Werq the World Tour Comes Back to Houston on July 16

Season 14 of RuPaul’s Drag Race introduced the world to one of the most memorable queens in herstory. Jorgeous, the deadliest lip-sync assassin to ever grace the main stage, sent many competing queens home and gagged the rest with her sassy spirit, her killer mug, and an uncanny ability to make any song hers. And now, she’s headed back home to Texas on July 16 with the 2022 Werq the World tour at the Smart Financial Center.

“Honestly, although I was in the bottom a lot, every time I got to lip-sync I was low-key living. That is what I do!” Jorgeous says. “I do six numbers a night and they all have to be different. When I was lip-syncing, I was in my element and I felt unstoppable at that point. Being known as a lip-sync assassin is validation to everything that I work for in my drag career.”

Jorgeous is originally from San Antonio, where she started performing in drag at age 16 before moving to Nashville with her family. The self-taught dancer was too young to spend time in the clubs outside of her performances, so she would have her older brother go to clubs and tape the performances for her to study at home and develop her own numbers. This dedication eventually led to her being featured on Drag Race. She might have been the most petite doll, but her talent certainly loomed large. She sent five queens packing before being eliminated in the second-to-last recorded episode alongside Deja Skye.

“Honestly, I think the Jorgeous-versus-Jasmine lip-sync was the hardest for me. I
was nervous because that bitch be doing dips and splits. When we performed “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” by Etta James, we were
both having a lot of fun, but it was a battle,” Jorgeous says. 

That lip-sync resulted in a draw, and both contestants remained in the competition. Luckily, Werq the World doesn’t eliminate any of its queens, although the roster does change from city to city. The Houston leg will feature Jorgeous along with Rosé (a Season 13 finalist and native Houstonian) and Season 12 winner and All-Stars 7 contestant Jaida Essence Hall.

“Oh my God, I feel like the girls I have bonded with the most on this tour are Jaida and Vanessa “Miss Vanjie” Matteo. They are like big sisters and have really been there for me the whole tour. They have taken me under their wing. Those are my girls,” says Jorgeous.

Being a Texas native, Jorgeous has drag roots deep in the heart of the Lone Star State. She is now considered one of the elite Dancing Divas of Texas, a moniker earned by the likes of drag and Drag Race royalty Alyssa Edwards, Kennedy Davenport, and Asia O’Hara, among others. 

Jorgeous notes two Texas queens that helped develop her into the burgeoning star she has become. “Sweet Savage, may she rest in peace, is a Texas legend. I really related to how she moved, with her high kicks and splits. Also my drag mother, Toni Andrews, taught me a lot. She was one of the queens my brother would record at the club, and I was like, ‘This is exactly the type of queen I want to be,’” she says.

The Werq the World tour is Jorgeous’ first since leaving the Drag Race work room, and it has taken her all over the globe. The most recent leg brought her to Spain, where the tireless queen instantly connected with the people and the food while performing in Barcelona and Madrid.

“I think the place I dreamed about going to for a long time was Spain. I love Spain. The people were amazing and beautiful. I felt like I was at home. They showed me so much love, and the food is bomb,” Jorgeous recalls.

However wonderful Spain may be, there is no place like home. When she returned to her home bar in Nashville, known for its drag divas like Kameron Michaels, Jorgeous was met with a warm welcome from a crowd filled with familiar and new faces cheering her on, despite the airing of her elimination episode that same night.

“The amount of love I got from people was so insane. They saw me grow up. When I moved there, I was 18. The support has been so amazing,” she says.

Jorgeous promises to bring her own style to the stage. “The audience will be getting a whole lot of Latina flair, sexy choreo, body, you know what I mean? The full dancing-diva Jorgeous experience!” 

What: Werq the World Tour
When: July 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Where: Smart Financial Centre, Sugar Land
Tickets: vossevents.com/werq-the-world-tour