Priyanka Talks 'Snatch' Video & Reveals If She'd Do All-Winners Season

The Priyanka Cinematic Universe is now coming to an end with a final music video. The series – which consisted of “Cake,” “B*tch, I’m Busy,” and “Come Through (feat. Lemon)” – is now ending with a jaw-dropping and exciting music video for Priyanka’s brand-new single, “Snatch,” featuring Cheryl Hole.

During an interview with PRIDE, Priyanka discussed her references for the “Snatch” music video, her biggest pop music inspirations, and which musicians she’d like to collaborate with in the future. The OG winner of Canada’s Drag Race also shared her thoughts on the newly-released season three and the upcoming Canada Versus the World edition. Last but certainly not least, Priyanka revealed whether or not she’d compete in a future all-winners edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race in the same style as All Stars 7.

Watch Priyanka’s brand-new music video for “Snatch” below.

“Snatch” is the final chapter in a series of four music videos.

Final part in a series… it’s quite sad. Because when I released the first one, ‘Cake,’ I didn’t actually think that my music was going to totally explode like it has. I wanted it to, that was the goal of course. But when it first was gaining a lot of traction and everyone was talking about it – and Lemon’s verse went viral – people were learning the dance moves from the videos. I was like, ‘Damn, I went and did the damn thing.’ So with the last one coming out, I’m excited because it’s basically, like, a movie to end all movies. You know? It really feels super cinematic, it feels like you’re watching a superhero try to take over the world. It really conveys the message that I wanted to convey through my entire album. And I think it’s going to be a hit.

A lot of queens have released original music after appearing on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but your approach was to go all-in when it comes to your music career. What was the thought process behind that decision?

I think that I always respected when an artist would release bodies of work and projects. I was always so inspired by people like Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Beyoncé, who would have these conceptual, full storyline albums. And I was kind of like, ‘I feel like this is what I want to do. This is what inspires me. This is what I like to do.’ Storytelling was such a big part of my drag, right?

When I was on Canada’s Drag Race, I told the story over and over again about how my dad didn’t know that I was gay and he had never seen me in drag before. The reason I do drag is so that people can see that they can be successful too, and the same rules apply to me taking this whole music thing under my belt and making it my b*tch.

Being on TV for so many years, it was kind of like a plug-in-and-play kind of job. You kind of show up, you do the gig, you leave. This was me really feeling myself and understanding about myself as an artist. And doing music is so cool because, with the release of ‘Snatch,’ that’s something I’m so excited about performing it everywhere and seeing it live its best life.

It’s exciting. It’s really exciting to be trusted as a new musician now. That’s the coolest thing, is when fans come up to you and they’re saying like, ‘We love your music. When’s the new song coming out? Oh my god!’ Like, damn, they’re listening.

This music video for “Snatch” is heavy on references to video games and Nintendo. Can you talk about your love for Nintendo games, and do you still consider yourself a gamer?

Yeah, I used to love playing WWE Attitude, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Mario Party with my cousins and stuff. I love to pull references from my personal life, as much as I can execute, because I’m that much more proud whenever the piece of work comes out. But no, I haven’t gamed in years. I can’t even tell you the last time I played Mario Party or Mario Kart.

So you don’t even own a Nintendo Switch right now?

OK, so when the pandemic first hit, I bought a Switch, and I thought I was going to love playing Animal Crossing… but then it turns out that I couldn’t wrap my head around it. So I ended up giving away my Nintendo Switch to one of my Canada’s Drag Race sisters.

Who!?

BOA. She took it and she loves to game. It’s funny, I’m on tour with Crystal Methyd right now, and she’s always on her Switch. She loves the new Nintendo Switch.

Where did the idea come from for you to do a series of music videos that are connected within a continuity?

I used to watch a lot of BET growing up, and a lot of the top artists would have like a little sneak preview of their next single tacked on to the end of their music videos. I used to always watch videos like that. 

I’ll never forget being in college in my little basement apartment in a house full of 13 other college kids all waiting for Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone’ [music video] to come out. And to freaking play that video and see how cinematic it was, and how it was about the song but also just about the beautiful visuals and the storytelling that Gaga did, I was like, ‘Oh, this is the kind of sh*t that I want to do one day. This is what I want to do. I want to release eras, I want to release storyline sh*t.’

I’m excited to, when the new stuff comes out, totally wipe off this storyline and come up with something new. Like an American Horror Story for drag queens, where each season is something new.

