DWV (group)

DWV
From left to right: Willam Belli, Vicky Vox and Detox Icunt.
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California United States
Genres	Parody, Pop, Hip-hop, R&B
Years active	2012–2014
Website	willambelli.com
Members	Willam Belli Detox Icunt Vicky Vox

DWV^[1] was an American pop group based in Los Angeles, consisting of drag queens Willam Belli, Detox Icunt and Vicky Vox. They found fame with the release of "Chow Down (at Chick-Fil-A)" in March 2012, a parody of "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips, satirizing Chick-fil-A's controversial stance on Gay marriage.^[2] They followed up this success with the January 2013 release of "Boy is a Bottom", which has around 16.2 million views on YouTube as of January 2015. ^[3]

On June 14, 2014 it was officially confirmed by Willam Belli and Vicky Vox that the group had split.^[4]

History

Tranzkuntinental

Tranzkuntinental was a band started by Charlie Paulson and Xander Smith, which features drag queens Kelly Mantle, Rhea Litré, Vicky Vox, and Willam Belli.

In April 2013, Vicky Vox confirmed she was no longer part of TranzKuntinental, explaining that the band had not worked together since Halloween the previous year and that she was instead opting to focus on her work with DWV.^[5][6]

RuPaul's Drag Race

Willam Belli was a contestant on the fourth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered in January 2012. She was disqualified in the conclusion of the eighth episode "Frenemies" and it was revealed during the reunion episode that it was due to Belli having received conjugal visits from her husband, which was a breach of contract and contestants aren't allowed to reveal their presence on RuPaul's Drag Race during their time as contestants. Detox Icunt was a contestant on the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, which premiered in January 2013. She came in fourth place after losing a lip-synching event against eventual winner Jinkx Monsoon.

Success

Belli often cites critical timing as the cause for the success of DWV. In March 2012, The group released their first collaborative single "Chow Down (at Chick-fil-A)" on Belli's personal YouTube channel. The song and music video quickly went viral due to Belli's promotion of the single during a social media buzz regarding the reason behind his disqualification from RuPaul's Drag Race. The song is a parody of "Hold On" by Wilson Phillips and also includes a homage to Left Eye's rap from "Waterfalls" by TLC. The group explained that they wrote the song together in response to the controversial stance on gay marriage held by Chick-fil-A.^[2]

In January 2013, Following up on the success of their first single, DWV released "Boy is a Bottom" coinciding with the premiere of the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race of which member Detox was a contestant. The song quickly went viral with the help of social media promotion through Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. The song is a parody of the Inferno version of Alicia Key's "Girl on Fire" featuring Nicki Minaj, also including the breakdown from My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It) by En Vogue. The song plays on the ideas of society regarding the role of a top and bottom in anal intercourse, satirizing the concept of "pseudo-tops"

In May 2013, DWV released "Silicone", alongside the premiere of the reunion episode of RuPaul's Drag Race. The song is a parody of Robyn's Dancing On My Own. The song refers to the use of silicone to alter the body in an attempt to make oneself more attractive. The single is the first to have been released under the DWV group name.^[7]

In December 2012, DWV embarked on a 60-day world tour, promoting their singles throughout North America, Europe, Australia and also Dubai.^[8][9]

In 2013, DWV performed "Boy is a Bottom" at White Party in Palm Springs, California.^{[10] [11]}

In 2013, DWV became the faces of a limited edition selection of OCC Makeup Lip Tar and & Nail Lacquer packs.^[12][13][14]

In May 2013, DWV performed "Boy is a Bottom" at the Life Ball in Vienna.

On 11 September 2013, DWV released "Blurred Bynes, a parody of Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines. The song pokes fun at Amanda Bynes new image on social media including her hair, new breast implants and her infamous tweet to Drake.^[15][16]

On 10 December 2013, DWV released "That Christmas Song", a Hip Hop/Rock track and video of a Christmas party, using many elements of TLC's All That.^[17]

Early 2014, saw them release Gaycation!, in the style of The Go-Go's' Vacation.^[18]

In April 2014, Belli stated via his Tumblr account that DWV had no upcoming plans,^[19] as both Belli and Vox are undertaking solo projects. However they have been booked to perform in Copenhagen, Denmark at the opening of the new gay club "Star Factory" on May 2, to kick off "Eurovision week", which will be held in Copenhagen on May 10.^[20]

On June 14, 2014 Willam Belli tweeted that DWV had broken up because "it was just time." Vicky also stated that "it was fun for a while."^[21]

Members

Willam

Willam Belli (born June 30, 1982) is an American actor, drag queen and singer-songwriter from Philadelphia, based in Los Angeles. He first gained fame for his recurring role as transsexual Cherry Peck in Nip/Tuck, before gaining notoriety as the first ever disqualification on RuPaul's Drag Race, of which she was a contestant in the fourth season.

Detox

Matthew Sanderson aka Detox Icunt, known mononymously as Detox (born June 3, 1985) is an American drag queen and recording artist from Orlando, based in California. She was a contestant on season five of RuPaul's Drag Race, in which she came fourth.

Vicky Vox

Vicky Vox is an American drag queen, based in California. She is the drag daughter (protégé) of drag queen Detox.

Singles

References