Ring in the New Year—and Kick Out the Old—with Jujubee

Are you ready to celebrate New Year’s Eve and give a big, fat middle finger to 2020?

Producer Entertainment Group, the management and creative company behind the world’s biggest drag queens and LGBTQ artists, is inviting you to join an 11-hour, global livestream event counting down the end of this chaotic year. Hosted by RuPaul’s Drag Race stars Alaska, Bob the Drag Queen, Katya, Miz Cracker, Peppermint, and Trixie Mattel, PEG Presents New Year’s Queens: Goodbye 2020! will take place on Sessions Live.

Beginning at 6:00 p.m. EST, this exclusive, live broadcast will feature shows and performances by several other Drag Race favorites, including Jujubee, who competed on season two, All Stars 1, and most recently, All Stars 5.

She took some time to chat with OUT FRONT about the livestream extravaganza, her overall experience on All Stars 5, how she has been holding up during the pandemic, music projects, and her journey with sobriety.Hi, Jujubee! Thank you for taking some time to chat with me about PEG Presents New Year’s Queens: Goodbye 2020! What can audiences expect?
Every single one of us queens, we share a lot of the same talents, but a lot of us do very specific things. Personally, I am going to be singing live. My musical partner, Tony Ni Evans, is somebody who has gotten me back into singing. Because of him, I have been able to dive even deeper into music. We have been working together on a set, so it is going to be around 45 minutes, maybe a little bit longer, but I am going to be singing most of my songs from my Eps Good Juju Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. I am probably going to sing “Together Alone,” even though it is marketed as a holiday song, but I like Christmas.

There is going to be lots of great music, live sets, I am assuming the other queens are going to give you some looks. I am going to give some looks, and what I think is really special about New Year’s Queens is that we are still providing entertainment even though the entire world is kind of on fire. This year has been hard for all of us. I cannot even try to gloss over the fact that none of us know how to do this, but we are all managing, and I think it is really beautiful because on the other side of 2020, it is going to be just humanity. That is really important to point out. It is going to be about people just loving people.

What are you looking forward to the most about 2021? Any resolutions?
I do not have any New Year’s resolutions. I try not to make any resolutions because I always screw it up, but I am looking forward to something called the Topsfield Fair, and that is just a fair. I want to go and do normal things. I want to go to the fair, I want to have a corndog, I want to have fried dough, I want to tour again. I miss the opportunity to sing in front of an audience. I was very excited to finally use my singing voice and show that side of me. I missed the opportunity, but I think it has allowed me to kind of gain perspective on how to do it. It has given me time to rehearse and stuff, but I would like to perform in front of human beings again. That is so crazy to even say.

We can all agree that 2020 was an absolute shit-show. What were some of the biggest hurdles and challenges you faced?
I am going to be 100 with you, babe. I never qualified for unemployment. I was unemployed for seven months. So, a challenge for me was not just the emotional part of the shit I made up for myself. All the expectations I gave myself for this year. Remember 2019, when everybody was like, 2020 is going to be my year? Then that fucking saying, hindsight is 20/20. This is the fucking year of hindsight for everything and everybody. Politically, emotionally, relationship-wise, every single hindsight we can think of is this year.

So, for me, I was just afraid that I was going to lose my home. It was that stuff. Luckily, I maintained my composure; I prayed, and I remained sober. That shit was hard, and is still very hard. I give it up for the people who remained sober throughout this whole thing and the people who actually decided to go on the journey of sobriety because of the pandemic. It is crazy to think that something like a pandemic could make us stare at ourselves. I only have my babies here, Mister and Priss. My cats and I have been the only souls living here for a big chunk of time.

On the other hand, what happened in 2020 that you are most grateful for?
Oh my gosh, there are a lot of things that I am grateful for. I have gotten closer with my sister. I felt that there was this need for me to reach out to people. I am going to keep bringing it back to my recovery and sobriety. Sobriety is not the opposite of alcoholism, and I know a lot of us believe that. It’s connection. Addicts and alcoholics out there tend to isolate ourselves when we go through the thing that we go through.

Because of the pandemic, I have made myself have connections with people like my baby sister. I have friends that I did not talk to for years that I started a FaceTime chain with. One friend is in Texas, the other in California, and we would set up a time and FaceTime for hours. It is the human connection through technology that I am most grateful for. My holiday song “Together Alone” is about that connection that you can still have when you are apart. I am still trying to wrap my head around this whole idea, but it somehow works.

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This has been a great year for your music. How has it been received by audiences?
I am just grateful that I get to make music, and I get to sing about my stories. I feel like they are pages out of a journal that I never wrote. They are things that have always been in my heart, and I find myself being quite an emotional person when I let myself be that way. The audience that has listened to my music, I think it resonates a lot with them because there are a lot of people who have experienced heartbreak and happiness. I sing about it all.

My song “On My Way” came about from that conversation that I had with RuPaul in the workroom where we talk about the meeting rooms. Like, it is really as simple as me having the willingness to be willing, and that started that song. I think audiences can find bits and pieces of themselves in my music.

What more would you like to accomplish with your music?
I want to continue writing music, and I want to record more. I am hoping for versions of my songs to be remixed. I had plans for this year, but hopefully 2021 will bring them into fruition. I find that I love writing, and I would like to write for other people as well.You are also featured in Miz Cracker’s Hanukkah song, “Eight Days of You.” What is it like to work with Miz Cracker, and were you two close before competing together on All Stars 5?
We were not close before competing on All Stars 5 together. I actually only met Miz Cracker one time before that, but I always had this love for her because, who doesn’t? The first time I met her, she was so nice, kind, and genuine. Completely what I did not expect. I had a different version of Miz Cracker in my head.

