Entertainment

Meet Bianca Jade - 'Idol's First Drag Queen

by Jessica Molinari

New Orleans may have been one of the best stops yet on the American Idol audition route. It gave the show the talent and soul it was missing. But one thing I've noticed throughout auditions is that this show is really lacking is diversity. Not in the typical race sense — because there has been tons of talent by people of all races — but on the sexuality front. Sure, contestants don't profess their sexual identity as soon as they hit the stage, but they often will mention it, and not many have this season. And one type of person the show has never had is a drag queen. Until now. Meet Dakota Suarez — the 18-year-old drag queen from Texas who's stage name Bianca Jade.

I was infatuated with Suarez even before he announced he was a drag queen. His personality was upbeat and captivating, and he seemed so genuinely excited to be on the show. He was even more excited to meet JLo because, Selena. The fact that he was so proud of who he was, though, is what really won me over and had me cheering for him as soon as he got in the elevator. His effortless performance really sealed the deal, and had me begging the judges for him to get a trip to Hollywood.

While I was pleased with the way the show handled his intro, it was the judges who let me down with the way they treated Suarez. Yes, they treated him respectfully, but when he announced that he was a drag queen, it seemed that the judges didn't totally grasp what a drag queen was. JLo asked, "So you dress up & you sing?" as if he was simply playing a character. Harry Connick, Jr. made an equally concerning remark when admitting how awesome it would be to see a drag queen on the show spending one day as a a guy and the next as a girl. It's clear that he was trying to be sincere, but he missed the mark. Suarez doesn't dress as Bianca Jade for entertainment value — though that is a part of it — he does it because it's part of who he is.

Suarez, thankfully, got a much-deserved golden ticket to Hollywood. Here's hoping his Hollywood week performance is strong and makes it through to the top 24, because this show could really use someone as beautiful and special as Bianca Jade.

Image: Youtube - IdolxVoice