I know this can be a tough question, but do you have a favorite music video of yours?

Yes. My favorite music video to date is ‘B*tch, I’m Busy.’ It was just so sexy. It was the best. It was the one that I think told the story of having a little bit of a prequel in it to what’s happening now. It’s one of the most dynamic music videos, and it’s also still one of my favorite songs. But also, I finished editing ‘Smash’ on an airplane last week, and I think that actually might end up being my favorite in the end.

As a Brazilian guy, I’m used to following queens like Pabllo Vittar and Gloria Groove who have music videos that are literally on par with the biggest popstars in the world. I think that within the Drag Race universe, your music videos are very similar to theirs in terms of production value. What was your experience creating these very high-budget music videos?

I mean, it helped that I have a lot of connections in the industry already before I started doing drag. Because the people that I’ve worked with – like my director Caroline Torti – I’ve been her friend for over 15 years. So we were able to really, really squeeze every single penny we can to make these videos happen. They’re so expensive, and they’re only cinematic because the people that are working on it are the ones that want to make it look that way.

It’s definitely hard, and it’s definitely tough, because we want to have these [Marvel-level] music videos. But once we realized how much things cost… there are a lot of back-and-forth creative changes you have to make. But I feel very lucky that I have these people on my team. When I said that, ‘Oh, I want it to be like Mario Kart, they’re like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ You know what I mean? It’s like there’s never a ‘no.’ Which is kind of how I function.

I’m really curious about the financial aspect of the music videos because I know that they usually cost a lot of money. Did you end up spending all of your prize money on these videos? Did they cost even more than that?

So for the first three of the videos, I got a sponsorship and I spent some of that money to make them come true. And for this last music video I just paid the money that I made last year and put it into the video. So, my prize money, I actually saved.

Come through with the smart finances!

You’ve got to be smart with your money, baby. You can’t just be spending your money willy-nilly on music videos.

Now that all of the music videos are done and out in the world, do you think they were worth the investment when it comes to your career?

Oh, 100%. I cannot imagine my career without these cinematic masterpieces. I feel so lucky that they’re out, I feel so lucky for the team, and I feel so happy that they came out the way that they did, because they made such impact.

Are there certain musicians that you’d love to collaborate with on new songs?

I want to do a song with Charli XCX, I want to do a song with Pabllo Vittar, I want to do a song with Megan Thee Stallion, I want to do a song with Beyoncé. I mean, hey, I feel like I’m the queen of manifesting, so I’m just going to say it out loud and act like it’s a normal thing that will happen, because you never know what could happen these days.

During the last time that I spoke to you, you had just won the first season of Canada’s Drag Race. Now, season three has just premiered last week. Did you watch it? What are your first impressions?

I think it was incredible. I think the queens are giving season one chaos, and I really appreciate that. I think that it’s so great to see queens like Bombae, Halal Bae, and Jada Shada Hudson really representing queens like me. I think it’s exciting. Whoever wins the next season, I’m so excited to see what they do with their win.

Canada Versus the World has also been announced. Are you excited to watch that season?

I’m excited for it. I think it’s going to be really, really fun to watch. I’m excited to see international girls play in Canada. Like, I think it’s going to be so cool, because Canada is very fierce, so it’s going to be very exciting to see what everyone does with it.

Speaking of doing Drag Race again, I have to ask – would you ever do an all-winners season if that happens again?

100%, yes. The all-winners season is the only iteration of RuPaul’s Drag Race I’ll ever do again.

So it’s a 100% yes, automatically.

Yes. Sign me up right now. Send me the paperwork. I’ll be there.

Now that “Snatch,” the final chapter in the Priyanka cinematic universe, is coming out, what do you want fans to walk away with after listening to these songs and watching these videos?

I want them to not only have incredible songs to add to their playlists, but I want them to understand the videos themselves and the storyline that’s in the videos. It’s all about the social injustice nationals telling me what to do and me not taking ‘no’ for an answer – and that’s such a true statement of my entire career. My entire life has been that. Being told, ‘No, you’re not Beyoncé, we’re not going to give you money for a video.’ I was told I wasn’t going to win Canada’s Drag Race. I was told I shouldn’t get into television before I was even on TV. I’m always being told ‘no, no, no’ all the time. But I use that ‘no’ and turn it into a ‘yes.’ Because I’m going to be the one that makes my own sh*t come true, not somebody else.

So that’s what I want them to take away from this music video series. That’s the underlying message. If you work hard enough, it’s going to happen.

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