Mariah Paris Balenciaga
Mariah Paris Balenciaga, or simply known as Mariah, is the stage name of Elijah A. Kelly (born February 13, 1981),[2] an American drag queen and television personality, best known for competing on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2011) and the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2020).[3] Since appearing on the show, she has been featured in a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, such as Wait, What?, Transformations, and Fashion Photo RuView. Balenciaga released her first single, "Mug 4 Dayz", on November 19, 2013.
Mariah Paris Balenciaga | |
|---|---|
Balenciaga at RuPaul's DragCon LA in 2018 | |
| Born | Elijah A. Kelly[1] February 13, 1981 Gainesville, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Drag queen |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Known for | |
Early life edit
Kelly was born on February 13, 1982, in Gainesville, Georgia. She later moved to Atlanta when she was 19, and started doing drag in the ballroom scene, becoming a founding member of the House of Balenciaga.[4] She is biracial.[5][6]
Career edit
Balenciaga was announced as one of thirteen contestants for the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race in 2011.[7] She was eliminated in the sixth episode after losing a lip sync to "Looking for a New Love" by Jody Watley against Delta Work.[8] In 2018, she appeared with other Drag Race alumni for the first mini challenge of season ten.[9] She asked a viewer question to Eureka O'Hara during the season ten finale episode.[10] She appeared as a guest for the first challenge in the premiere of season eleven of Drag Race.[11] Balenciaga was also a drag professor for the second and third season of RuPaul's Drag U in 2011 and 2012.[12]
Outside of Drag Race, she makes guest appearances for the WOWPresents Internet series "Fashion Photo RuView" filling in for either Raja or Raven, reviewing looks from Drag Race alumni. Her first appearance was on June 9, 2016.[13] She also makes recurring appearances on another WOW series, "Wait, What?" as the co-host to Kimora Blac, where they answer trivia questions. Her first appearance was in the debut episode.[14]
Balenciaga was with other Drag Race alumni for an episode of Skin Wars in 2015.[15] She was one of the performers for Phi Phi O'Hara's benefit show for the hurricane in Puerto Rico.[16][17]
She was one of the background dancers for Miley Cyrus's 2015 VMA performance.[18] She was a background dancer again, playing as one of the Spice Girls for Rita Ora on an episode of Lip Sync Battle in March 2018.[19] She was a backup dancer for Lip Sync Battle again in 2019 for Nico Tortorella.[20]
In August 2019, she was featured in Women's Wear Daily magazine, alongside Kimora Blac, Mayhem Miller, and Kameron Michaels.[21]
In 2020, Balenciaga returned for the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, placing 8th overall. Her performance in the first episode was praised for raising awareness of systemic racism and prejudice, made particularly timely in wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Balenciaga was even given a shoutout by current guest judge Ricky Martin for her performance.[22][23]
In September 2020, Balenciaga was featured alongside many other black RuPaul's Drag Race alum in a "Stop The Racism" PSA, speaking out against toxic, racist fans within the Drag Race community.[24]
She was a featured performer during Jennifer Lopez's performance at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards.[25]
Music edit
Balenciaga released her first single, "Mug 4 Dayz", on November 19, 2013.[26] A remix EP of the song was released on April 11, 2014.[27] Balenciaga appeared in the music video for Pandora Boxx's "Oops I Think I Pooped" on September 24, 2018.[28] She appeared in a music video for Lizzo's song "Juice" on April 17, 2019.[29] She appeared in a music video for pop duo Aly & AJ's song "Star Maps" on June 12, 2019.[30]
Discography edit
EPs edit
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Mug 4 Dayz Stone Cold Remixes |
|
Singles
| Year | Song |
|---|---|
| 2013 | "Mug 4 Dayz" |
| 2020 | "Stains on the Wall" |
As Featured Artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "I'm in Love"[31] (with the Cast of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, Season 5) | 2020 | Non-album single |
Filmography edit
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 3) | Herself | Contestant (9th place) | |
| 2011 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | |||
| 2011-12 | RuPaul's Drag U | [32] | ||
| 2015 | Skin Wars | Season 2 - episode 4 | [33] | |
| 2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 10) | Guest - Episode 1 | [34] | |
| 2018 | Lip Sync Battle | Backup dancer | [19] | |
| 2018 | The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story | Drag Queen | Cameo role - episode 2 | |
| 2019 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 11) | Herself | Guest - Episode 1 | [35] |
| 2019 | Lip Sync Battle | Herself | Background dancer | [20] |
| 2020 | AJ and the Queen | Herself | Guest appearance | [36] |
| 2020 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 5) | Herself | Contestant (8th place) | [3] |
| RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: Untucked (season 2) | [37] | |||
| 2021 | The Browns | Herself | Guest appearance | [38] |
Web series edit
