Iconic singer Kristine W joined RuPaul on the judges’ panel for the Rusical episode of this season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, and if anyone can judge musical talent and fierce looks, she’s the one to do it.
Since the 90s, Kristine has served up a soundtrack for our dance floor days with hits including “Feel What You Want,” “Lovin’ You,” and “Love Come Down,” which was the song Shannel and Jorgeous burned down the Drag Race stage with this season. Kristine’s latest single is her tribute to sultry chanteuse Sade, a cover of her hit “Smooth Operator,” which is the perfect song for your summer soundtrack.
In our recent interview, we learned more about Kristine, one of the top 10 dance artists of all time, and even more so as we put her in the hot seat for another edition of the Socialite Seven.
Who has been the biggest influence on your career and why?
I would say probably my mother – and I would say that because she was so disciplined in you know, the show must go on. You can't call in sick when you're a performer. She was just super disciplined – and I wouldn't say that she really loved being a performer.
I love performing. I love writing songs. She performed because she needed to raise four kids as a widow. Her situation was much more dire. But I just love her work ethic and just how wonderful she was to people, how great she was on stage. She made everybody feel at home and it made them feel like family and she was so welcoming.
I would go in and watch her sing and I'd hide back in the kitchen and watch her with the audience. The room probably held about 110 people, maybe. And that connection and just watching her at work she just would lift people up and she would talk to them and she'd tell stories about the songs. It was just really wonderful. So, I would say that had a huge impact at the time. I thought, oh, you know, this is small town stuff. I'm going to go be a big star with a big show and a big town, you know what I mean? But that was a great education for me because she taught me the basics, you know, just it's music is something that, you know, you need to share a positive, you know, energy out there. There's just not enough of it.
What is your favorite song to perform?
“Last Dance”, because so many memories come with it and it takes me right back to when I first heard Donna Summer's voice and how amazed I was by her and how I would try to figure out, is she going to be on TV? Is she going to be on this show, on that show? I'd go to my grandparent's house and go through the TV Guide. You know, grandma, where's the TV Guide? Where's the newspaper? Just trying to find anything where Donna Summer was going to appear. And so, yeah, it's just good memories of that.
I've probably got about 15 Donna Summer vintage vinyls here that I play. It's just so fun. I'm such a Giorgio Moroder nut too. He was such a great producer. And when I produce my music. I'm always thinking of him, like what would Giorgio do? When I write songs and when I think about, oh, what's the bridge going to be like, what breakdown, what musicality are we going to put here? He's just so forefront in my mind. Those two are so powerful together. They really were dance music. You know, they were the pioneers right there.
You've worked with some great people, but is there anybody you would like to collaborate with that you haven't yet?
Oh, there's so many. I think Sam Smith is amazing. You know, Taylor Swift is so cool. Megan Thee Stallion is a beast. Justin Timberlake, he was on RCA with me. We were on the same label, and I've always loved him. He was obsessed with a song that I wrote called “Clubland” back in the day back during that time. It came out in 2001. It was the B side of the “Stronger” single and he was just obsessed with that song. It was so funny. I love him. I think he's amazing. Oh gosh, there's, there's a lot. I know that's kind of perplexing just because there's so many, we'd probably be here all, all night.
If they made a movie of your life, who would you want to play you?
Oh, that is that's a good one. Dua Lipa, maybe. Dua Lipa, she'd be super-hot. She'd make me look pretty hot, man. There you go!
If you could wake up in the morning with a superpower or talent that you don't already have, what would you want it to be?
Oh, I think it'd be fun to be a great actress. That takes a long time to get crackin’, but you know, we act all the time when we're on stage, but when you see somebody like a Meryl Streep do their thing, that's just magic. And it takes a long time to get that good.
Those actresses that are Oscar winners and all that, it's just so magical to me when they can just transform into a completely different person and just go right into the character and you don't even see them anymore. I think that's just fantastic.
What are three things you can't live without?
Horses, music and my kids. They're amazing.
What is the best piece of advice you've been given?
Overnight success takes at least 20 years. That’s from my stepdad who was my mentor. I dedicated my first album Land of the Living to him and that's what he told me was “Krissy, overnight success is going to take you about 20 years.” I was like, Oh, geez!
“Smooth Operator” is available now on all streaming platforms. Keep up with Kristine W on Spotify, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and on her website.
