Priyanka on her bold new era: ‘This one is for me’

Alongside her career victories, Priyanka is vocal about how quickly she’s had to learn and adapt in the face of pressure about her drag, her music, and the person underneath all the glam. But now, she’s ready and primed to take on this new era of her career—and she’s unafraid to talk her sh*t and claim what’s hers.

We chatted with Priyanka on what this new bold chapter of her career signifies, her choice to take on a new Bollywood-infused sonic direction in her music, and how she plans to continue to use television to uplift and represent her community fearlessly.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Andre Lawes Menchavez: We have to talk about your recent single drop, “Dressin'.” How special was it for you to create a song so culturally referenced at this point in your career, getting to incorporate so many Bollywood sounds and textures?
Priyanka: It reminds me of when I did the finale of Canada's Drag Race and walked the runway in my lehenga. I was able to trust my gut and show the producers the song “Nimbooda” from a Bollywood film I used to watch as a kid as the reference, stating that it was what I wanted to do but to take it into a pop world. This is the music that I want to make and it's been very healing. This sound was always on my list of different demos and what I wanted the next single to be. I’ve had all these opinions from people like my distributor and my management, and they all had their favorites. But this one is for me.

ALM: How does this new chapter of yours differ from your former eras, like Taste Test or Devastatia, sonically and personally?
Priyanka: My Taste Test era was a very spoiled experience of what a music career could look like. I was living and basking in the fame and glory after I had just won Drag Race. Everyone was living for everything that I was doing at the time. Then in my Devastatia era, it’s my era of the most confusion. I would be wondering if people were coming to shows for my music or just to see me, the drag queen. Like, should I do my lip sync to “I Drove All Night” from season one of Canada’s Drag Race at my concerts? I don’t do that anymore, but if I don't, is this a tough shift?

I do really love all the music of that era. But I was still learning a lot of lessons as a human at that time, and now I feel like I'm actually able to apply those lessons that I've learned over the last few years to my projects now. In this third era of my music, it’s definitely getting more personal. This feels like a product of trusting myself. If you were to ask me at the beginning of the Taste Test era what I thought my 2026 sound would be, I would’ve been like, “Oh, it's gonna be campy and it's gonna sound like Lady Gaga!” But it's taken such a turn and I’m actually creating art that's more connected to my soul.

Priyanka dropped "Dressin'" on April 1.

Wade Muir

ALM: I went to your LA show of your Devastatia tour and loved it! What were some lessons you learned about touring during that time, and maybe something you’d pursue differently for tours in the future?
Priyanka: I love that you went to that LA show! We sold out that venue, which is a hard thing to do, and it was such a beautiful show. But a big lesson I learned is that sometimes I need to stop being so psychological about things and just enjoy the moment. And there were also a lot of self-love lessons I had to get into. The LA show is a good example of that actually because tour is tour and sometimes things go wrong, like some set things malfunctioning at that show. I know that’s showbiz, but I came from a background of production so my mind is always critical and searching for solutions.

It was an amazing tour but it was a stressful, big, and ambitious tour. I had no managers at the time. I didn't even have a tour manager on the road. It was a really small team that was pulling off such a big production. But I definitely learned to sit myself down and enjoy these moments because it's so much easier to fester in negativity when looking back at this tour when I should instead be remembering the thousands of faces that were watching every single night that bought a ticket to come and see me.

ALM: Also, I’m sure you’ve seen the viral jokes being made about how formulaic verses on Drag Race are becoming. As a certified songstress with such iconic verses in girl group challenges, what advice would you give your fellow sisters?
Priyanka: You need a beginning, middle, and end, and we have to get to know you. Those are the two rules. I think drag is so referential so it does not surprise me that the verses have become like, “Hey, Mama Ru! Came to snatch the crown, I'm from a little small town!” It makes sense because that's what we've seen. But girl, you know you're on Drag Race a month before you go into the Werkroom. You could write a couple of verses before you get in there. I mean, I didn't do that. I don't think Lemon did either. We wrote them on the spot. But for y’all? Save yourself!