Speaker 1: It's in the news today, but it was actually on
Speaker 1: TV Reload the podcast last week.
Speaker 2: They're right.
Speaker 1: Hey, guys, welcome back to TV Reload. I want to
Speaker 1: thank you for clicking and downloading on today's episode with
Speaker 1: Olivia Dreams, who was the first eliminated queen from RuPaul's
Speaker 1: drag race down under a quick apology that this chat
Speaker 1: is a week late. I was traveling from the Gold
Speaker 1: Coast to Melbourne and let me tell you, my life
Speaker 1: has been.
Speaker 2: A little bit chaotic.
Speaker 1: But we're here, we have Olivia Dreams and it's a
Speaker 1: really fun chat.
Speaker 2: Guys.
Speaker 1: I also haven't a chance to talk to you about
Speaker 1: what you think of RuPaul not being the host and
Speaker 1: Michelle Visage stepping in, and from my point of view,
Speaker 1: I actually haven't noticed it that much, which maybe says
Speaker 1: something about my fandom to Michelle Visage. Olivia will talk
Speaker 1: about though the absence of RuPaul and what the reaction
Speaker 1: was amongst the cast. We will unpack the dynamics of
Speaker 1: the group performance, and if you.
Speaker 2: Need to be a team player, I.
Speaker 1: Will discuss the choreography and what Queen Kong was like
Speaker 1: behind the scenes, especially after whatever I'm saying.
Speaker 2: Since you competed.
Speaker 1: In the global edition, you will get everything from what
Speaker 1: Olivia dreams, is Bank looks like now after competing, their
Speaker 1: favorite moment, and if they sought any help from some
Speaker 1: previous queens. There's actually so much to unpack, as per
Speaker 1: usuals lots of revelations, So sit back and relax as
Speaker 1: we unpack the wonderful world of RuPaul's Drag Race down Under.
Speaker 1: Congratulations my friend on doing so well getting onto this show.
Speaker 1: And also, I feel like I normally can predict who's
Speaker 1: going home, and I did not see that coming.
Speaker 3: You and me both. I did not expect to go
Speaker 3: home either, so I was just as shocked as you were.
Speaker 1: I think the first two girls in week one, you know,
Speaker 1: they were both safe, and I wondered, how does that
Speaker 1: make you feel to process that you did better than
Speaker 1: them in the first week and that you're the person
Speaker 1: you're the first eliminated person to go home.
Speaker 2: How has that all sat with you?
Speaker 3: I honestly think in the beginning it was a little
Speaker 3: bit better. It was a little bit better because I
Speaker 3: was thinking that from an analytical point of view, you know,
Speaker 3: like track record rive, I didn't do that bad, but
Speaker 3: taking the time process it taking the time to really
Speaker 3: reflect on it. You know, I think there's no point
Speaker 3: in harboring el feelings about it anymore. The dice foil
Speaker 3: where they foul. I'm just happy that I got to
Speaker 3: experience the show. I'm happy that I got to be
Speaker 3: on the show, and I'm happy that I got to
Speaker 3: show the world a little bit of who Olivia Dreams is.
Speaker 3: I've got Olivia Dreams exactly, experience the magic of Olivia Dreams.
Speaker 3: So I'm glad. Yeah, the world's gotten to see a
Speaker 3: little bit of Olivia Dreams. Really wish I got to
Speaker 3: show more, but you know, sometimes you need to give
Speaker 3: everybody a little bit of a taster before you give
Speaker 3: them the full meal.
Speaker 1: This is true. This is a very competitive group of people.
Speaker 1: I think that the talent and the quality and everything
Speaker 1: seems to be leveling up.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. I think, you know, a lot of these queens
Speaker 3: have been applying every season, and you know, they're hungry
Speaker 3: for it. They were hungry for it. They're hungry to
Speaker 3: show who they are, and they're hungry to be on
Speaker 3: the stage. And I think we all brought all brought
Speaker 3: our best because we wanted drag Race down Under to
Speaker 3: be good, not saying that it's not being good, but
Speaker 3: you know, we really wanted to elevate it, to take
Speaker 3: it to the next level. And yeah, we just absolutely
Speaker 3: brought everything that we could to the show, and there's
Speaker 3: it's just such a stacked cast of performers.
Speaker 1: I've really felt that when you get casts on a
Speaker 1: show like this, do you go back and watch those
Speaker 1: seasons and start taking notes or do you worry that
Speaker 1: that will infiltrate your drag?
