Main Pop Girl

Another week, another Rupaul's Drag Race recap. And while last week's episode suffered from a sense of total predictability and boredom, this week's brought the show's classic mix of "WTF am I watching" ridiculousness and "OMG this is amazing" talent, as well as an elimination which I don't think anyone expected at this point in the game. Three episodes in, and the mini-challenge seems to have gone the way of Gia Gunn's penis; and while everyone misses the irreverence and fun of those challenges, I have to say that I think given the huge amount of queens we have to show off during this season it's not a bad idea to put the focus on the personalities over the tasks. Scrapping the mini-challenge allowed the queens to talk about, for instance, their own personal experiences with the shooting spree at Pulse Nightclub which had happened mere months before filming; and it was super emotional to hear that Trinity, who had once been crowned Miss Pulse, had performed at Latin night one week to the day before the mass shooting. Cynthia, who was originally scheduled to perform at Pulse on the evening of the shooting, had rescheduled her appearance at the last minute only to have one of her fans enter Pulse that night, unaware of her cancellation, and never leave again. It was a truly emotional, if clearly set up, moment, and one that made the following frivolities seem somewhat insincere. The main challenge this week consisted of designing an outfit fit for a princess, with a backstory and terrifyingly animated Disney-esque sidekick to match. Peppermint took a traumatising experience from her childhood in which she nearly burned her house down as inspiration for her princess, while Sasha Velour had a criminally underrated turn as The Princess of Selfdoubtia, the only character with a fully fleshed out storyline and some semblance of a social message. Trinity took the win thanks to her straight-shooting redneck sidekick, one which the judges thought showed off a new side of her personality; but while she was stunning for sure, there seems to be a wall built up around Trinity which I find hard to break down. With her messy, basic mermaid outfit and lack of a coherent storyline, Farrah Moan seemed a surefire choice to go home, despite being overall one of the most polished queens this season. Which is why we were all a little surprised when the bottom two this week consisted of fan favourites Kimora Blac and Aja, both of whom were critiqued for their confused princess backstories despite sickening runway looks from each. I have to say that when I saw Aja was going up against Kimora I thought it was for sure her time to go; but she proved herself to be one of the show's most formidable lip sync opponents ever, turning every move into an opportunity for a jump and/or a split. Kimora really had no chance against the level of fiest Aja showed tonight. Just look at the difference in their death drops. With this week's lip sync, Aja proved herself as more than just an Instagram queen: she's a strong player who'll surely go far in the game, and one who seems more instantly likeable than the smug personalities of Trinity or Valentina. Aja's had her chance to shine; all we can hope is that it's Charlie's turn next, because that queen from across the pond was serving major looks tonight and we know she has a whole lot more to offer than what she has so far.

I can't speak for everyone, but for me personally 2007 has always gone down in history as one of my favourite years ever in pop music. It may have something to do with the fact that I was verging on teenagehood at the time and just beginning to understand the significance of music in my life, but I'd argue that the year was also a good one overall, evidenced by the ongoing popularity of artists debuting or reinventing in 2007 like Rihanna, Justin Timberlake and Kanye West. One of the most interesting things about music in 2007 looking back is just how varied it was. On the one hand, there was tail end of the power pop trend of the early 2000s which allowed artists like Avril Lavigne, P!nk and Kelly Clarkson to dominate the charts; but on the other, Timbaland was revolutionising the game with his unique brand of R&B, bringing companions Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado along for the ride. The year also includes some of the catchiest (and oftentimes most annoying) songs in living memory, including Sean Kingston's 'Beautiful Girls', MIMS' 'This Is Why I'm Hot' and Soulja Boy Tell'em's 'Crank That (Soulja Boy)' all sticking in our heads long after they left the charts. Take a trip down memory lane by checking out the songs and their peak positions below, and don't forget to let us know your favourite track from 2007 in the comments section! The Fray - How to Save a Life Released: 26 March, 2006 Peak: #3 Hinder - Lips of an Angel Released: 24 July, 2006 Peak: #3 Akon - Smack That (Feat. Eminem) Released: 26 September, 2006 Peak: #2 Amy Winehouse - Rehab Released: 23 October, 2006 Peak: #9 Beyoncé - Irreplaceable Released: 23 October, 2006 Peak: #1 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right Released: 31 October, 2006 Peak: #1 Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape (Feat. Akon) Released: 19 December, 2006 Peak: #2 Justin Timberlake - What Goes Around... Comes Around Released: 19 December, 2006 Peak: #1 Fergie - Glamorous (Feat. Ludacris) Released: 23 January, 2007 Peak: #1 Mims - This Is Why I'm Hot Released: 23 January, 2007 Peak: #1 Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend Released: 27 February, 2007 Peak: #1 Rihanna - Umbrella (Feat. Jay-Z) Released: 29 March, 2007 Peak: #1 Linkin Park - What I've Done Released: 2 April, 2007 Peak: #7 Kelly Clarkson - Never Again Released: 24 April, 2007 Peak: #8 Soulja Boy Tell'em - Crank That (Soulja Boy) Released: 2 May, 2007 Peak: #1 Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah Released: 9 May, 2006 Peak: #1 P!nk - Who Knew Released: 18 May, 2006 Peak: #9 Sean Kingston - Beautiful Girls Released: 26 May, 2007 Peak: #1 Lil Mama - Lip Gloss Released: 19 June, 2007 Peak: #10 Timbaland - The Way I Are (Feat. D.O.E. & Keri Hilson) Released: 9 July, 2007 Peak: #3 High School Musical Cast - What Time Is It? Released: 17 July, 2007 Peak: #6 Kanye West - Stronger Released: 31 July, 2007 Peak: #1 Jordin Sparks - Tattoo Released: 27 August, 2007 Peak: #8 Alicia Keys - No One Released: 11 September, 2007 Peak: #1 Timbaland - Apologize (Feat. OneRepublic) Released: 17 September, 2007 Peak: #2 Britney Spears - Gimme More Released: 20 September, 2007 Peak: #3 Flo Rida - Low (Feat. T-Pain) Released: 9 October, 2007 Peak: #1 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love Released: 19 October, 2007 Peak: #1