Following a standout run on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18, Discord Addams is stepping into a bold new era—one that fuses punk music, theatrical performance, and an unfiltered sense of identity. With the upcoming EMO FEST TOUR on the horizon, with her partner Gidget Von Addams, and a debut punk album in the works, Discord Addams is channelling early 2000s nostalgia into something that feels both raw and refreshingly current. Drawing inspiration from artists such as Billy Idol, Freddie Mercury, and KISS, while also citing influences like Lady Gaga and the Dead Kennedys, the vision is clear: to merge spectacle with substance, and rebellion with authenticity.
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In this Discord Addams interview with Good Star Vibes, the rising performer opens up about the transition from drag stages to live music venues, reflecting on the impact of the show, the conversations that defined her time in the competition, and the creative direction behind her upcoming releases. From the now-iconic “Discord walk” to the much-discussed Safety Pin moment, Discord Addams’ Drag Race journey has only amplified a commitment to staying true to her artistic voice—one that continues to evolve while remaining firmly rooted in honesty, individuality, and connection with audiences.
Discord Addams Interview: Full Q&A
Hi Discord, thank you for your time. With your newly announced EMO FEST TOUR on the horizon, what can audiences expect from the live experience, and how does it reflect this new chapter of your artistry?
I am so excited for this tour! It’s the perfect time for it! Us former emo / punk kids are now at an age where we are looking back at the music we use to listen to with such fondness and at an age we can legally drink! So getting to pay tribute to the music I grew up with and shaped who I am today is going to be thrilling.
I want to the tour to feel like. If Warped Tour happened in a dive bar or theater. We’re gonna have name that tune games, emo karaoke and of course insane performances from loads of local talent. All of which will pay tribute to early ’00s punk and pop punk. I want this to feel authentic to the era. We’re looking at the DEEP CUTS here. Not just misery business on a loop (which we would still love, of course)
You’ve been described as this generation’s answer to Billy Idol, Freddie Mercury, and KISS—artists who fused rebellion, spectacle, and identity in ways that changed culture. What do you think you’re bringing into that lineage that feels entirely new?
That’s a wild comparison! But very flattering! I want to take the theatrical sensibilities of Lady Gaga and mix it with the raw DIY and honest political aspects of the Dead Kennedys, and late ’70s Vivienne Westwood. And remove all the capitalistic intention of KISS. I want to bridge drag into the mainstream onto real music stages. If David Bowie could do it, I don’t see why I can’t either. My confidence and my “I don’t give a fuck” attitude has gotten me this far, and I expect it to continue as such.
There’s a strong anti-authority energy running through your work. What does rebellion mean to you right now, especially at this point in your career?
The same things it’s always meant to me, yet somehow more amplified now that we’re living in such a bullshit age of AI, influencers, Kardashians and a Fascist government trying to take over everything more than ever before. We’re at a DESPERATE point of needing something REAL, real instruments, real voices, and unfiltered honesty pointing its fingers at the real problems facing us today. We have data centers draining our finite resources for SLOP. We have influencers selling us things no one needs.
When the authority in question is ruining every aspect of our lives and future, we all have a moral duty to be anti-authority right now. I remind my audience at every show that together we are one and together we have more power than they want us to believe. We’re nearing a tipping point, and we need change TODAY.
With your debut punk album arriving later this year, how would you describe the overall sound and emotional core of the record?
I’m aiming to finish recording this summer, with it released this Fall / Winter. This might sound crazy, but I want to mix the sound of the Dead Kennedys, Nirvana, and blink-182 into one album. I want the large feeling of the White Stripes despite them only having 2 instruments. I want to pay tribute to everything I love. I want it to sound nostalgic yet new. We’re done with overproduced propaganda albums. The people yearn for something real, something tangible, something truly relatable and most importantly, something HONEST.
Your new music blends punk energy with a very bold visual identity around gender expression. Was that something you set out to do from the beginning, or did it evolve naturally over time?
I feel like a lot of punk music does this. I find gender expression should come last when speaking about art, music, etc. Sure, I’m in drag on stage, but I’m making music. And I want my words to come first and foremost. Society as a whole puts too much emphasis on what’s underneath people’s clothes, and I find that so boring.
If the art is good, I truly don’t care how that person identifies. I hate the term female-fronted band, as if that should place it in a separate category from other bands. When people see me on stage, I don’t care if they view me as a man, a woman, a man dressed as a woman, because at the end of the day, it doesn’t change what I’m giving to the people.
Now that your time on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 has just wrapped, how do you feel it’s shaped you as a performer going forward?
I think it reinforced a lot of the things I’ve always believed about myself, to trust my instinct, don’t second-guess yourself, and stay true to you no matter what’s thrown at you. People relate to honesty and authenticity, and I wanted everything I did on the show to feel like it was Discord, even if the challenge or runway felt outside my comfort zone.
