A record number of viewers watched America’s Next Drag Superstar Sasha Velour take home the crown Friday night.
VH1 reported that 859,000 people tuned in to the Season 9 finale, which signaled a 218 percent increase over last season’s finale in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
The full season also saw a significant increase over Season 8, with a 122 percent increase in viewers in the same group.
VH1 also said the show was the highest trending television program on social media Friday, ranking in non-sports, non-news cable categories.
The news comes after a record-setting premiere with special guest star Lady Gaga, which brought in 987,000 total viewers. That sum doubled its Season 8 premiere and tripled VH1’s time slot average.
In case you missed the lip sync extravaganza that was the season 9 finale, Sasha Velour — the quirky, intellectual queen that stunned with an iconic wig-snatching moment — took home the crown, along with $100,000 and the title.
“The world needs drag now more than ever,” said host RuPaul in a statement released following the finale. “Sasha Velour represents the future of drag. Her charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent arouse and inspire a generation of young people to live boldly, act up and paint with all the colors of the rainbow.”
Velour echoed RuPaul’s statements.
“Now more than ever, drag stands as a beacon of joy and strength for queer people,” Velour said.
Season 9 was the first to run on VH1 instead of Logo (both are a part of Viacom). However, the show will be back on Logo during the off-season, with a special “RuVealed” edition of the show, featuring commentary from RuPaul.
Then we have to wait until Season 10 premieres. A date hasn’t been announced yet.