Speaker 2: Like what did you do to prepare?
Speaker 3: So even before I got the call back, I did
Speaker 3: exactly that. I went back and started watching all the
Speaker 3: seasons of Drag Race downe Under, just to see how
Speaker 3: the judges were critiquing my fellow you know, Australasian sisters
Speaker 3: and getting or trying to gauge what works well, what
Speaker 3: doesn't work well, what's worked well for some queens, what
Speaker 3: hasn't worked well. So I did a little bit of research,
Speaker 3: but I didn't let it filter into my drag per se.
Speaker 3: I sort of wanted to keep Olivia Dreams at the
Speaker 3: forefront of what I wanted to present, and I really
Speaker 3: feel like I did. I really am glad with what
Speaker 3: I presented. All my time on the show.
Speaker 2: Did you go and get any advice?
Speaker 1: I mean, this is what I was curious about, as
Speaker 1: to whether or not you'd sort of slide into some
Speaker 1: dms of some queens that you connected with or liked previously.
Speaker 1: Did you try and get any advice from people that
Speaker 1: have done the show before.
Speaker 3: No, I am part of the French but I absolutely
Speaker 3: raw dog the experience of Drag Race down Under. I
Speaker 3: really just thought it's better if I put myself in
Speaker 3: this bubble and just focus completely on getting ready for
Speaker 3: the show.
Speaker 1: Do you go the first queen I'm talking to? So
Speaker 1: I'm curious what about the reaction of Rupon not hosting
Speaker 1: and Michelle coming in. I have to tell you, I
Speaker 1: could be the biggest Michelle Visage fan, I would say
Speaker 1: in the world. So for me, I haven't noticed Ruth's absence, Like,
Speaker 1: what was the reaction for you? What was the reaction
Speaker 1: amongst the cast.
Speaker 3: I think we were a little bit a little bit bummed,
Speaker 3: to be honest, that Rue wasn't going to be joining
Speaker 3: us this season. But I think, honestly, I think it's
Speaker 3: a good decision because Michelle just understands Drag down Under.
Speaker 3: She really gets the references. She really gets the humor.
Speaker 3: And like you said, like we didn't really notice Ruth's
Speaker 3: absence on the show. I think Michelle's doing such a
Speaker 3: great job. It's done such a great job to step
Speaker 3: up into that main host platform and then bringing on
Speaker 3: the previous alum queens. It really you really didn't know
Speaker 3: Rue's absence. We just really enjoyed ourselves with Michelle. She's
Speaker 3: so down to earth. She laughs at our jove like
Speaker 3: she just really understands us, and she gives such good
Speaker 3: She just commands the room as well, that's the saying.
Speaker 3: That's one thing that always stars with me is when
Speaker 3: she first woke into that web room on episode one,
Speaker 3: she just commanded the room with her presence and she
Speaker 3: hadn't even spoken yet. We were just all enamored with Michelle.
Speaker 1: The looks look amazing, Like I think it was this episode,
Speaker 1: or but maybe it was the week before where she
Speaker 1: walked out and everyone's like, you look amazing, and that's
Speaker 1: exactly what the audience is thinking.
Speaker 2: She's looking. Yeah, her aesthetic is so good.
Speaker 3: She's looking absolutely amazing, like she's just so studying in
Speaker 3: person and everything is meticulously detailed about her. Speechless That's
Speaker 3: what I am speechless about. Michelle Visage.
Speaker 1: What is it like working with these challenges, these team challenges,
Speaker 1: because like, for me, you really have to be I
Speaker 1: sometimes think I'm really good in team environments, and then
Speaker 1: sometimes if there's one person the group that can throw me,
Speaker 1: then I get quite distracted.
Speaker 2: How did you go working with all the other girls?
Speaker 3: Group performances aren't new to me, so I've done a
Speaker 3: few here in New Zealand, So I was really excited
Speaker 3: to work with these girls and get to know them
Speaker 3: and get to know, you know, their strengths and the
Speaker 3: weaknesses and whatnot. I think a part of part of
Speaker 3: the challenge set through me was being paired with the
Speaker 3: like like Max and Karna and Brenda. Like Brenda can sing,
Speaker 3: Brenda was on the Voice Australia right, So this is
Speaker 3: not only just like a girl group challenge is not
Speaker 3: just dancing, it's singing, dancing an act. So being put
Speaker 3: in a team with such strong, you know, singers, such
Speaker 3: song dancers, it was like, oh, I really need to
Speaker 3: like step myself up and really push myself outside of
Speaker 3: my comfort zone to make sure that I stand out.
