Posted in: MTV, Preview, TV, YouTube | Tagged: drag race, mtv, preview, rupaul, season 16

RuPaul's Drag Race S16E05 "Girl Groups" Preview: Booked & Loaded

Check out our updated preview of - and the opening minutes to - MTV's RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16 Episode 5 "Girl Groups."

Welcome back to our weekly preview of MTV's RuPaul's Drag Race Season 16 – but how were things left heading into S16E05: "Girl Groups"? The main challenge saw our queens putting on a series of comedy sketches for the "RDR Live!" main challenge before everything became "Everything Every-Cher All at Once (Night of a 1,000 Chers)" for the runway. When the smoke cleared, Plasma walked away the winner of the challenge (and a $5000 cash tip) – with the judging panel selecting Geneva Karr, Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige & Mirage as the bottom three. After Le'Paige is declared safe, Karr and Mirage lip-sync to Cher's "Dark Lady" – with Karr moving on and Mirage going home. This week, the remaining queens will have guest judges Icona Pop and Ts Madison on hand as they write and perform lines for RuPaul's songs from his album, Black Butta. We have a look at the opening to tonight's episode to pass along, waiting for you above to check out…

And here's a look back to both last week's "RDR Live!" sketches and the lip-sync face-off between Karr and Mirage:

RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 16 Overview

WELCOME BACK! Of course, Emmy Award-winning host RuPaul and mainstay judges Michelle Visage, Carson Kressley, Ross Mathews & Ts Madison are back for another season of fierceness.

WHO ARE THIS SEASON'S GUEST JUDGES? For the two-episode premiere, "Drag Race" has award-winning actress & producer Charlize Theron and acclaimed musician Becky G. During the season, viewers can also look forward to seeing Adam Shankman, Icona Pop (Caroline Hjelt + Aino Jawo), Isaac Mizrahi, Jamal Sims, Joel Kim Booster, Kaia Gerber, Kelsea Ballerini, Kyra Sedgwick, Law Roach, Mayan Lopez, Ronan Farrow, and Sarah Michelle Gellar.

WHEN/WHERE CAN I WATCH? The two-episode season premiere runs on Friday, January 5th & Friday, January 12th – with each 90-minute episode airing on Fridays at 8:00 PM ET/PT on MTV. If you have a cable login but want to watch online, you can view the series via MTV.com. Otherwise, you may want to consider some free trial offers that Sling TV, Fubo TV, Philo, Hulu+Live TV, YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream, and other might be offering.

Season 16: Meet Your Queens!

Season 16 of Drag Race features 14 queens vying for the title of "America's Next Drag Superstar" and a cash prize of $200,000. Here's a rundown of the remaining queens – including Amanda Tori Meating (Los Angeles, CA), Dawn (Brooklyn, NY), Geneva Karr (Brownsville, TX), Megami (Brooklyn, NY), Mhi'ya Iman Le'Paige (Miami, FL), Mirage (Las Vegas, NV), Morphine Love Dion (Miami, FL), Nymphia Wind (Taiwan/NY), Plane Jane (Boston, MA), Plasma (New York, NY), Q (Kansas City, MO), Sapphira Cristál  (Philadelphia, PA), and Xunami Muse (New York, NY):

AMANDA TORI MEATING, 26 – LOS ANGELES, CA | @amandatorimeating

Calling all staff: there's a mandatory meeting to discuss this funny queen! Ready to take it to the top with her wit, wigs, and energetic moves, this talented wig stylist has done wigs for Drag Race queens Kerri and Sasha Colby, and Beyoncé's music video dancers. Amanda is the ultimate mix of camp and comedy!

DAWN, 24 – BROOKLYN, NY | @upuntil.dawn

The self-described "ethereal elf goddess of Brooklyn," Dawn is a fitting name for a queen who often stays up late enough to see the sunrise. Designing and constructing almost all of her eccentric looks, this kooky and artistic queen always brings a story when she hits the stage… and she's hoping for a happy ending at Drag Race!

GENEVA KARR, 30 – BROWNSVILLE, TX | @geneva_karr

¡Viva México! RuPaul's Drag Race's first Mexican born queen, Geneva witnessed her parents' struggles as they worked tirelessly to get her family safely to the United States in search of a better life. A dancing queen with a mischievous energy, she plans to be the first Mexican born queen to win the crown!

