''Frock4Life'' is the debut studio album by the

Frock Destroyers The Frock Destroyers are a musical group with ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' contestants Baga Chipz, Blu Hydrangea, and Divina de Campo. They made the UK Top 40 in 2019 with "Break Up Bye Bye", which charted at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart. The ...

, released by World of Wonder Records on 11 December 2020. It includes "Break Up Bye Bye", which was performed by group members

Baga Chipz Leo Loren better known by the stage name Baga Chipz, is an English drag queen known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race UK (series 1), first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' (2019) and later the RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs. the World (series ...

Blu Hydrangea Blu Hydrangea (born 15 February 1996) is the stage name of Joshua Cargill, a People of Northern Ireland, Northern Irish drag queen from Belfast who competed the RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 1, first series of ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' in 2019, a ...

and Divina de Campo as contestants on the

first series First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race UK ''RuPaul's Drag Race UK'' is a British reality competition television series based on the American television series of the same name. The television series, a collaboration between the BBC and World of Wonder, premiered on 3 October 2019. T ...

''. The song was a commercial success, peaking at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart and number 44 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (formerly Dance/Electronic Songs) is a record chart has been published weekly by ''Billboard'' since January 2013. It is their first chart to be published that ranks the most popular dance and electronic songs according ...

chart, with it leading to the recording of the album. Leland served as

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

and the main songwriter. "Her Majesty" and "Big Ben" served as

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

for ''Frock4Life'' in 2020; the former also received a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

Background and composition

''Frock4Life'' is the debut studio album by the

, a group formed by

drag Drag or The Drag may refer to: Places * Drag, Norway, a village in Tysfjord municipality, Nordland, Norway * ''Drág'', the Hungarian name for Dragu Commune in Sălaj County, Romania * Drag (Austin, Texas), the portion of Guadalupe Street a ...

performers

and Divina de Campo as contestants on the

of ''

'' in 2019. The album has ten tracks, including six songs, three interludes and a bonus remix. American singer-songwriter Leland served as

and ''Frock4Life'' primary songwriter. ''

Attitude Attitude or Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), a disposition or state of mind ** Attitude change * Propositional attitude, a mental state held towards a proposition Science and technology * Orientation ...

'' Jamie Tabberer said the album has "''

Chromatica ''Chromatica'' is a studio album by American singer-songwriter Lady Gaga, released on May 29, 2020, by Interscope Records and its subsidiary Streamline. Gaga supervised the production with longtime collaborator BloodPop and a variety of other pr ...

''-esque anthems". Nick Levine of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' said the "cheeky" vocal

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

performed in unison by the trio on "Her Majesty" is reminiscent of the 1990s British female pop musical duo

Shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is formulated to be used for cleaning (scalp) hair. Less commonly, it is available in solid bar format. (" Dry shampoo" is a separate product.) Shampoo is use ...

, while he described "Big Ben" as "a

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

-style pop stomper about a man so well endowed he becomes a celebrity". ''

'' Stephen Daw called "Her Majesty" a "tongue-in-cheek kiss off to those who would try to detract from the trio" with a chorus in which they " eclaretheir rightful place on the throne of drag music". "Break Up Bye Bye" was originally performed by the Frock Destroyers during a

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...

challenge on ''Drag Race'', in which contestants were required to write and perform an original song. Lyrically, Baga Chipz alludes to

anal sex Anal sex or anal intercourse principally means the insertion and pelvic thrusting, thrusting of the Erection, erect human penis, penis into a person's Human anus, anus, or anus and rectum, for sexual pleasure.Sepages 270–271for anal sex inform ...

in the song, which was written by Leland and Freddy Scott.

MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (; born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK ( ; a gramogram of Emenike), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and ha ...

served as a guest vocal coach during the girl group episode, with him also being credited as a producer. The pop anthem sees Divina de Campo sing "repeated whistle tone notes layered into the chorus".

Release and promotion

Following ''Drag Race'', the Frock Destroyers embarked on a three-stop UK tour. Shows featuring individual and group performances were held at Powerhouse in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

Cruz 101 Cruz 101 (better known simply as Cruz) is a nightclub and music venue situated in Manchester's Gay Village near Canal Street, England. It is one of the most popular and longest-running gay clubs in Greater Manchester, often boasting itself as "M ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and the Nightingale Club in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, during 17–19 November 2019. For Digital DragCon, an online event replacing

RuPaul's DragCon LA RuPaul's DragCon LA is an annual Trade fair, expo of Drag (clothing), drag culture held in Los Angeles billed as a "convention that celebrates 'the art of drag, queer culture and self-expression for all'", which debuted in 2015. Its sister even ...

in May 2020 because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Blu Hydrangea recreated the trio's performance of "Break Up Bye Bye" in isolation by impersonating Baga Chipz and Divina de Campo. Daniel Megarry of ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''GAY TIMES Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

'' complimented her work. ''Frock4Life'' was released on 11 December 2020 via World of Wonder Records. "Her Majesty" had been released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 25 November, along with the album's cover art. The song received a

, which features the trio on the set of ''Drag Race'' wearing

Victorian fashion Victorian fashion consists of the various fashions and trends in British culture that emerged and developed in the United Kingdom and the British Empire throughout the Victorian era, roughly from the 1830s through the 1890s. The period saw m ...

. "Big Ben" was released as the second single in December 2020.

Reception

After the girl group episode of ''Drag Race'' aired, "Break Up Bye Bye" peaked at number 35 on the UK Singles Chart and number 10 on

The Official Big Top 40 ''The EE Official Big Top 40 from Global'' is a radio chart show broadcast every Sunday from 4 to 7pm on Global's Capital and Heart networks, presented by Will Manning. The show started on 14 June 2009, with "When Love Takes Over" by David Gu ...

, becoming the highest chart position for a drag group. The song also prompted a petition for the Frock Destroyers to represent the United Kingdom in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

to garner at least 10,000 signatures, while it peaked at number 44 on the ''Billboard''

chart in the United States. Following the album's release, Levine called ''Frock4Life'' "witty and entertaining". Sam Damshenas of ''Gay Times'' described "Big Ben" as "infectious" and "quintessentially British". Christopher Rudolph of

Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

's ''NewNowNext'' said "How's the Lighting?" is "really good".

Track listing

References

External links