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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 33)
Seoul, South Korea
Other namesTony Hyunsoo Ha
Occupations
Years active2016–2021
Known forRuPaul's Drag Race
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2016–2021
Genre(s)Comedy, review, vlog
Subscribers64,800+[1]
(April 2020)
Total views6.3+ million[2][1]
(April 2020)
Korean name
Hangul
하현수
Revised RomanizationHa Hyeon-su
McCune–ReischauerHa Hyŏn-su

Soju is the former stage name of Tony Hyunsoo Ha,[3][4] a South Korean-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.[5][6] He came out as gay when he was 21 and his drag mother is Kahmora Hall.[7] Ha's original drag name was Soju Love, but later shortened to just Soju, which is taken from the drink of the same name.[8]

Career

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Outside of drag, Ha is the owner of a taekwondo academy.[9]

Soju was announced as one of fifteen contestants on the eleventh season of RuPaul's Drag Race on January 24, 2019.[10] 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.[11][12] A conversation between Soju and the judges about a cyst became a viral meme within the Drag Race fandom.[13][14][8]

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.[15] 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.[16] Soju is one of the founders and performers of the touring LGBTQ+ K-Pop drag show Seoul Train Party.[17] She appeared in the music video for Lizzo's song "Juice" on April 17, 2019.[18][19]

Music

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Soju released her first single "So Juicy" with a music video on January 11, 2018.[20][21] Her second single, "K-Pop Idol Reject" featuring Edward Avila was released on November 6, 2018.[22] 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."[23]

Personal life

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Soju lives in Chicago, as of 2017.[20] On January 21, 2021, Soju was accused of sexual assault.[24] 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 and has refused to address questions about these allegations.[25]

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[26] Herself
2019 Whatcha Packin'[27] Herself
2020 Silky's Snack Shack[28] 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. ^ a b "About Soju". YouTube.
  2. ^ Soju's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) - Social Blade Stats
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ "It Presents: Juice". ChicagoPride.com. June 26, 2016. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  5. ^ "HAPPY BIRTHDAY Soju!!". Facebook. 2017-05-12. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  6. ^ "Soju Love, Chicago". 2017-10-19. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  7. ^ "The WERRRK.com Interview: Soju". 2018-05-11. Archived from the original on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Queereans". PHmuseum. 2018-10-16. Retrieved 2019-03-18.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "'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.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "'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.
  16. ^ Joey Nolfi (June 27, 2019). "Yvie Oddly, Nina West, more Drag Race stars getting new reality shows". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  17. ^ "'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.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "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.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ "Soju (소주) "So Juicy" Official M/V". YouTube. 2018-01-11. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  22. ^ "Soju (소주) "K-Pop Idol Reject" ft. Edward Avila Official M/V". YouTube. 2018-11-06. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ "'Drag Race's Soju Deletes Twitter After Sexual Assault Allegations". www.out.com. 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
  25. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race: Soju Quits Drag Amid Assault Accusations". ScreenRant. 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  26. ^ "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.
  27. ^ Whatcha Packin': Soju | Season 11 Episode 1 | RuPaul's Drag Race. YouTube. March 1, 2019. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  28. ^ Silky's Snack Shack: Episode 5 "Whoop Yo Ass Pie". YouTube. March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
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