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Transformations | Herself | [39] |
| 2015 | Rooftop Lipsync | [40] | |
| 2015-2019 | Drag Queens React | [41] | |
| 2016-19 | Fashion Photo RuView | ||
| 2016-19 | Wait, What? | ||
| 2017 | M.U.G. | [42] | |
| 2017 | Spilling the Tea | [43] | |
| 2018 | Cosmo Queens | [44] | |
| 2019 | Wigs in a Blanket | [45] | |
| 2019 | Bootleg Opinions | [46] | |
| 2019-23 | The Pit Stop | [47][48] | |
| 2019 | Follow Me | [5] | |
| 2019 | Iconic | [49] | |
| 2019 | Reading Queens | [50] | |
| 2020 | Whatcha Packin' | [51] | |
| 2021 | Hey Qween! | [52] | |
| 2023 | Binge Queens: Drag Race Mexico | [53] |
Music videos edit
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Expensive[54] | Todrick Hall |
| 2017 | Expensive (Deluxe Version) | Todrick Hall |
| 2017 | Stun[55] | Alaska ft. Gia Gunn |
| 2018 | Oops I Think I Pooped[56] | Pandora Boxx |
| 2018 | Excuse The Beauty | Latrice Royale |
| 2018 | Girly[57] | John Duff |
| 2019 | Juice | Lizzo |
| 2019 | Star Maps | Aly & AJ |
References edit
- ^ "Elijah A Kelly". Ancestry Institute. Ancestry. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ "Mariah Paris Balenciaga "It Gets Better!"". Abby Normal. 2014-08-07. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ a b Adam B. Vary (May 8, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Moves Back to VH1 From Showtime, Reveals Cast". Variety. from the original on May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
- ^ "Mariah Balenciaga". Grizzly Kiki. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ a b WOWPresents (2019-05-06), FOLLOW ME: Mariah Balenciaga, from the original on February 11, 2021, retrieved 2019-05-10
- ^ Cook, Michael (June 24, 2020). "The Queen of The Ballroom – Mariah Balenciaga Talks Returning For "All-Stars" & What We May Not Know About The Ballroom Scene". Instinct. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ . Logo TV. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race': How 'Precious' was Stacy Layne Matthews last night?". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ "RuPaul Brings Back Katya, Porkchop, Kim Chi, Jujubee, Detox, and More to Help Judge the First Mini-Challenge of Season 10". VH1 News. from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ Club, The A.V. "The A.V. Club convenes its own judges' panel for the RuPaul's Drag Race season-10 finale". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' 11 episode 1 recap: Which queen was sent packing on 'Whatcha Unpackin'? [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]". Goldderby. 2019-02-28. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
- ^ Gascot, John (2011-07-27). "RuPaul's Drag U: Professor Mariah". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ WOWPresents (2016-06-09), RuPaul's Drag Race Fashion Photo RuView with Raja and Mariah Balenciaga: Social Media Ep 39, retrieved 2018-09-09
- ^ "Wait, What?". WOW Presents Plus. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ "Skin Wars season 2 episode 4 recap: Drag Queens are here!". Channel Guide Magazine. 2015-07-08. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ "The "Drag Race" Queens Are Going All Out To Raise Money For Puerto Rico". LOGO News. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ Cook, Michael (2017-10-28). "Queens United/Reinas Unitas-The Ladies of "RuPaul's Drag Race" Hit The Stage For The People Of Puerto Rico!". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ "Meet All 30 Of Miley's Day-Glo Dancers From Her Insane VMA Performance". MTV News. Retrieved 2018-09-09.
- ^ a b Lip Sync Battle (2018-03-29), Charli XCX's "Shape of You" vs. Rita Ora's "Wannabe" | Lip Sync Battle, retrieved 2018-09-09
- ^ a b "WATCH: 'Younger' Star Nico Tortorella Stunned as Ariana Grande on 'Lip Sync Battle' • Instinct Magazine". Instinct Magazine. 2019-06-07. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
- ^ "How Drag Queens Broke Through the Beauty Barrier". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
- ^ Blanton, Kayla (June 5, 2020). "The 'All Stars' 5 Premiere Included A Powerful Performance About Systemic Racism". Bustle. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ Smith, Reiss (June 24, 2020). "Drag Race legend Mariah Paris Balenciaga reveals she was 'cringing' over All Stars lip sync". PinkNews. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ Reynolds, Daniel (September 22, 2020). "Black Drag Race Stars Urge Fans to 'Stop the Racism' in PSA". The Advocate. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
- ^ Ermac, Raffy (March 23, 2022). "Drag Race Queens Paid Tribute To Jennifer Lopez At Her iHeartRadio Music Awards Performance". Out.com. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
- ^ Mug 4 Dayz - Single by Mariah Balenciaga, 2013-11-19, retrieved 2018-09-09
- ^ Mug 4 Dayz Stone Cold Remixes by Mariah Balenciaga, 2014-04-11, retrieved 2018-09-09
- ^ Pandora Boxx (2018-09-24), Pandora Boxx - Oops I Think I Pooped (Official Video), retrieved 2018-09-24
- ^ "Lizzo - JUICE Music Video feat. RuPaul's Drag Race Queens". YouTube. 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
- ^ Huff, Lauren (June 12, 2019). "Watch Aly & AJ's 'Star Maps' music video featuring stars from Shameless, Drag Race, Silicon Valley, The Goldbergs, and more". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- ^ "I'm In Love - Single". iTunes.
