‘American Idol’ Singer Joins New Reality Show

Ada Vox stole the hearts of millions of Americans during a stint on the reality singing competition series American Idol. Vox proved that talent wins by becoming the long-running reality series competition’s first drag queen contestant. Vox landed in the top 8. Vox’s hometown of San Antonio couldn’t be more proud. Now, Vox is prepping for another reality series where other drag constants compete for a major title and a large cash prize.

Vox has joined a cast of 14 other drag performers from all over the world for the competition series Queen of the Universe. The show, which is set to air on Paramount+, will follow the contestants as they compete in a singing contest for a $250,000 prize. The debut season will become available for streaming on Thursday, Dec. 2.

Vox expressed excitement in an Instagram post, writing: “Dec. 2nd on [Paramount Plus], I’ll be singing into the stratosphere as I compete to be the [Queen of the Universe]! [Team Ada Perhaps] it’s my time to be amongst the stars [Queen of the Universe].

Vox isn’t the only contestant on the show who’s been featured on reality television. The cast also includes former contestants from RuPaul’s Drag Race (All Stars 5 finalist Jujubee and The Switch‘s Leona Winter), as well as The X-Factor (Gingzilla), per Entertainment Weekly.

Drag queen legend RuPaul serves as executive producer of the new show. Unlike other drag competition series, Queen of the Universe focuses on the singing competition aspect. Each week, contestants will display their powerhouse vocals in different musical numbers weekly in front of a live audience. Judges will determine who moves forward. Drag Race panelist Michelle Visage and All Stars 3 champ Trixie Mattel are on the judging panel, including Hollywood icon Vanessa Williams and singer Leona Lewis. British talk show host Graham Norton will host the show.

“It’s a global aspect that we’ve never seen before, and it’s a singing competition; no one is lip-syncing, they’re all singing their own tunes,” Williams told EW. “We’ll be judging them not only on the quality of their talent and musicianship, but also their star quality.”