Music

Watch drag superstar Priyanka play Jam or Not a Jam

The Toronto pop artist recently released 'Bad Bitches Don't Cry' featuring Ralph.

The Toronto pop artist recently released 'Bad Bitches Don't Cry' featuring Ralph

Priyanka | Jam or Not a Jam

2 years ago
Duration 4:49
Priyanka reacts to Avril Lavigne, Nickelback, Blackpink and more.

Priyanka has entered her main pop girl era. 

The inaugural winner of Canada's Drag Race has quickly become one of the busiest drag queens in the world: she's graced the cover of magazines, she's notched numerous ad campaigns and she recently became a host on CTV's ETalk. But perhaps one of her biggest successes in the past three years, since taking home the title of "Canada's next drag superstar," is her music career. 

Her 2021 EP Taste Test has tallied up over five million streams and her single "Come Through," featuring fellow Canada's Drag Race contestant Lemon, became a viral hit. (She even earned a spot on CBC Music's 10 Canadian artists who broke out in 2021.) Now, just two years later, she's gearing up for a full-length debut, continuing her ascent into pop stardom. 

Promoting her latest single, "Bad Bitches Don't Cry" featuring Ralph, Priyanka sat down with CBC Music to play a round of Jam or Not a Jam where she reveals her love of Avril Lavigne, Blackpink and explains why Michael Buble's songs aren't considered jams. 

Speaking on her latest collaboration, Priyanka called Ralph "an icon." While the two first met on Canada's Drag Race, it was Priyanka's manager who suggested working with Ralph on new music, as he told her: "If you want to write good pop music, call Ralph." The result is an indisputable jam and a true work of collaboration. "I really felt like we wrote it together," she explained, "She listened to everything I said, we got to do it together, she took all my ideas [...] she's amazing and I can't wait to see her take over the world, too." 

While no further details have been revealed about Priyanka's upcoming album, she did say that her new songs were inspired by "the trials and tribulations I had since being on Drag Race." She described those years as "interestingly tough years" where she dealt with imposter syndrome, changing relationships and the challenges of balancing everything while "working so hard that your dreams come true." 

Watch Priyanka play Jam or Not a Jam above.