Shea Coulee has a new podcast called 'Wanna Be on Top?' where she'll talk about the Tyra Banks-hosted television show after binge-watching the old episodes.
- Apr 11, 2021
AceShowbiz - "Rupaul's Drag Race" stand out Shea Coulee is fulfilling a lifelong dream by lifting up the stars of "America's Next Top Model" in a new podcast.
The popular drag queen contest's "All-Stars 5" champion is set to take centre stage for the new audio series, titled "Wanna Be on Top?", for which she'll reteam with former show stars Willam and Alaska, who are taking on executive producer roles.
Shea, real name Jaren Kyei Merrell, will share her expertise on the show she calls "my herstory" twice a week for the new podcast.
"I wanted to do a podcast for a really long time," she tells Entertainment Weekly.
"I tossed around a lot of different ideas until I found myself binge-watching old seasons of America's Next Top Model for probably the 20th time and then talked about it over and over with all of my friends who've probably heard me go on about it many times before."
"(I realised) this is what I should talk about forever! It's my herstory (sic)."
In "Wanna Be on Top?", the bubbly star, who previously walked the runway for Savage X Fenty, will examine the impact of the Tyra Banks-hosted model competition on pop and drag culture, and she'll also welcome special guests to share their own love for the reality TV staple.
And she's most thrilled about helping to elevate some of the "America's Next Top Model" contestants because, when the programme began, its participants weren't taken too seriously.
"The show went out there with the intent to launch the careers of top models, but at the time, reality television influencers weren't a thing," she shares, "so the fashion industry didn't take these girls seriously. It was the fashion Olympics. It's sad to think that those girls didn't get the opportunities..."
"I feel for them because they went through such a challenging experience, and the industry that they hoped would accept them rejected them..."
"That's why I want to celebrate them and give them a voice, and also allow people to see what amazing, beautiful people they are... I looked at those girls the way Drag Race fans look at us now."
"Wanna Be On Top?" debuts on 12 April wherever you get your podcasts.
