Season 4 of Drag Race Down Under brought us many talented queens from across Australia and Aotearoa—but none were as camp, as composed, or as cultured as Sydney’s Vybe. And though she wasn’t the one to snatch the crown, Vybe’s performance placed her consistently on the heels of Melbourne’s Lazy Susan to the bitter end.
In conversation with Not Safe For Queers, Vybe discusses her drag influences, the arrival of Bad Vybe in episode six, and the song she wishes she could’ve lip-synced in front of Michelle Visage.
Let’s be honest, in its (very) short lifetime, Drag Race Down Under has produced some infamously shocking seasons. But this season, the stars finally aligned, and we were given eight fantastic episodes that were not only entertaining but felt fully-rounded in every aspect—and the queens agree.
“It honestly was one of the most joyful and positive experiences that I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Vybe tells Not Safe For Queers. “And I don’t think I went into it expecting to have such a positive experience.”
“But—and I keep saying this—it feels like we got the ingredients right, and the cake tastes goddamn delicious this time. From the girls to the crew to the entire production of it, everything just fell how it should have. It just made everything feel so good. And, honestly, I wouldn’t change a single damn thing.”
Throughout this season, Vybe’s performances very closely rivalled those of Lazy Susan. And just like Lazy Susan, Vybe was the only other queen to famously never bottom (at least, not on screen *wink, wink*).
There was one moment, however, after episode six’s acting challenge, when Vybe’s inner saboteur got the better of her, and out came Bad Vybe. “She pops her head up a lot,” Vybe admits, sheepishly. “It was a miracle that we didn’t see her earlier in the season.”
“I’m a very hard-on-myself kind of person, so if I don’t think I that I’ve delivered something to the level that I’m happy with and I get in that headspace, then I just absolutely shut down. I don’t want to talk to anyone, I don’t want to be seen, I don’t want to be heard. I just want to hide away for a minute until I’m ready to be back on my bullshit,” she laughs.
Though if push did come to shove and Vybe was placed in the bottom two, it’s a ballad that she’d love to perform in front of Michelle Visage.
“It would be anything Whitney Houston, anything Celine Dion, anything Jesse J, anything old world, classic diva. Big belting ballad. Like, that’s my drag. That’s where I excel the most. And it’s the performance that I love. I love a big, emotional, hearty ballad,” she says.
And that’s where Vybe really stands out from her fellow queens. While many of her sisters (like Max, Freya, Karna, Nikita and even Lazy) represent a much more contemporary style of drag, Vybe’s drag leans far more old school.
“When I first started drag, I gravitated towards that traditional type of drag—the Miss Continental, the big, traditional drag in America, the legends that we have in Australia. And, you know, it took me a while to find my version of it, but I think I’m more of a traditional, camp showgirl than anything else.”
Moving forward, Vybe has her sights set on one thing: Drag Race Down Under Live On Stage. “I’m just so excited. We’re just chomping at the bit to be together as a 10 again and travel around and celebrate the season.”
Stream all eight Episodes of Drag Race Down Under Season 4 now—only on Stan.