Lady Gaga praises ‘Drag Race PH’ alums Precious Paula Nicole, Popstar Bench
The “Abracadabra” cover performance of Popstar Bench (left) and Precious Paula Nicole caught the attention of superstar Lady Gaga. Images: Instagram/@ladygaga, TikTok/@precioussspaulanicole
“Drag Race Philippines” alums Precious Paula Nicole and Popstar Bench were on cloud nine after their performance of Lady Gaga’s new single “Abracadabra” caught the attention of the award-winning singer-songwriter herself.
In celebration of the Rampa Drag Club’s anniversary, Precious and Bench did an explosive dance performance of Lady Gaga’s new single, uploaded on the season one winner’s TikTok page on Sunday, February 9. It caught the actress-singer’s attention three days later when she called them “superstars” in the comments.
Image: Screengrab from TikTok/@precioussspaulanicole
According to Bench, the stage was made to celebrate the Quezon City-based drag club’s first anniversary. It was originally supposed to be the “Drag Race Philippines” season three alum’s solo performance, but Precious suggested during rehearsals that she would be the “lady in red” as a nod to Gaga’s “Abracadabra” music video.
“Sa rehearsal, ang original plan ay ako lang ang magpe-perform. Pero nang nag-usap kami ni Precious, naisip namin: What if siya ang maging ‘Lady in Red’? Noong una, ayaw pa niya. Pero para sa ikagaganda ng show, pak! Ayan, havey,” Bench told INQUIRER.net in a text message.
“Super bilis ng mga pangyayari. I started rehearsing with the ‘Rampa Movers’ then the next day we came up with the idea na sasali na nga si Precious sa eksena. She choreographed her part and then combined it,” she further recalled.
(During rehearsals, the original plan was that I would be the only one who would perform. But after Precious and I talked, we thought what if she would be the “Lady in Red?” At first, she didn’t want to do it. But to make the show better, that’s it! It happened so fast. I started rehearsing with the “Rampa Movers” and we came up with the idea of Precious joining the performance. She choreographed her part then we combined it.)
@precioussspaulanicole Abracadabra by @POPSTAR BENCH and Moi! ❤️ @ladygaga @Rampa Club #ladygaga #abracadabra #abracadabrachallange #rampa ♬ original sound – preciouspaulanicole
Rehearsals for their performance lasted for three days with Precious “manifesting” that they will be noticed by Gaga herself.
“Minanifest kasi talaga namin ’yun. Days before ng anniversary show namin while preparing, sabi namin ni [Popstar] Bench — kasama ko siya d’un—sana mag-trending tayo,” she told INQUIRER.net in a chance interview.
“Then [we thought], hindi. Dapat makita siya ni Lady Gaga. Three days before the performance, sinabi ko ’yun sa kanya. Noong nangyari siya, nakakatuwa,” she continued.
(We manifested for it to happen. Days before the anniversary show, Popstar Bench and I manifested for our performance to trend. Then we thought that no, Lady Gaga needs to see it. I said it to her three days before the performance. It made me happy when it happened.)
View this post on Instagram
Precious and Bench consider Gaga as one of the leading icons for the LGBTQIA+ community, which is why the singer-songwriter’s acknowledgment of their performance meant a lot to them.
“Since ‘The Fame’ era pa lang, super fan na ako ni Lady Gaga. Bata pa lang ako, ginagaya ko na siya kahit hindi pa ako drag queen,” Bench said. “Sobrang saya ko na mapansin ako—siyempre, kasama ang best friend kong si Precious! Napakatagal ko nang hinintay na ma-notice niya kami. Napakagaling ng mga ‘Rampa Movers’ and ‘Rampa Reynas.’ So salamat din sa kanila.”
(I have been a super fan of Lady Gaga since her “The Fame” era. I used to imitate her when I was young even before I became a drag queen. I was so happy that she noticed me and my best friend Precious. I have long waited for her to notice us. The Rampa Movers and Rampa Reynas were great as well, so thank you to them.)
View this post on Instagram
Following their successful fangirl moment, Precious hoped that she would have a chance to perform with the stars she idolized in the future.
“Before Lady Gaga, si Beyoncé po talaga ’yung idol ko. Kasi nakita ko na rin si Madonna, Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, [and] Ate Regine [Velasquez]. Ang sunod kong ima-manifest is hindi na lang mapansin. [I want] to perform with the stars na tinitingala ko,” she said.
(Before Lady Gaga, Beyoncé has been my idol ever since. I already saw Madonna, Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, and Ate Regine Velasquez. What I want to manifest next is to not only be noticed by them. I want to perform with the stars whom I look up to.)
Precious was named the winner of “Drag Race Philippines” season one, while Bench finished seventh in the third season of the hit reality series.
