Back in March LOGO crowned America’s Next Drag Superstar in the season finale of their surprise hit competitive reality TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race and today we get to meet the 12 new contestants vying for that very same title for season 2. All week long, LOGO has been teasing the announcement of the new cast of the new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (set to debut on LOGO in February ’10) and today we get our first look at the new set of queens going head to head to become America’s Next Drag Superstar. Here is the first batch of contestants along with some deets about the upcoming second season:

Like Ru says: “You betta watch!” As you can tell, it certainly seems like the show hasn’t lost any of the copious amounts of verve and panache it served up so heavily in the inaugural season earlier this year. (And, here’s a dream within a dream: You can still watch all the episodes from last season online.) In fact, based on the video, I might just love this coming season even more than the last–mostly because of that glorious pink hair that Ru is wearing when she tells her finalists to “Lip sync for your life!” But also because of one particular contestant we see in the above video. That’d be Mystique, the rather curvy and full-figured queen you amazingly saw do the splits. I can tell you already that I’m already gunning for that gurl. Lastly, I’m loving that it looks like Ru slaps someone! That’s right, queens, Ru don’t take no lip! But, the video isn’t the only scoop we’ve got on the new season—after the jump, we serve up some more details from Ru herself… First off, let’s talk guest judges: So far, three of the guest judges we know about are Kathy Griffin (see our First Look with her in this week’s issue of the magazine, which is on stands now), Cloris Leachman, and Debbie Reynolds. Hello, jackpot! “All of the judges,” says RuPaul, “have this sense of show business and this sense of who they are that allows them to really judge what drag is about because they clearly see themselves as drag queens, too.” As for the structure of Drag Race itself, it’ll largely remain the same—except for one slight change. “It will have a fresh look to it,” Ru reveals with a good-natured laugh. “There won’t be as much Vaseline on the lens!” Most of all, though, Ru assures that the contestants are more fired up than ever: “The biggest change in this season is the contestants are actually a bit more—how can I put this?—they’re more tenacious. In the first season, they were a bit more diplomatic because they knew they were representing drag for the first time in a decade. This time around, though, the kids have seen the first show, they know what the prize is, and they know what’s at stake, so they have taken the gloves off.” Well, thank goodness for that!

After the jump, check out the second batch of promo photos of the season 2 Drag Race contestants as well as a list of their names and check out the new promo video that has just been released …

Jessica Wild, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Jujubee, Boston, Mass.
Morgan McMichaels, Mira Loma, CA
Mystique Summers Madison, Bedford, TX
Nicole Paige Brooks, Atlanta, GA
Pandora Boxx, Rochester, NY
Tyra Sanchez, Orlando, FL
Raven, Riverside, CA
Sahara Davenport, New York, NY
Shangela Laquifa Wadley, Studio City, CA
Sonique, Atlanta, Ga.
Tatianna, Falls Church, VA

It looks like Ru‘s got herself a damn fine batch of new queens to battle for drag supremacy. Check out the video:

FABulous … I can’t wait!! I must admit, I was a late-comer to the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race … but I did manage to pick up the show midseason and IMMEDIATELY fell in love with it. I cannot WAIT to see these fierce diva beyotches compete to become America’s Next Drag Superstar. Are y’all ready? ‘Cuz I sure as hell am READY!

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