & Kameron Michaels From The Same Drag Family? The 'RuPaul' Stars Have Something In Common". Bustle. BDG Media, Inc. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  15. Hey Qween (August 20, 2018). KAMERON MICHAELS on Hey Qween! Beach House with Jonny McGovern (YouTube video). 11:45 minutes in. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  16. Keady, Cameron (March 30, 2018). "Hot Tea with Kameron Michaels". The Standard. Standard International Management, LLC. Archived from the original on August 13, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  17. Katz, Evan Ross (June 29, 2018). "'Rupaul's Drag Race' season 10 finale: Kameron Michaels exit interview". Mic. Mic Network Inc. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  18. Duarte, Amanda (June 29, 2018). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 10 Finale: Everybody Say Love". The New York Times. A.G. Sulzberger. Archived from the original on July 5, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  20. Cook, Michael (June 30, 2018). "Kameron Michaels Talks Supporting The Younger Generation and Being Season Ten's Undisputed Lip Sync Assassin". South Florida Gay News. Norm Kent. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  21. Speegle, Trey (July 1, 2018). "#RDR10: Kameron Michaels Is a "Legend" According to Which "Drag Race" Superstar"..?". The WOW Report. World of Wonder Productions, Inc. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  22. Tehee, Joshua (September 17, 2019). "Drag queen Kameron Michaels' quick rundown on RuPaul's 'Werq the World' tour". The Fresno Bee. Tim Ritchey. Archived from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  23. Nolfi, Joey (May 24, 2018). "RuPaul's Drag Race star Kameron Michaels awkwardly explains 'hyper-feminine' drag to a straight man". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  24. Youtt, Henry (July 11, 2018). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Queens Who Landed Entries on the Billboard Charts". Billboard. Lynne Segall. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  25. Daw, Stephen (November 12, 2018). "Alaska, Manila Luzon & More Get Into the Holiday Spirit With Sneak Peek Of 'Christmas Queens 4:' Listen". Billboard. Lynne Segall. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  26. "Christmas Queens 4". iTunes Store. November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
  27. Dalton, Paisley (November 2, 2018). "RuPaul's Drag Race "Christmas Queens" Show feat. Bob The Drag Queen, Kameron Michaels, Asia O'Hara, Sharon Needles & More!!!". The WOW Report. World of Wonder Productions, Inc. Archived from the original on October 28, 2019. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  28. "American". RuPaul's Drag Race. Season 10. Episode 12. June 14, 2018. 51:08 minutes in. VH1. Retrieved July 25, 2018. I'm gay and proud. Might not be loud, but I found my sound.
  29. Rodriguez, Mathew (May 17, 2018). "Kameron Michaels, Toxic Masculinity and Me". INTO. Grindr LLC. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  30. "E3 2018: Gaymer Guys 211". Gaymer Guys. Season 2. Episode 11. July 23, 2018. WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  31. "Mayhem Miller & Kameron Michaels: Fashion Photo RuView 535". Fashion Photo RuView. Season 5. Episode 35. August 11, 2018. WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  32. "Eureka and Kameron: Fashion Photo RuView 541". Fashion Photo RuView. Season 5. Episode 41. September 22, 2018. WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  33. "Kameron Michaels - Pointed Lips: How To Makeup 214". How to Makeup. Season 2. Episode 14. September 1, 2018. WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  34. "Bestie$ for Ca$h: Eureka and Kameron Michaels!". Bestie$ for Ca$h. Season 5. Episode 6. September 11, 2018. WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  35. "Can Do Queens Christmas with Asia and Kameron!". Can Do Queens. Season 1. Episode 1. December 24, 2018. WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  36. Ramos, Dino-Ray (May 19, 2020). "World Of Wonder Sets U.S. Premiere Dates For 'How's Your Head, Hun?', 'Canada's Drag Race' And Return Of 'Werq The World'". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
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