Having watched Shea Couleé officially slay three seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Loverboy was excited to talk looks’n’lip-syncs with our All Stars 5 winner. But something we were not prepared for was to be left bewitched, bewildered and bamboozled by that rich, seductive, velvety voice of hers. She even told us, ‘Anybody who knows me knows I love a good ol’ velvety, buttery vocal.’ Girl, she’s not lying!

Now she’s putting those pipes to work as she drops not one but two singles. The first, ‘Your Name‘, we got a taste of during her full-on Janet Jackson fantasy in the All Stars 7 Talent Show. The second, ‘Let Go‘ is a moment of seductive escapism. Both are total throwbacks to 80s soul and see Shea not just living the Janet fantasy but the Luther one too. Janet and Luther, what a greedy bitch! The two tracks are smooth as hell with hooks that will carry you from the basement partay to the boudoir. This being a Shea Couleé production, accompanying the songs is a Mugler-tastic music video with choreo that for real, we will be re-creating this weekend. Get into it below.

To celebrate the release, we spoke to Shea earlier this week while she was filming something ‘top secret’ in Atlanta. Using our Nancy Drew powers of deduction we suspect it just might be this. But that’s for another day and another Zoom call. Today is all about new music, songwriting, vocals and her favourite Mariah Carey song. Oh and of course, we get into those questionable edits of All Stars 7!

Shea, you and Loverboy go way back – we first spoke back in 2014, eight years ago. I remember first catching a video of you lip-syncing to Azealia and knowing you were one to watch. What a journey!
It has been quite a long journey, for real, for real.

And I just read on your wiki page that she ghosted you?! Is this true?!
You know…..look, I don’t even like to bring up any kind of contentious topics. So I choose to just not even speak on it because every time it comes back up she has feelings about it. But, I wish her the best. 

OK, got it. Back in 2014 you described Shea as equal parts bougie and banjie. How has this idea changed since then?
Nothing has really changed. In fact, one of the reasons why I really loved Azealia’s album Broke With Expensive Taste is that is exactly how I describe myself. This story of someone who comes from humble beginnings, more working class and then just honestly having a taste for the finer things in life. I always want to present something that has a lot of excellence to it but also underneath its heartbeat comes from a very real and humble place.

It was always my Mum who taught me, ‘Why have wine, when you can have champagne?!’ Who were the first people to educate you in these expensive tastes?
I really think I was just born with it. When I was three or four, my babysitter was like ‘Oh my God, he is so bougie’ and everyone adopted the term from then! My parents love to tell this story about how one night we went out to dinner. We’d gone to a burger joint and my four older siblings had ordered the typical burgers. But the waiter gets to me and I’m like, ‘Oh, you know, I’ll have the Filet Mignon.’ I was eight years old. My Dad turned, looked at me and said, ‘I don’t even know where you learned to pronounce that word but you’re having a burger!’ Haha….

Ha! I love a steak tartare myself. We are here to discuss your new Double A-side, ‘Your Name’ & ‘Let Go.’ What was your mood when writing these two songs?
A lot of my writing inspiration comes from my experiences working in a club. I always like to harken back to this romantic period of my pre-Drag Race career in Chicago. For me, I wanted ‘Let Go’ to be that song for industry people who know what it’s like to work in these clubs. You are ready to leave work, you’re passing by the dancefloor and the DJ just puts on something so hypnotic that you want to stay and have this wild night of abandon even though you know you should go home.

I spoke with Priyanka the other day who said how for her it’s important to write more personal lyrics than just, ‘Snatching wigs and crowns, etc.’ How is songwriting for you?
I write songs about memories, feelings and experiences. That is what I love when I’m listening to music. I can hear a song and it makes me immediately identify a specific memory that makes me feel a certain type of way. Deeper feelings than just, ‘Yes, hunty’, you know? Feelings of love, longing, desire, fear, excitement, anger, passion…all of that!

You’ve worked with GESS on a few tracks in the past and you’re working with him again on ‘Your Name.’ How do you write together? I live for ‘Collide’.
Ah thank you. I just really love GESS’ writing style. He has this way of coming up with these hypnotic melodies. Our process is quite organic. I also feel like he understands my voice, the way I like to sing.

And when you approach the vocals, are you thinking about whether you are presenting more masculine or feminine?
I just write what feels natural and comfortable for me. Baby, I am not out here convincing anybody that I sound like Mariah Carey. I am not going to be trying to force some kind high tenor, mezzo/alto voice that’s not there. Haha….The vocals are already buttery and anybody who knows me knows I love a good ol’ velvety, buttery vocal.

Same! Are these two tracks part of something bigger?
Yeah, they are part of an album that you can expect to be coming out in a few months.

Does it have a title yet?
I have not had that moment yet. This is my first album so I need it to be right on the money. One thing I can say is that musically it feels really nostalgic but it also narrates my very contemporary feelings and experiences.