Speaker 1: And Queen Kong, who better to come in and teach
Speaker 1: some choreography. I have met Quen Kong a number of times,
Speaker 1: just so amazing. What was what was it like to
Speaker 1: be able to work alongside Queen Kong? What did you
Speaker 1: take out of that experience?
Speaker 3: Really amazing. It was such an experience to be able
Speaker 3: to be mentor and to be supported by somebody who's
Speaker 3: such a big deal. You know, she's such a performer,
Speaker 3: she's such a powerhouse and Australasian reaction. She's just competed
Speaker 3: on Global All Stars. Like to have her there with
Speaker 3: us as another indigenous queen, like it meant the world
Speaker 3: to me. And she's just so mutherly, she's so muzzling
Speaker 3: and she wants to see the best in everybody. And
Speaker 3: I think it was really good to get the critiques
Speaker 3: that I did get from Queen because she's been through
Speaker 3: the process, she's been through the show. She knows how
Speaker 3: we're feeling, she knows how it all runs down. So
Speaker 3: to have that person with experience to support us and
Speaker 3: to support me, it was just It's what I needed
Speaker 3: in the moment.
Speaker 1: They really came for you. When they talked about the wrapping,
Speaker 1: is it dangerous at this point of the competition to
Speaker 1: do something that will make you stand out like this.
Speaker 3: Yeah, especially after episode one where I was in the bottom,
Speaker 3: I really wanted to push myself and do something risky
Speaker 3: to show the judges and the other girls why I
Speaker 3: deserve to be in the competition. So it was like
Speaker 3: an active choice on my behalf to push myself outside
Speaker 3: of my comfort zone and not to try to aim
Speaker 3: for safe, but to aim to win essentially. And I
Speaker 3: wanted to rap because all the other girls were singing.
Speaker 3: I actually had written like a verse where I was
Speaker 3: singing the song, but I saw, well everybody else is singing.
Speaker 3: How am I going to be different? Why don't I
Speaker 3: try rapping? Never raped before, probably will never rap again.
Speaker 3: But in that moment, I thought, this is probably a
Speaker 3: safe way for me to not fade into obscurity per se.
Speaker 1: The judges talked about your imposter syndrome, and I was
Speaker 1: curious to know what was your relationship with that. Did
Speaker 1: you agree? Did you feel like there was a bit
Speaker 1: of imposter syndrome? Oh?
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. Like all the critiques that I got across
Speaker 3: both episodes, I agreed was I don't think they were mean,
Speaker 3: I don't think they were harsh, I think they were
Speaker 3: just the truth of the matter. Like I felt imposter
Speaker 3: syndrome at times because it was such a stacked cast
Speaker 3: of queens that I did wonder like, what am I
Speaker 3: doing here? Why am I here? I was the queen
Speaker 3: was the least amount of experience doing drag and you know,
Speaker 3: been putted against people who've been doing drags even eight nine,
Speaker 3: ten plus years. So like the critics may come across
Speaker 3: as harsh, or they may come across as critical, but
Speaker 3: in all honesty, they were true and reflecting on a
Speaker 3: process in it happened. There's no point in looking back
Speaker 3: on it, only look forward from here on out.
Speaker 1: My partner always says to me, puts his hand on
Speaker 1: my leg because of my leg starts tapping. I get in,
Speaker 1: I get restless leg. And it's only when I'm in
Speaker 1: situations where I start to feel a little bit uncomfortable,
Speaker 1: and it's so bizarre. There was a scene very quickly
Speaker 1: where it was a wide shot and I could see
Speaker 1: you with the restless leg going and I was like,
Speaker 1: that is me. I'm so connecting to this right now.
Speaker 1: That's kind of how I am. Do you have restless
Speaker 1: leg in uncomfortable situation? Like me.
Speaker 3: Honestly, yes, I do like riftless legs, or I'll fit
Speaker 3: it with my hands a lot, and I'll just sit
Speaker 3: there like rubbing my fingers across each other, or my
Speaker 3: legal start bouncing. So yeah, I actually hadn't clopped that.
Speaker 3: I actually hadn't clocked that I had ristless leg.
