A year ago this month, drag queen Priyanka was crowned the inaugural winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race spinoff Canada’s Drag Race.
It was a moment to thoroughly bask in having only done drag for 3 years at the time and for spotlighting her South Asian heritage on such a massive platform. However, being the hustler that she is, Priyanka knew she was only as good as a her last gig.
“When you’re on Drag Race, all of your engagement, all of your fame is so high. Whether you get eliminated first or whether you win like I did, you have to create your next Drag Race,” she says. “What is my project for people to care about? What do people want to see?”
That project is Taste Test, a visual EP that debuted in July with music videos continuing to roll out over the coming months that will eventually make a full mini movie. It’s a sizable endeavor that Priyanka hopes will continue to stretch the limits of “drag music.”
Priyanka released two singles in 2018 and 2019—”Say My Name” and “You Look So Good,” respectively—but “it almost feels like I hid it from people,” she admits. “It’s almost like I was ashamed to say that I could sing, because drag queens don’t sing. Drag queens release the catchy catchphrase bops.”
For some time, music from Drag Race alumni would mainly comprise a few references from their stint on the show over a club beat. This, no doubt, has been driven by the popularity of Drag Race‘s songwriting challenges that have queens writing their own cheeky verses to RuPaul’s songs. Should said verse be iconic enough, you could go viral, become a meme, or at the very least have a recognizable song to lip synch to at post-show gigs.
There have been a number of Drag Race stars including Trixie Mattel, Blair St. Clair, Jujubee, Adore Delano, and Shea Coulée who have created singles and albums breaking rank of “drag music”—and Priyanka aims to take things even further with Taste Test.
“I remember sitting down with [my co-writers], and I was like, all these songs right now sound like drag queen songs,” Priyanka says of Taste Test‘s early development. “And I know that I’m a drag queen, but I want to talk about my breakup. That’s where ‘Bitch I’m Busy’ came from. And ‘Come Through,’ I wanted that to be about the guy who tried to date both Lemon [a fellow Canada’s Drag Race contestant] and I—and who dumped me right after my uncle died.”
Accompanying Taste Test‘s five tracks are music videos that seamlessly blend into each other to tell a full narrative of a murder mystery, ultimately answering the question: Who killed Priyanka?
Shooting what’s essentially a short film musical was, of course, an ambitious project that did not come cheap. “Don’t get me wrong, the diva won her [Canada’s Drag Race prize] money. But you have to get sponsorships to help pay for your art because my ideas are bigger than my bank account,” Priyanka says. “I still had to put a lot of my own money into the videos. But there is something about investing in your own stuff that makes it much better.”
That make-it-or-break-it mentality dates back to when Priyanka was more famously known as Mark “Suki” Suknanan, the host of Canada’s kids show The Zone and the reality competition series The Next Star.
Before starting her drag career in 2017, Priyanka saw herself as an entertainment-TV personality and was clearly on the right path. But there always something missing.
“There are TV-show hosts who are just workers. They come in, host a show, they go home. I have such big ambitions and such big goals,” Priyanka says. “I was trying so hard to find my thing. I had my bread-and-butter job. But do I have a YouTube channel? Am I trying to be a musician? What is my extra sauce?”
Priyanka did start a YouTube channel while working as a TV host but only averaged a couple hundred views per video. On top of that, she felt trapped being a not-so-out public figure attached to a major kids’s brand.
“I wanted to be myself. I wanted to talk about boys. I wanted to talk about being gay,” Priyanka says. “I was finding myself while I was at YTV, and I didn’t have an audience to share it with. It was all these kids just watching me be a closeted SpongeBob Squarepants host.”
Eventually Priyanka found her “thing” in drag when a queen she hired to entertain at her birthday party saw her potential.
“It’s one of those life-changing moments where somebody says, you should try this, and then everything inside of you tells you, ‘Yeah, you’re right,” Priyanka says. “I was a face of a national brand. I had so much to risk, but still, with this opportunity presenting itself, I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’ ”
Priyanka did start her drag career—and it was an issue with her TV company.
Someone sent a video of Priyanka performing in drag and her boss wasn’t thrilled. She called her mom for advice and was surprised to hear her say, “‘Well, you gotta do what makes you happy,’” Priyanka recalls. “And I was like, mom aren’t you going to tell me to quit drag and do YTV? That’s a smart decision to make. And she was said, ‘No, you can do both.’”
Priyanka told her boss there was no reason that a TV host couldn’t also be a drag queen, and, to her surprise, he changed his initial tone and agreed with her. “It was really empowering standing up to my boss because, as a person of color, you just play the game. You feel thankful for all the opportunities you get,” says Priyanka who is of Indo-Guyanese descent. “But I think what a lot of people forget is that you don’t have to take the crumbs. You can take the whole motherf—ing cake.”
