Hey girl, hey! RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8 premieres tonight!

Fans can expect a pretty epic season as a new group of drag queens go through a range of different challenges and performances to prove they have what it takes to become the new drag superstar. So what should the contestants prepare for?

If there's anyone who'd know, it's last season's Ginger Minj, who made it all the way to the top three. We recently chatted with Minj about the new season, lessons she learned competing on the show last year and what she's been up to since then.

Enstars: What did you think when you saw the trailer for the new season?
Ginger Minj: I feel like if people had an issue with Season 7 being mostly drama-free, most people are going to be very thrilled with Season 8 because it looks like there are a lot of fireworks.

Are there any particular contestants you know or who you're rooting for?
I don't know enough about any of them yet to really decide who I'm behind. Having worked with some of them, I love Robbie Turner, I think she's one of the most talented queens I've ever worked with, and she's fun and she's different. She's quirky. I've worked with some of them before, But Robbie's the one who really sticks out in my head.

What advice do you have for contestants who are going to have to 'sashay away?'
My whole plan goes with just trying to be the best that I can be and if it wasn't good enough, it wasn't good enough. It takes a lot of work and perfect timing to make it on the show in the first place.

Any tips on what a queen can do to make it far on Drag Race?
I think they just have to be honest with themselves. You can't get caught up in your head when you're in the middle of the competition. You can't try to appease RuPaul, the judges and the producers by trying to give them what you think they want because obviously you're there for a reason. You do the best you can do and try to make everything your own.

Looking back at your time on the show, is there anything you would've done differently?
I probably would've taken a sewing or a dance class before I went. And maybe I would've kept my mouth shut a little more, but knowing me, there's no way I could've kept my mouth shut.

The show is known for having some nasty bickering between contestants. Do you think it's best to avoid that when it comes to the competition?
I don't feel like you should ever hold back on anything...but it's just a natural part of the competition--you're tired, you're working really hard, you want to be the winner. So you have to fight in any way that you can to make it to the top. We got a lot of slack on Season 7 for not having a whole lot of fights or a whole lot of drama. A lot of the fans didn't like us, they wanted more. But it's reality TV at the end of the day more than anything else. So I think that's a necessary part of having a fun story arc.

What else have you been up to since your time on the series?
I work at least 25 days in a month. I've been traveling the world doing drag. I've been recording my album, which should be out later this year. It's very different, it's not like anything any of the other drag racers have ever done. I've also been doing musical theater, I played Dr. Frankenfurter in Rocky Horror last October...I'm a theater baby. I love to act, I love to pretend to dance.

Tags
RuPaul's Drag Race, Television, Logo TV