You and I are both giant fans of Janet – queen of interludes. Will we be seeing any interludes on your album?
She is! Aha…you know I’ve actually thought of a couple and toyed around with a couple of concepts, whether I want them to be spoken or actually compose them musically myself.
The way I really want the whole album to run is like a concept of one night in the club but then Beyoncé dropped Renaissance, so I was like, ‘Well shit, she just went ahead and did that flawlessly!’ Hahaha…

She can jump on your remix, babe.
Look she could cough and I would take it!!!

Back in 2014 I asked you if you would apply for Drag Race. You told me,’I’m just being coy about any involvement with projects that make you sign contracts just to audition.’ I want to know…were you justified in that coyness?
Haha…yes I was! They are all very hush hush. I was learning back then, ‘Hey, you’ve just got to not violate any of your NDAs.’ I had to be smart and strategic about it. But I was actively auditioning when we spoke at that time. I guess it worked!

Congratulations on AS7. Besides all the incredible looks you brought each and every time, you and Monet really gave me my two favourite lip-syncs of the season with ‘Old McDonald’ and ‘Supernova.’
Thank you. I love lip-syncing with Monet. It doesn’t even feel like it’s against. It feels like a joint performance. Of all the people I have had the pleasure of sharing that stage and situation with, Monet is by far the most fun.

I am not even a Kylie stan but ‘Supernova’ is now officially in my Top Ten and I’ve been watching since Season One!
Yessss! Me and her were oddly in sync and that was one of those things I really loved about it. We had this energy that helped create this super impactful lip-sync.

Was this was your dancer’s intuition that helped you sync with Monet?
Oh yes, that was definitely dancer’s intuition. There comes a part in the song, you know, it drops out, slows down and you’ve already been dancing, so you’re like, ‘This is the moment when I get to take a breath but do it in a really sexy way.’ Her and I both obviously had that same intuition where we lie down on the stage for a couple of bars, before we go and turn it out for the rest of the song.

And ‘Old McDonald’ was insane. How did you prepare for that song?
Luckily for me, I’m a quick learner. When it’s right, it’s right. At first I was like, ‘What is this lip-sync? Are they serious?’ Haha….then the more I listened, the more I was like, ‘This is actually a beautifully, stunning performance by Ella.’ I went in there really being like, ‘I really want to give this essence of Ella performing at Carnegie Hall’ and I got to live that fantasy and it was really special.

In terms of enjoyment levels, how does it differ – participating and watching it back?
It’s so much more fun to film it.

With negative comments that are now surfacing are you still able to look back on it with positive energy?
What I have to always remember is that for the fans, their perception is their truth. In no way can I be too pressed about them coming to conclusions about an edit of about 24 hours of filming that is boiled down into an hour. There are obviously things that I wish they had shown. They could have given a little bit more context, colour and texture but you know what? My job is to show up, be the talent and just do my best. Unfortunately I do not get paid to edit the show. But if they wanted to slide your girl a couple of racks to do it, I’m sure I could learn how to use some editing software. I’d have everybody out there being like, ‘Wow, isn’t Shea Couleé the most special, amazing girl on the whole planet?!’ Haha…

This season we are hearing more and more about things that didn’t make the show. What was your favourite moment that didn’t air?
Oh my gosh, haha…the list is long!! Raja and Michelle were really hilarious. There was a very interesting….how do I put it, well, there was a lip-sync that got, actually there were several lip-syncs that got some really interesting edits that I would live to see the side by side with what actually happened! Just so everybody else could see what we saw in the room. Haha…

Were you involved in any of these lip-syncs? I’m guessing not…
Well…I was definitely involved in one of them.

Oh shit, wait, the finale, of course! Duh!
Yeah! Haha…but hey, there were a bunch of really fun lip-syncs this season that we unfortunately didn’t get to see in all their glory.

After an All Stars All Winners season, what other themed seasons would you like to see?
I feel like a Miss Congeniality season would be really great.

Would Valentina be eligible with her title of Fan Favourite? Haha…
Oh my God, I would love to see Valentina on my television again. If there is one thing that Valentina is, it’s amazing television. Without. A. Doubt.

In 2014 we talked about how much your community was supporting you but now with success I know that helping your community back is really important….
I just continue to actively support organisations and communities that are close to home and create more support for Trans people of colour, specifically Black Trans people just because they are one of the most vulnerable parts of the LGBTQIA community. One of my close collaborators in Chicago is The Brave Space Alliance – not only is it Black Trans led & organised, but it’s also in my city. So I always want to be able to create the most impact at home where I’m from.

Lastly we are named after the biggest-selling single of 2001. So we always ask, what is your favourite Mariah Carey track?
Oh My God…..whaaaaat? How can I answer this? Um, ok I’m going to say ‘Heartbreaker.’ It has to be one of my favourite Mariah music videos. I love the fight scene in the ladies’ room. It is so iconic – even the stylised popcorn in her wig. It’s so cute. I loved that era. My close close second would be ‘Honey’ because I also live for that music video. Her diving into that pool…I mean, it was just everything. The whole spy fantasy. That’s very much my tea. I love spy movies!

Stream ‘Let Go‘ & ‘Your Name‘ now.