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Soju (drag queen)

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Soju
Soju in 2019
Born
Hyunsoo Ha (하현수)

(1991-05-12) May 12, 1991 (age 35)
Seoul, South Korea
Other nameTony Hyunsoo Ha
Occupations
Years active2016–2021
Known forRuPaul's Drag Race
YouTube information
Channel
Genres
  • Comedy
  • review
  • vlog
Subscribers64,800
Views6.3 million
Korean name
Hangul
하현수
RRHa Hyeonsu
MRHa Hyŏnsu
Last updated: April 2020[needs update]

Soju is the former stage name of Tony Hyunsoo Ha,[1][2] a South Korean and American retired drag queen, singer and television/YouTube personality. Soju is best known for her online reviews of the reality show RuPaul's Drag Race, until being cast on the show's eleventh season.

Early life

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Ha was born on May 12, 1991, in Seoul, South Korea. His family moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa when he was ten years old, due to his father's military background.[3][4] He came out as gay when he was 21 and his drag mother is Kahmora Hall.[5] Ha's original drag name was Soju Love, but later shortened to just Soju, which is taken from the drink of the same name.[6]

Career

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Outside of drag, Ha is the owner of a taekwondo academy.[7]

Soju was announced as one of fifteen contestants on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race on January 24, 2019.[8] She was eliminated in the first episode after doing poorly in the sewing challenge and losing a lip sync to "The Best of Both Worlds" by Hannah Montana against Kahanna Montrese.[9][10] A conversation between Soju and the judges about a cyst became a viral meme within the Drag Race fandom.[11][12][6]

After season eleven, YouTuber Miles Jai became the co-host for the third season of Shot with Soju. Comedian Margaret Cho appeared in the first episode of the season in March 2019.[13] In 2019, World of Wonder announced that Soju was set to star in her own webseries, I Want To Be A K-Pop Idol with Soju. The series aired for four episodes before its apparent cancellation in August 2019.[14] Soju is one of the founders and performers of the touring LGBTQ+ K-Pop drag show Seoul Train Party.[15] She appeared in the music video for Lizzo's song "Juice" on April 17, 2019.[16][17]

Music

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Soju released her first single "So Juicy" with a music video on January 11, 2018.[18][19] Her second single, "K-Pop Idol Reject" featuring Edward Avila was released on November 6, 2018.[20] In an interview with Billboard, Soju stated, "We want to bring more foreigners, we want to see queer people in K-pop. It's slowly changing - the industry is very conservative and very old school, so it will take a while for them to change. But it's happening."[21]

Personal life

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Soju lives in Chicago, as of 2017.[18] On January 21, 2021, Soju was accused of sexual assault.[22] On March 9, 2021, Soju announced that she had quit drag to focus on her mental health and that she wouldn't be returning. In 2022 Soju returned to Instagram.[23]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 How Far Is Tattoo Far? Herself
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race Contestant (15th place)
2019 RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked

Music videos

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Year Title Artist
2018 "So Juicy" Soju
2018 "K-Pop Idol Reject" Soju
2019 "Juice" Lizzo
2020 "Hype" Yvie Oddly (ft.Vanessa Vanjie Mateo)

Web series

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Year Title Role
2016–19 Shot with Soju Host
2018 Cosmo Queens[24] Herself
2019 Whatcha Packin'[25] Herself
2020 Silky's Snack Shack[26] Herself

Discography

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Singles

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Title Year
"So Juicy"[citation needed] 2018
"K-Pop Idol Reject"[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "This is how Soju the Drag Queen gets ready for bed". Very Good Light. 4 May 2018. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  2. ^ "It Presents: Juice". ChicagoPride.com. June 26, 2016. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "HAPPY BIRTHDAY Soju!!". Facebook. 2017-05-12. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  4. ^ "Soju Love, Chicago". 2017-10-19. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  5. ^ "The WERRRK.com Interview: Soju". 2018-05-11. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  6. ^ a b Sultana, Rashad (March 2, 2019). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 11: First cyst-er down". Queerty. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  7. ^ "Queereans". PHmuseum. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2019-03-18.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Aquaria & Adam Rippon to Announce 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 11 Cast in Upcoming 'Ruveal'". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2019-01-20. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
  9. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race Season Premiere Recap: Let's Get Elevengendary!". Vulture. 2019-02-28. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  10. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' 11 episode 1 recap: Which queen was sent packing on 'Whatcha Unpackin'? [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]". Goldderby. 2019-02-28. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  11. ^ "Soju Does Not Regret Talking About Her Taint Cyst on 'Drag Race'". Out.com. 2019-03-03. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  12. ^ "Drag Race star Soju tells us why she wants to grow another cyst". Gay Times. 2019-03-07. Archived from the original on 2019-03-22. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  13. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Season 11: What's Next For Soju After Elimination?". Newsweek. 2019-03-01. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  14. ^ Joey Nolfi (June 27, 2019). "Yvie Oddly, Nina West, more Drag Race stars getting new reality shows". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  15. ^ "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Star Soju Shares Her Top 10 K-Pop Songs Ever". Billboard. 2019-04-16. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  16. ^ "Lizzo - JUICE Music Video feat. RuPaul's Drag Race Queens". YouTube. 2019-04-17. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  17. ^ "Lizzo Shares New "Juice" Video Feat. RuPaul's Drag Race Queens". Stereogum. 2019-04-17. Archived from the original on 2019-04-17. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  18. ^ a b Cabe, Jessica (September 28, 2017). "Chicago Drag Queen Soju Drops First Single, 'So Juicy'". DNA Info. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  19. ^ "Soju (소주) "So Juicy" Official M/V". YouTube. 2018-01-11. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  20. ^ "Soju (소주) "K-Pop Idol Reject" ft. Edward Avila Official M/V". YouTube. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  21. ^ Daw, Stephen (March 1, 2019). "Soju Talks Diversity in K-Pop, Why She Didn't Recognize Miley Cyrus & More After 'Drag Race' Exit". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  22. ^ "'Drag Race's Soju Deletes Twitter After Sexual Assault Allegations". www.out.com. 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  23. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race: Soju Quits Drag Amid Assault Accusations". ScreenRant. 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  24. ^ "Watch Soju the Drag Queen Transform into a K-Pop Goddess". Cosmopolitan. 2018-11-07. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2019-04-17.
  25. ^ Whatcha Packin': Soju | Season 11 Episode 1 | RuPaul's Drag Race. YouTube. March 1, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  26. ^ Silky's Snack Shack: Episode 5 "Whoop Yo Ass Pie". YouTube. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
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