By Christopher Rudolph

The eleven-gendary season of RuPaul’s Drag Race started off with 15 queens entering the competition, but A’Keria C. Davenport proved herself to be the dark horse of the season. The Dallas-based queen stayed steady throughout the competition, eventually leading her to the grand finale.

MTV News spoke with A’Keria about having to perform in a six-way lip sync, what surprised her most during filming, and if she is ready to admit that she really wasn’t serving caftan realness.

MTV NEWS: Hey, A’Keria! I know you just started the Season 11 tour. How’s it going so far?

A’Keria C. Davenport: You know what? It’s been really good, and it’s actually a good chance for the [Drag Race] girls to bond outside of being in the competition. We can actually enjoy each other, get drunk, party, and have fun.

MTV NEWS: Are you on a bus together?

Davenport: Well, we’re not on a bus at this point. We’re actually doing planes. [Laughs] We’re flying.

MTV NEWS: You were at DragCon L.A. Was that your first time? How was it?

Davenport: It was my first DragCon. It was exciting! At first, it was like, whew, wait a minute. Like, you don’t really realize the impact that you have on other people’s lives. So to see some of the reactions that people were giving to me — I mean, just little ol’ me. I’m like, wow! To think that someone’s excited to see you — I loved it. And, oh, you gotta have a chair at DragCon. Standing up all day for meet-and-greets is not easy.

MTV NEWS: How were you feeling about watching the finale?

Davenport: I was excited to see how everything played out. It’s different when you’re in the moment and living it versus actually watching it, so I was excited to see exactly how it was edited and how it played out.

MTV NEWS: You filmed the season a while ago, right? But the finale was filmed more recently. How is it getting back into the groove and seeing all the girls again?

Davenport: It really wasn’t kind of getting back into the groove. I’ve been entertaining for a while, so when I went to the finale, I was going to do just that. It wasn’t like I was going to come out of the ceiling or anything like that. My goal was just to go and entertain. So it kind of was the same for me, honestly.

MTV NEWS: You have been called the dark horse of Season 11. Do you agree with that?

Davenport: Yes, I definitely would agree that I am the dark horse of Season 11. I’m not sure why, but you know what? I’m glad. Because it allowed me to see [my own] growth. And it allowed the world to also see that growth. It kind of was a good thing, too, because when you’re underestimated, the girls don’t see you as competition or a threat. So they kind of don’t aim for you or gun for you, and you kind of creep up on ‘em, and look. It got me to the top four!

MTV NEWS: That’s kind of how it felt as a viewer — you were very solid throughout, and then all of a sudden, you would pull a win. And you’d be like, “Oh, A’Keria? Okay! I see you!”

Davenport: Mm-hm!

MTV NEWS: Going into the competition did you see yourself making it to the finale?

Davenport: Going into it, yes. I did. Once I got there, nope. And the reason I say that is because, you know, watching it at home is like, oh, girl, I could do this, or oh, girl, I could do this routine. But once you’re actually there and you see the time crunches, and you know the pressure of everything — I mean, you never know who your competition is. Sometimes, it kind of makes you doubt yourself because the things you thought you were strong in, maybe on the show, you’re not as strong. And then you have girls who come in, and in their city or state, they’re the It Girl. But on this show, you’re all on an equal playing field at this point.

MTV NEWS: There were a lot of fierce girls this season.

Davenport: There really was!

MTV NEWS: You won two challenges, and then in the Farm to Runway contest, you were in the bottom. What was that whiplash like — top one week, bottom next?

Davenport: It was definitely [mind-blowing.] I mean, the challenge that I would’ve never expected to win, I won. But the challenge where I would’ve been more confident going in actually led me to the bottom. It’s stuff like that that runs through your mind when you’re in the moment because you just never know what to expect, what they’re looking for, how things are going to go. And I think that screwed me up a little. You know, I’m a Pisces, so I overanalyze everything.

[During filming] we’re locked down; we can’t talk to anyone. So all you can do is keep replaying these situations when you don’t really know what led you to the bottom for the most part, other than certain critiques. You might not always agree with certain critiques — like, why you’re in the bottom and other queens aren’t. But you’re constantly thinking about it, over and over and over.

MTV NEWS: Was there another moment during the season where you were like, oh my god, I might be going home?

Davenport: Oh, I would say the six-way lip sync. Because for us to even do the six-way lip sync... Oh my god. It was scary! You would’ve never expected to do it because [the show’s] never done a six-way lip sync. At the moment that [Ru] said that we’re all gonna lip sync, I was looking down at myself. And I’m in a rhinestone headpiece and a full-length rhinestone gown. I’m looking over, and the other girls are in leotards and stuff. And I’m like, well, I’m not really gonna be able to move! They’re gonna have to move because, girl, I got all this stuff on!

MTV NEWS: That six-way lip sync was crazy.

Davenport: Imagine being in it. The critiques I honestly had got to date — you know, from the judges — weren’t bad critiques. So even to still be in that moment and have to lip sync — I felt so many emotions. I was scared. I was pissed off. I was upset. Like, it was a lot of emotions all at one time.

MTV NEWS: What surprised you the most as you were filming Drag Race?

Davenport: The time crunches! Having to learn a routine in literally hours and then doing the routine live in one take, or having to do the routine full-out twice, back-to-back... Viewers don’t see all that. So I’m watching thinking, girl, they have a week to learn that routine. I definitely don’t pick up routines that fast. So [on Drag Race], you’re on the stage for three hours and expected to learn and perform the routine... Like, girl! That’s a lot. [Laughs]

MTV NEWS: And my last question: Are you ready to admit that that was not a caftan?

Davenport: [Laughs] You know what?! Okay, y’all. You guys — everybody wins. Y’all win. It was not a caftan. I made a mistake. I googled something. Maybe I googled something wrong. But I was just so focused on trying to find out what would be different. Because, look, when you’re preparing, you get that list of what you’re supposed to bring [to the show.] And when you’re packing, you’re looking for something different because you want to be prepared for anything. You know, you want something that’s going to make you stand out. So when I ran across anything that had “caftan” next to it, I just took it and ran with it.

MTV NEWS: Whether it’s a caftan or not, the look is cute, and I’m glad to see you rocking it.

Davenport: Thank you.