DWV (group)

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 currently has 20,006,478 views on YouTube as of December 2015.^[3]

On June 14, 2014, it was officially confirmed by 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 he was no longer part of TranzKuntinental, explaining that the band had not worked together since Halloween the previous year and that he was instead opting to focus on his 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. He 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 his 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. He came in fourth place after losing a lip-sync 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. Written by Willam Belli, 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 marked the singing debut of Detox, who usually rapped verses in the group's songs rather than singing them. Belli stated in an episode of "Hey Qween" that the song was his gift to Detox. It also 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" and "We Got the Beat".^[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 was held in Copenhagen on May 10.^[20]

On June 14, 2014, Belli tweeted that DWV had broken up because "it was just time." Vicky also stated that "it was fun for a while."^[4]

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 he 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. He was a contestant on season five of RuPaul's Drag Race, in which he came fourth, and the second season of All Stars, where he made it to the final three.

Vicky Vox

Vicky Vox is an American drag queen, based in California. He is the drag daughter (protégé) of Detox. Vicky Vox uses his own voice in most of his drag performances. Vicky Vox had auditioned for RuPaul's Drag Race in the past with Willam Belli making Vicky's audition tape. The tape was rejected for looking too professional and being of too high a quality. Vicky Vox stated she has no interest in auditioning again in the future.

Singles

References

Catecal groups from Los Angeles