Monét X Change[2] (born February 19, 1990)[3] is the stage name of Kevin Akeem Bertin, a Saint Lucian-American drag queen, singer, podcaster, and reality television personality. She is known for competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2018), on which she placed sixth and was crowned the season's Miss Congeniality, and for winning the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2018–2019) alongside Trinity the Tuck. She returned to compete in the seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, an all-winners season, where she placed runner-up.
Monét X Change | |
---|---|
Born | Kevin Akeem Bertin[1] February 19, 1990 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
Citizenship |
|
Education | Rider University |
Occupations |
|
Television | |
Musical career | |
Instrument | Vocals |
Labels | The Randall House |
Website | monetxchange |
She currently co-hosts the podcasts Sibling Rivalry (with Bob the Drag Queen) and Ebony and Irony (with Lady Bunny). She also hosts the Dropout show "Monét's Slumber Party."
Early life
Bertin was born in Brooklyn, New York City.[4] At six months old, she moved to Castries, Saint Lucia,[5] and then back to Brooklyn when she was 10. She attended the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan.[6] She later moved to The Bronx as an adult.[7] She trained in opera performance at Westminster Choir College of Rider University.[8]
The first drag pageant Monét X Change won was the sixth annual Gay Caribbean USA Pageant on September 27, 2014, representing Saint Lucia.[9][10] Her drag sister is RuPaul's Drag Race season 8 winner, Bob The Drag Queen,[11] and her drag mother is Honey Davenport, making her a member of the Davenport drag family.[12][13]
Career
2018–2022: RuPaul's Drag Race
Monét X Change was announced as one of fourteen contestants competing on the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race on February 22, 2018.[14] She was eliminated in episode ten, placing sixth overall.[15][16][17] She was named Miss Congeniality during the season's finale, and is the first holder of the title to have been voted by her fellow contestants.[18] In the first episode of her season of Drag Race, Monét X Change made a dress decorated with kitchen sponges, which became a running joke throughout the rest of the series and inspired a number of Internet memes amongst fans online.[19]
Monét X Change is a co-host of the podcast Sibling Rivalry with her drag sister Bob the Drag Queen.[20][21] The first episode premiered on March 11, 2018.[22] She appeared as a guest in an episode of What Would You Do on July 6, 2018.[23][24] Monét also toured across the United States and Europe with her one-woman show, "Call Me By Monét."[25]
She appeared in a Pepsi commercial with Cardi B in February 2019.[26][27] On February 15, 2019, she was inducted into the RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Hall of Fame alongside Trinity the Tuck after winning RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 4, becoming the first black winner of the spin-off.[28][29]
In May, Monet revealed that she would be hosting her own weekly talk show called "The X Change Rate".[30]
In June 2019, Monét X Change was one of 37 drag queens to be featured on the cover of New York magazine.[31] Monét X Change was one of the Inspirations for Sina Grace's character of Shade, Marvel's first drag queen superhero.[32][33]
On October 22, 2019, Monét X Change was announced as part of the cast for the first season of RuPaul's Celebrity Drag Race, a Drag Race spin-off where Drag Race alumni transform celebrities into Drag Queens, which will premiere in 2020.[34][35] In January 2021, she launched another podcast, Ebony and Irony, co-hosted by Lady Bunny.[36][13] In February 2023, she and Bob The Drag Queen launched their line of cosmetics, BOMO Beauty.[13]
In April 2022, Monét X Change was announced as one of the eight returning winners that would be competing in seventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, the first ever all-winners season of Drag Race.[37] During the competition, Monét X Change placed in the top in three competitive episodes,[38][39][40] before ultimately finishing as runner-up to winner Jinkx Monsoon.[41]
2023–present: Appearances on Dropout
In July 2023, Monét X Change appeared on the show Dimension 20 on the streaming service Dropout where she and other drag queens played a campaign of Dungeons & Dragons.[42] She later made guest appearances on the Dropout shows Dirty Laundry and Um, Actually. In March 2024, she was a guest on the CBS comedy game show After Midnight.