Cracker is really shy, and it is really adorable. It is crazy because the Miz Cracker that we know and love is this ball of energy, but being around her is like being around a calming cat. Working with Cracker is always a great time, and it is like working with somebody you have known your entire life. We finish each other’s sentences; we have the same humor. Well, maybe I am a bit dirtier. I can make her laugh, and I am proud I am able to make a comedian laugh. You always want to make a comedian laugh.

You already competed on Drag Race for Season Two and All Stars 1. Why did you decide to come back for a third time?
I feel like whenever RuPaul asks you to do anything, you say yes with a smile on your face [laughs]. Also, the competition is so different. All Stars 1 was almost a decade ago, so All Stars 5 is something that is a completely different beast, even though it looks like it would be the same. It is a lot tougher and harder. The production is tighter, and everything is just bigger and better. I think that is true because they have done it so many times. They have gotten it to be a perfect thing.

Can you talk more about how the show, and drag itself, has evolved since initially competing on season two?
The show continues to evolve every year, every season. It evolves that much more, and things really do get a lot harder and the audience grows. Before, it was just the queer community and a few allies here and there. Now, it is like the entire world. We are reaching people who would not normally turn on and search for drag. I think that is so beautiful because it elevates the art of drag, and it shows people that drag has been here a lot longer before Drag Race has.

It is significant for drag because it has given people the opportunity to work as professional drag queens. I am so grateful that I get to do what I do. I never imagined my life being this way. I always wanted to create art on my own time, and now I get to do that. Well, it is kind of on Ru’s time, but she has given me the opportunity to do so much. World of Wonder and VH1 have been so wonderful and have allowed us all to just be our most authentic selves, which is key to the success of any performer. Especially drag queens.

If asked to come back for a fourth time, would you, or are you done?
Girl, I don’t know. That is a hard question. Right now, I would go to the opening of an envelope because I have been home for, like, nine months! I want to say yes, then I want to say no, and then I want to say yes. Emotionally, I am totally down for it. Physically, I’m not sure. I’m getting old, girl.

What was your overall experience like on All Stars 5?
It was amazing. I went in, and I was like, let’s just do this. There is nothing there that is going to scare me. That was the mindset that I gave myself, although I was terrified the entire time, but I told myself that it was not scary. I tricked myself into thinking that I was going to get to the top three, and I did. I was like, holy shit. When I got there, like oh my god, this is happening. I also went in sober. I went in with none of that. I was three years single; I got out of a 13-year relationship, and I chose this new way of life for myself. My mind was a completely different mind. I was living a new way, and I was good juju.

Which challenge was your favorite?
There are two. The first one was Snatch Game. I am so proud of my Eartha Kitt because I thought I was going to tank. I am so proud of that, and my thermostat is actually at a sensible 74. I also really loved the improv skit I did with Miz Cracker and Blair St. Clair where we all went to the Michelle Visage Free Clinic.

I thought that was so fun because improv has so much to do with drag, and I love that Drag Race incorporated that idea. You go to drag shows where there is a queen onstage shooting the shit and hosting. She doesn’t know what the hell she is saying, she’s just saying what she’s saying, and it always turns out to be great. That’s what improv is. That was a great challenge even though I did not win that challenge. I really wanted to win that challenge.I did find it very courageous that you opened up and shared your journey about sobriety on the show. What happened that made you decide it was time to seek help?
I was sick and tired of doing the same thing over and over and over again. I think the challenge for me was to actually see that the disease of alcohol and addiction was kind of what was making me be the way that I was. I was not reaching a point of spiritual progress for myself. I was complaining about shit I could not control, and I found that it was just that inner saboteur, how Ru would put it. It was that inner voice constantly complaining about shit. Like, shut the fuck up, girl. I had to be mindful that I had to find a spiritual journey, and that was sobriety for me.

What advice can you offer those who are struggling with alcohol and addiction?
It is okay to not be okay and to seek help. I think a lot of us have a hard time asking for help because we don’t want to feel like we are a burden. For me, I was asking for help from liquor. I’m uncomfortable so I’m going to have a drink or I’m uncomfortable so I’m going to do this. Just ask for help and know that there are so many resources out there. There are a lot of fellowships that end with anonymous that can help. There are things out there, and it is attainable if you want it.

Can we expect future episodes of TLC’s Dragnificent?
I wish I could give you an answer. I know that they are currently showcasing Dragnificent in the U.K. and Europe right now. We are all over buses over there! I got some tweets the other day, and I was like, is that me on a bus? Wow [laughs]. I think why it is up in the air is because of the pandemic because there is no way we could actually film anything. I cannot give you a definite answer because I just don’t know.

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What are some upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
I would say expect a song featuring our queen Shea Couleé in 2021!

Before we wrap up, what New Year’s message would you like to say to your fans?
Continue taking care of yourself so that you can take care of other people. Like Ru says, if you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love somebody else? That could be as simple as just wearing a mask and washing your hands. It is very important that we keep with this. Yes, it can be tiring and mundane, but a lot of us cannot relax. I have family members who contracted COVID, and the first thing that went through my mind was, oh gosh, what if I lose them? Just continue to love each other and spread good juju!

To stay up-to-date with Jujubee, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or visit her official website. Tickets for New Year’s Queens begin at $39, with VIP packages available which will offer an opportunity to interact with the queens during the broadcast. More information and tickets can be found here.

Photos Courtesy of Eric Magnussen