Speaker 2: Go back and watch it.
Speaker 1: There's a spot where it's a wide shot and you
Speaker 1: can see you sitting there and you're watching what's going on.
Speaker 2: It's not a piece of dialogue that you're a part of.
Speaker 1: And you've got your foot on the stool and your
Speaker 1: both of your feet are going like and it's funny.
Speaker 2: I'm not a very good flyer.
Speaker 1: But I sat next to my partner on a plane
Speaker 1: two days ago and I had headphones in, so I
Speaker 1: didn't realize I was doing it. And he said, stop
Speaker 1: rocking your legs back and forward. You're driving everyone around
Speaker 1: here nuts. It's making a tappening sound. Maybe I was
Speaker 1: more conscious of you doing it because of that.
Speaker 3: Because Kindred Spirits. Kindred Spirits been with Kindred Spirits.
Speaker 1: What was interesting was the look that you chose to
Speaker 1: go with for the runway. How did you go in
Speaker 1: the moment thinking that was the that's what you wanted
Speaker 1: to put forward. Was there any other options or is
Speaker 1: that just what you thought was the best thing to do?
Speaker 3: Honestly? Around casting, there was a lack of designers here
Speaker 3: in New Zealand, so I was actually struggling to find
Speaker 3: people to make the outfits for the runway packet. And
Speaker 3: I'm actually really happy with what we were able to produce. Like, yeah,
Speaker 3: it probably wasn't you know, there were critiques it should
Speaker 3: have been longer, things like that, wasn't that share? But
Speaker 3: I'm actually really happy. Was the point of difference because
Speaker 3: I thought everybody would go along the same lines of
Speaker 3: share and I wanted to, I guess take my interpretation
Speaker 3: on share and share. Like, I think it's a beautiful outfit.
Speaker 3: I think it doesn't translate well onto camera, but it's
Speaker 3: actually made out of a very fine lace, which almost
Speaker 3: because they share appearance. I'm happy with it. I'm really
Speaker 3: happy with it. I think I look absolutely gorgeous in
Speaker 3: it when I were it again. Absolutely, would I get
Speaker 3: it reconstructed a little bit, sure, yeah, absolutely, But at
Speaker 3: the end of the day, I'm happy with what I
Speaker 3: was able to produce with the resources and the time
Speaker 3: that we were given.
Speaker 1: I thought you look like Dawn French at the LOGI,
Speaker 1: so I didn't think it was that bad.
Speaker 3: Like you know, that's a compliment. I'm taking that other compliment.
Speaker 2: Just before I let you go.
Speaker 1: There's sort of two questions that I'm asking everybody, and
Speaker 1: that is how much money did you spend on getting
Speaker 1: your outfits ready?
Speaker 2: Can you tell me what damage you did to your
Speaker 2: bank balance? Just checking? Are you there now?
Speaker 3: I did a severe amount of bank damage, the damage
Speaker 3: to my make account.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm going to wrap this up. But the last
Speaker 1: question I ask everyone who joins the pot is what
Speaker 1: is something from behind the scenes, something that we would
Speaker 1: like to know?
Speaker 2: Now?
Speaker 1: I know that there is so much that we can't
Speaker 1: talk about when it comes to RuPaul and the mysteries
Speaker 1: behind this show, but I thought, maybe are behind the
Speaker 1: scenes secret is something that you will remember? What's when
Speaker 1: you look back at this experience? Is there a take
Speaker 1: home that you will always look back on and remember
Speaker 1: as an important part of your RuPaul's journey.
Speaker 3: There were so many amazing moments as part of as
Speaker 3: part of the experience. I think one of my favorite
Speaker 3: moments was was Nikita and long filming days. But she
Speaker 3: just killed up next to me one day on the
Speaker 3: seat and just fell asleep on me. Didn't even ask
Speaker 3: her anything, but yeah, she just killed out one day
Speaker 3: between shooting and just fell asleep on me. And I
Speaker 3: was like, Okay, well this is happening now. But I
Speaker 3: think that was really sweet and one of my most
Speaker 3: memories from the show.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, I think that if you're anything like my animals
Speaker 1: at home, they will always go to sleep on the
Speaker 1: person they trust the most. So I think that the
Speaker 1: fact that's that happened is because you're a very trusting person.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being so generous with your
Speaker 1: time and look after yourself and enjoy chatting to the media.