Priyanka eventually quit her TV hosting jobs to focus on drag full-time and compete on Canada’s Drag Race.
But her ambition of wanting more for herself remains unchanged—and Taste Test is evidence of that.
“This EP, these music videos, are me saying just how you got excited when I turned the corner in that beautiful [Canada’s Drag Race] finale eleganza is the same way you’re going to be excited when you’re counting down to watch my music video the next day,” Priyanka says. “Because I’m an entertainer. I’m not just a Drag Race girl.”
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Organizations are facing a new dilemma when it comes to creating return-to-work policies. In the midst of what’s been dubbed the “Big Quit” or the “Great Resignation” companies are rightfully concerned with balancing their organizational needs without losing their employees in the process.
According to Harvard Business Review contributor, Sue Bingham, beyond setting realistic expectations, focusing on culture-enhancing policies can go a long way in retaining your workforce. “Companies that lend support to workers’ entire employee life experience—offering flexibility, building deeper employer–employee connections, and creating a shared purpose—see better employee well-being.”
Therefore, it’s essential for leaders to look at the specifics of what employees value and what truly makes a difference when it comes to workplace culture. Here are a few pieces of advice to keep in mind.
Prioritize psychological safety
It’s fair to say that stability is in short supply these days. Last year, The New York Times reported that Americans are suffering from record levels of mental distress. It’s a feeling that’s carried into 2021. Keep in mind that returning to office life can be an overwhelming experience for exhausted and burned out workers; which means clear, empathetic communication is more critical than ever.
At my internet company, we’ve created policies that prioritize mental well-being and we also communicate these regularly. What this looks like for us is doing what we can to remove stress by setting realistic expectations about workloads, and also recognizing what can slide if necessary.
“Employees who do not feel psychologically safe are more prone to error, and less likely to take risks, participate in healthy conflict, or grow in their roles,” writes Jon Christiansen for Harvard Business Review. “Contrarily, team members that feel psychologically safe are productive, innovative, and enjoy a sense of belonging.”
Offer flexibility
An Ipsos survey in partnership with the World Economic Forum looked at 12,500 employed people in 29 countries and found that a majority want flexible working to become the norm. Considering the increased demands of childcare or looking after elderly parents, it makes sense that people are making this their top priority.
“Employers have to prepare for a ‘next normal,’” says Harvard Business School faculty member, Joseph B. Fuller. “Employees are unlikely to return happily to a workplace driven by the ‘old deal,’ in which the employer sets standard rules of employment and the workforce acquiesces.”
“They will expect not only the right to determine the adequacy of workplace safety measures,” he adds, “but also expect employers to consider their individual circumstances, like caregiving obligations.”
To prevent turnover, leaders need to explore the barriers their workers are facing and learn how to offer greater flexibility when designing future work arrangements. Giving people ample time to set up alternative child care and elder care arrangements is just one example of making the return to work transition smoother.
Establish an ongoing process and dialogue
Work policies shouldn’t be a one-way street. Continuous employee feedback is crucial to ensure you’re staying on top of what your team values most.
Encouraging an ongoing process and open discussion can help workers feel more empowered and engaged. With my company, we make it a point to compile employee surveys and regularly revisit our policies to make sure we are adapting to changing circumstances. This allows us to align business objectives with our ultimate goal of creating a positive culture.
“With workers having so many options in terms of workplaces, they’re unlikely to stay employed long at an organization that doesn’t value their opinions,” Bingham writes. “Recurring feedback and clear expectations are key to a policy’s success.”
Build a culture of appreciation
Delivering company policies without communicating appreciation is one of the biggest risks for a tumultuous return to work. According to researchers Kerry Roberts Gibson, Kate O’Leary, and Joseph R. Weintraub, it’s necessary for leaders to touch base early and often.
“While regularly taking time to say hello to employees and check in with them might seem like an unnecessary drain on your productivity, these interactions are actually valuable points of connection for your employees (and for you),” the coauthors write. More than that “They prevent your staff from feeling invisible.”
Bingham agrees. “The adage to ‘keep a professional distance from your employees’ is anathema to creating a great culture.”
Of course, showing appreciation goes beyond daily check-ins. Taking steps to address growth opportunities also communicates to team members that they are valued. “Employees want to know what the future holds for their careers,” write Gibson, O’Leary, and Weintraub.
While work policies will continue to change and evolve—an engaging, fulfilling workplace culture is what ultimately makes the difference in whether people stay or go.
As the researchers note: “At the end of the day, building a culture of appreciation comes down mostly to a lot of small common sense practices: Not taking your people for granted. Remembering to say thank-you in a personal and sincere way. Making it clear that you’re interested in your employees’ growth and in them as individuals.”
Aytekin Tank is the founder of JotForm, a popular online form builder. Established in 2006, JotForm allows customizable data collection for enhanced lead generation, survey distribution, payment collections, and more.
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