‘AMAFILIPINA’: ‘Drag Race UK vs the World’ contestant Marina Summers takes on Maymay Entrata’s ‘AMAKABOGERA’ like a true ‘Filipina winnah’ – watch

‘AMAFILIPINA’: ‘Drag Race UK vs the World’ contestant Marina Summers takes on Maymay Entrata’s ‘AMAKABOGERA’ like a true ‘Filipina winnah’ – watch

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Is Marina Summers going to be our Filipina winnah?

Right out the gate, Filipino drag artist and Tarsier Records act Marina Summers conquered in the BBC Three-produced UK vs the World edition of Emmy Award-winning competition series RuPaul's Drag Race.

In season 2’s first maxi-challenge, ‘The Queen’s Variety Show,” the first Drag Race Philippines runner-up queen performed her own take on Maymay Entrata’s hit song, ‘Amakabogera’. Replacing it with her own English words for the United Kingdom-based spinoff, she turned it into an anthem to inspire national pride. “Born in an island and raised by the seas,” she sung in a formidable performance. “Golden, my skin, I’m the Filipina queen.”

“I’m a Filipina. I’m rising like a winner. Ain’t nobody bringing this Morena to the ground. I’m a Filipina, Filipina winner,” Marina declares in the chorus.

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On Sunday, 11 February, Marina Summers released a full 3-minute version of the abridged performance on the RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World main stage (aired 2/9).

“There was so much energy there – the empowering lyrics. It was just wonderful to see,” English comedian and judge Alan Carr told Marina in the episode.

“Sassy and as sexy as you get,” actor and guest judge Richard E. Grant added.

Longtime judge Michelle Visage complimented her performance with a slight jest: “Those shoes that you performed in are one of the most difficult types of shoes to perform in. So I don’t know if I should applaud you or yell at you.”

Even Maymay Entrata, the original singer of the iconic song, showed her approval – as seen on Marina’s social media channels. “Grabe ang galing niyo ho! Kakapanood ko pa lang ng performance niyo ho, ang galing ho, sobra! Congratulations,” said Maymay in a personal message shared by Marina. (Really, you were so good! I just got to watch the performance, and it was so good.)

Toward the end of the episode, Marina and Drag Race France’s La Grande Dame were named the top 2 queens of the week, but the Philippine representative bested the French queen in a ‘Lip Sync for the World’ (similar to the ‘Lip Sync for the Legacy’ format of the show) to the tune of Livin’ Joy’s ‘Dreamer’. Supermodel of the World RuPaul herself gave the Filipino artist the coveted stamp of approval, “You’re a winner, baby,” along with a gold RuPeter badge and the power to eliminate a bottom-placer (in this case, US season 10 and All Stars 5 queen Mayhem Miller).

Marina finished runner-up in the first-ever season of Drag Race Philippines, who named Precious Paula Nicole its first winner. Since the Philippine spin-off just premiered in 2022, Marina is the first representative on a RuPaul-hosted international edition to come from the Philippines.

Prior to Marina, several drag queens of Filipino descent have competed on the show, to name just a few: Manila Luzon and Jiggly Caliente, who have competed on the original US show and have since become, respectively, the host of Drag Den on Amazon Prime Video and a judge on Drag Race Philippines.


Watch the full music video of ‘Amafilipina’ on Marina Summers’ YouTube channel:

Both the full and talent show versions are available on all streaming platforms:

 RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World season 2 airs on BBC Three and iPlayer in the UK, and globally on WOW Presents Plus (except the UK and Canada). Watch Episode 1 for free on the streaming platform.