MEGAMI, 33 – BROOKLYN, NY | @megaminyc

This self-proclaimed "geek-chic" queen started doing drag as a cosplayer at conventions such as Comic Con, and from there incorporated high fashion into her characterful designs. Proudly claiming Nuyorican culture, Megami means "Goddess" in Japanese, and this creative force now hopes to rule the Drag Race world!

MHI'YA IMAN LE'PAIGE, 34 – MIAMI, FL | @queenofflipss

Get ready for your world to be turned upside down! An electrifying performer, Mhi'ya is known as the Queen of Flips. That's because you can find Mhi'ya performing her thrilling flips and tricks in the sun, on the sidewalks of South Beach. Mhi'ya's videos of her flipping onto café tables have caught fire on social media– now she's ready to flip the competition on its head!

MORPHINE LOVE DION, 25 – MIAMI, FL | @morphinelovemua

Body, beauty and "mug": just what the doctor ordered. Morphine started out doing makeup tutorials on social media. Now, she is the self-proclaimed "It Girl of Miami." Can this trained dancer– who has been featured in Maluma and Bad Bunny music videos– cha cha her way to the top of the competition?

NYMPHIA WIND, 27 – TAIWAN / NY | @66wind99

Banana Time! RuPaul's Drag Race's first queen to hail from Taiwan, Nymphia came to the United States to build on her massive fanbase of "Banana Believers" – a term given to her fans thanks to her signature color yellow, and penchant for the absurd. Inspired by Asian culture, art and tradition, let's hope she doesn't slip up in the competition!

PLANE JANE, 24 – BOSTON, MA | @the_planejane

Fasten your seatbelts! Because yes, that is how you spell this diva's name. Plane Jane is as glamorous as she is wickedly funny; Boston-raised, but with Russian roots. No stranger to competition, Plane Jane was a competitive ballroom dancer as a child. Now she's focusing all of her passion on becoming America's Next Drag Superstar.

PLASMA, 24 – NEW YORK, NY | @plasmanyc

Straight out of Old Hollywood, this vintage-inspired femme fatale leaves all of the boys hot and bothered. Raised listening to Julie Andrews, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand, Plasma channeled her love for divas into drag… and the rest is herstory. Can this queen's BFA in Musical Theatre Performance raise the roof at RuPaul's Drag Race? Time will tell!

Q, 26 – KANSAS CITY, MO | @living4q

The only letter of the alphabet you ever need worry about! This talented diva is a theater queen who specializes in the costuming aspect of drag. She makes all of her own looks, plus many commissioned costumes for prior Drag Race stars. Q is ready to go all the way in this competition; one design challenge after the next!

SAPPHIRA CRISTÁL, 34 – PHILADELPHIA, PA | @sapphiracristal

Philadelphia's crown jewel, Sapphira is a serious musician with a six-octave vocal range. This powerhouse performer studied Music Composition, Vocal Performance and Opera, and in drag she can be found hosting, singing, dancing and performing comedy. Is there anything this diva cannot do?!

XUNAMI MUSE, 33 – NEW YORK, NY | @xunamimuse 

This self-described "knock-off Naomi Campbell " is the supermodel of the season. Originally from Colón, Panama, Xunami moved to New York City, where Drag Race superstar Kandy Muse became her drag mother. Signed with a modeling agency in New York, time will tell if this leggy beauty can strut her way to the top!

WHAT ABOUT "RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE: UNTUCKED"? The Emmy Award-winning aftershow will premiere immediately following on MTV, offering viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the backstage drama as the queens anxiously await their fate in the competition.

HOW DO I FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA? For more information on RuPaul's Drag Race and up-to-date news, follow the long-running reality competition series on X, Instagram, TikTok, Threads,  Facebook, and WhatsApp for all the latest tea (with the hashtag: #DragRace).

SO WHAT'S THE FINE PRINT? RuPaul's Drag Race and RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked are produced by World of Wonder Productions, with Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, Tom Campbell, Steven Corfe, Mandy Salangsang, Michele Mills and RuPaul Charles serving as executive producers. Daniel Blau Rogge serves as executive producer for MTV, and Julie Ha serves as supervising producer. The show's sponsors include Cash App, Olay Body, Smirnoff, and ViiV Healthcare.

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