- ^ Gascot, John (July 27, 2011). "RuPaul's Drag U: Professor Mariah". Huff Post. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Boulet, Ruth (2015-07-08). "Skin Wars season 2 episode 4 recap: The Drag Queens are here!". Channel Guide Magazine. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
- ^ Damshenas, Sam (22 March 2018). "Watch Drag Race fan favourites return for the season 10 premiere". Gay Times. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ O’Keeffe, Kevin (28 February 2019). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 11 premiere recap: Queens here, queens there, queens everywhere". Xtra.
- ^ Nolfi, Joey (2019-12-03). "RuPaul brings 22 Drag Race queens to costar on AJ and the Queen". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
- ^ Dino-Ray Ramos (June 8, 2020). "'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars' Brings Back 'Untucked' Aftershow For Season 5". Deadline. from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
- ^ Patterson, Denny (November 11, 2021). "'The Browns' Are Back in Town with a Second Season". Out Front Magazine. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
- ^ WOWPresents (2014-09-16), James St. James and Mariah Balenciaga: Transformations, from the original on January 12, 2021, retrieved 2019-09-21
- ^ WOWPresents (2015-07-09), Mariah Balenciaga & Jaidynn Diore Fierce in Morgan McMichaels' Rooftop Lipsync, from the original on November 19, 2020, retrieved 2019-09-21
- ^ WOWPresents (2015-06-24), Part 2 | Drag Queens Reading Mean Comments w/ Alaska, Raja, Raven, Milk, Morgan, and More!, retrieved 2019-10-23
- ^ WOWPresents (2017-02-09), M.U.G. with Kim Chi & Mariah Balenciaga - First Timer Mistakes, from the original on November 20, 2020, retrieved 2019-05-10
- ^ WOWPresents (2017-06-27), Spilling The Tea: The Queens Kiki on Gay Dating Apps & Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way: Billboard, from the original on November 25, 2021, retrieved 2019-08-02
- ^ Cosmopolitan (2018-10-11), Mariah Balenciaga | Cosmo Drag Queens | Cosmopolitan, from the original on July 3, 2020, retrieved 2019-05-10
- ^ Producer Entertainment Group/PEG (February 26, 2019), Chicken Adobo You Betta Don't | Wigs In A Blanket - Episode 4, from the original on June 30, 2021, retrieved June 26, 2021
- ^ Yuhua Hamasaki (April 1, 2019), MARIAH BALENCIAGA joins BOOTLEG FASHION PHOTO RUVIEW: Season 11 Episode 5!, from the original on November 21, 2020, retrieved April 11, 2020
- ^ Voss, Brandon (2019-04-13). "Mariah Balenciaga and Manila Luzon Have Thoughts About This Week's "RuPaul's Drag Race"". NewNowNext.com. from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
- ^ Youtube (2023-02-04), The Pit Stop S15 E06 🏁 | Bianca Del Rio & Mariah Are Golden! | RuPaul's Drag Race S15, from the original on February 11, 2021, retrieved 2023-02-07
- ^ WOWPresents (2019-06-25), ICONIC with Brad Goreski: Mariah Balenciaga, retrieved 2019-08-02
- ^ WOWPresents (2019-06-06), Mariah Balenciaga: Reading Queens with Psychic Char Margolis, from the original on July 1, 2020, retrieved 2019-09-14
- ^ WOWPresents (June 19, 2020), Whatcha Packin': SPOILER ALERT! | S5 E3 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, retrieved June 20, 2020
- ^ Hey Qween (January 25, 2021), MARIAH BALENCIAGA on Hey Qween! with Jonny McGovern- Part 1, from the original on February 16, 2021, retrieved January 25, 2021
- ^ SNEAK PEEK - Binge Queens: Drag Race Mexico, airing Tuesdays only on WOW Presents Plus!. WOW Presents. June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
- ^ Tharrett, Matthew (2016-07-21). "Kim Chi, Willam, Mariah, Alaska And Laganja Get "Expensive" With Todrick Hall". NewNowNext.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
- ^ Hill, Leigh (February 28, 2017). "Alaska and Gia Gunn feel their oats in new music video Stun". OutInPerth. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ Bote, Joshua (2018-09-24). "Pandora Boxx Lets it Rip With Alaska, Jasmine Masters and More in Epic Katy Perry Parody: Watch". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2020-04-10.
- ^ Horbelt, Stephan (2018-08-24). "This 'Girly' Pop Singer Just Re-Created Some of Your Favorite Female-Fronted Music Videos". Hornet. Retrieved 2020-03-03.
External links edit
- Official website
- Elijah Kelly at IMDb
- RuPaul’s DragCon 2016: Meet Mariah Balenciaga (2016),The WOW Report, World of Wonder