In June 2024, it was announced that Monét X Change will host her own variety talk show on Dropout called Monét’s Slumber Party. The first episode premiered on July 19, 2024.[43]
Monét X Change is a founding member of Drag PAC, a political action committee intended to push Gen Z voters to turn out for LGBTQ+ rights for the 2024 United States presidential election.[44]
Music
Bertin is a classically trained opera singer with a bass voice.[9]
Monét X Change released her first original single, "Soak It Up", on May 25, 2018, the same day as her elimination episode on Drag Race.[45] She released her debut EP, Unapologetically, on February 22, 2019.[46] In May 2022, Monét X Change portrayed the voice of Goldie Vandersnatch in Alaska's Drag: The Musical (Studio Cast Recording), a studio recording of a planned stage production about two rival drag bars that go head-to-head while struggling through financial troubles.[47] In February 2023, Monét X Change starred as the Duchess of Krakenthorp in the Minnesota Opera's production of The Daughter of the Regiment.[48]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2018 | A Queen for the People | Herself | Documentary by Bob the Drag Queen |
2019 | The World of Madame X[49] | Drag Queen | Short film by Madonna |
Television
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Death Drop | Summer Raines | Garrick Theatre | [73] |
Web series
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Daniel's Desk | Herself | Episode 1 Guest | [74] |
2018 | Monét's Herstory X Change | Host | [75] | |
Queen to Queen | Guest, with Miz Cracker | [76] | ||
Countdown to the Crown | Season 10 | [77] | ||
Cosmo Queens | Season Three, episode Nine | [78] | ||
2018–2019 | Fashion Photo RuView | Special guest, Two episodes | [79][80] | |
2019 | Review with a Jew | Guest, All Stars 4 Episode 3 | [81] | |
Ask Me Another | Podcast; guest | [82] | ||
Monét XPosé | Host | [83] | ||
Camp Confessions | Guest, Episode 34 | [84] | ||
2019–2021 | The X Change Rate | Host, Executive Producer | [85] | |
2019 | Detailz | Guest | [86] | |
2020 | The Pit Stop | Guest; 2 episodes | [87][88] | |
Bob Live! | Guest | [89] | ||
Werq the World | Featured queen | [90] | ||
Pepp Talks | Guest | [91] | ||
2021 | I Like to Watch UK | Guest; 3 episodes | [92][93] | |
Macbeth | Three Witches | Play on Podcast Production | [94] | |
Ugh! You're So Good! | Herself | Podcast; guest | [95] | |
Hive Minds are Better Than One | Herself | Guest | [96] | |
Drag Tots | Error Message | Season 2 | [97] | |
2022 | The Pit Stop | Herself | Season 14 Host | [98] |
The Plant Based Way with Monét | Herself | Host | [99] | |
Around the Table | Herself | Guest | [100] | |
BuzzFeed Celeb | Herself | Guest | [101] | |
Friendship Test | Herself | Guest | [102] | |
Drip Or Drop? | Herself | Guest | [103] | |
Portrait of a Queen | Herself | Guest | [104] | |
Bullseye with Jesse Thorn | Herself | Podcast; Guest | [105] | |
2023 | Sissy That Talk Show with Joseph Shepherd | Herself | Podcast; Guest | [106] |
Dimension 20 | Troyánn | Player in the Dungeons and Drag Queens campaign | [42] | |
Glam Slam | Herself | Host | [107] | |
2024 | Monét's Slumber Party | Herself | Host | [43] |
Monét Talks | Herself | Host | [108] |
Discography
Albums
Comedy albums
Title | Details |
---|---|
Fist of Glory |
|
Extended plays
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US Heat [109] |
US Indie [110] | ||
Unapologetically |
|
18 | 25 |
Unapologetically: Live Acoustic Session |
|
— | — |
Grey Rainbow, Vol. 1 |
Track listing
|
— | — |
Singles
As lead artist
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Soak It Up" (solo or featuring Bob the Drag Queen) |
2018 | non-album single |
"There for You" | 2019 | Unapologetically |
"March" | 2020 | non-album singles |
"Love Like This"[111] | 2021 | |
"Vi ravviso, o luoghi ameni"[112] | 2022 | |
"The Big Opening" (with Ginger Minj and the cast of Huluween Dragstravaganza) |
||
"Body" | 2024 | Grey Rainbow, Vol.1 |
Featured singles
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Cher: The Unauthorized Rusical"[113] (RuPaul featuring Aquaria, Eureka, Kameron Michaels, Miz Cracker, Monét X Change, and The Vixen) |
2018 | non-album singles |
"Errybody Say Love"[114] (RuPaul featuring Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, Farrah Moan, and Monét X Change) | ||
"Super Queen (Cast Version)"[115] (RuPaul featuring Naomi Smalls, Monique Heart, Monét X Change, and Trinity the Tuck) |
2019 | |
"Legends" (Cast Version) (RuPaul featuring the cast of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, season 7)[116] |
2022 | |
"Titanic" (MSTR) (The cast of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars, season 7)[117] | ||
Music videos
Year | Title | Artist | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | "Fantasy" | Acid Betty | [118] |
2018 | "Strange Fruit" | Herself | [119] |
"Soak It Up" | Herself | ||
2019 | "Unapologetically: The Visual EP" | Herself | |
"God Control" | Madonna | [120] | |
2020 | "Mask, Glove, Soap, Scrubs" | Todrick Hall | [121] |
"March" | Herself | [122] | |
2021 | "Love Like This" | Herself | [123] |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | WOWIE Awards | Best Podcast | Sibling Rivalry | Nominated | |
2021 | Queerty Awards | Podcast | Nominated | [124] | |
2022 | Nominated | [125] | |||
WOWIE Awards | Best Podcast | Nominated | [126][127] | ||
Best TV Moment | The Bachelorette (with Shea Couleé) | Nominated | |||
2023 | Queerty Awards | Podcast | Sibling Rivalry | Won | [128] |
GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Podcast | Won | [129] | ||
Webby Awards | Podcasts - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (People's Voice) | Won | [130] | ||
2024 | GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Podcast | Nominated | [131] |
See also
References
External links
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