On Drag Race, your runway walk became a recurring talking point, especially with the way the edit highlighted it with “Discord Cam”, and even moments in The Werk Room, including RuPaul offering guidance on your walk. Looking back, how do you feel about that whole storyline around your runway presence?
How can I be mad that I have the most iconic walk in America right now? When we look back at season 18, I think we all know what we’re all going to remember the most.
One of the most talked-about storylines of the season was the “Safety Pin” discussion, from the debate around using them in your construction “Drag In A Bag” challenge to the sheer scale of how many ended up in your final look. It also became a big point of discussion among the other queens that week, with several even suggesting you should go home over it. Looking back on that week as a whole, how do you reflect on everything that surrounded that moment at the time?
I’d do the exact same thing all over again. If we can hold fabric together with needle and thread, I’m unsure why I am not allowed with safety pins. Half of the assignment was to make someone else’s fabric look true to you, and I feel like I succeeded in that more than most everyone else on stage. When Iman looks you in the eye and tells you, and no one else, you should be a fashion designer…I promise my sisters’ critiques didn’t matter in the slightest. I won that episode with that critique alone.
It felt especially clever how you revisited that idea in your finale look, so when you were putting that together, were you thinking of it as a way to close that chapter in the competition?
Not necessarily close the chapter, you’ll see safety pins on me til i die. But it did feel like the perfect button on my entire package of the season. High fashion, true to me, and a nod to silly controversy. I thought OHHHH if my sisters were mad at 800 safety pins, let’s give them 11,000.
Across the RuPaul-a-Palooza Lipsync Smackdown episode and the finale, you delivered two standout runway and performance moments, from your Cowgirl “All RuPaul-a-Palooza Lipsync Smackdown” outfit to your red safety pin-heavy runway and gold jacket moment. In your lip sync to “Sissy That Walk,” there was also that standout moment where you brought in your iconic Discord walk, and it genuinely felt like you had it in the bag. Looking at those moments together, how did it feel stepping into that final stage of the competition?
Lipsync day, my only train of thought was LET’S HAVE FUN!!!! When you’re in a smackdown featuring Juicy Love Dion and Mia Starr, it’s not worth it to try and win. I just wanted to have a good time and look GOOOOD doing it, and I think I accomplished exactly that! Jane and I were laughing the whole day together.
The Season 18 crown ultimately went to Myki Meeks. What was your reaction to that result, and how do you look back on the season overall now that everything has wrapped?
When I was out of the running, I firmly believed Jane was and should have won Drag Race. And when Jane was out of the running, I said well fuck I guess anything can happen. I truly loved all of my sisters I got to compete with, so there was no one who could have won that I would have been upset to see take the crown.
Since the show aired, how has your relationship with your audience changed, particularly as you’ve shifted more towards music?
Crowds respond INSANELY different to live music vs lip syncing, the energy shifts in a way that is very palpable. I get people out of their seats, I get people singing along and participating in the performance, I have seen near mosh pits start in small gay clubs that are not used to having this type of audience in their doors. I’m bringing people into types of clubs that they would never otherwise show up.
My fan base is so fucking cool. Queer Punk kids need somewhere to go, need something to do. We have so much mainstream interpretation of what it means to be queer and a severe lack of representation of DIY punk scenes. And I’m so happy I get to give people representation. I would have died to see someone like me when I was growing up.
You’re currently out on a club tour, with the EMO FEST TOUR coming up this June. How are you approaching your live performances differently across those two runs, and what should fans expect from you on stage in this new era?
I’m not approaching them differently anymore. Pre-Drag Race, I did feel like there was a level of pandering you have to do at different clubs. But now I have built an audience of people who know exactly what they’re getting, and I get to be completely true to myself everywhere I go. Of course, on EMO FEST, I will be sticking to a strict era of music, but that’s what is fun about it. I have never been to a boring EmoNight.
I grew up as a scene kid and then punk kid, so this era is IN my bones. I’m going to give something authentic to the era, and again, not just Avril Lavigne, and “I Write Sins Not Tragedies” on a loop.
As you move into this new era with your debut album and touring, what do you personally hope people take away from what you’re building?
I hope to move into the music industry and bring drag fans along with me, and create new fans who haven’t discovered the kind of drag that speaks to them yet. I speak to all types of audiences, and I want them all in the same room together, united under one experience of love, honesty and the urge to change the mother fucking world.
Thank you, Discord Addams, for taking the time to share insight into this exciting new chapter. From reflecting on a memorable journey through RuPaul’s Drag Race to opening up about the creative drive behind the upcoming EMO FEST TOUR and debut album, it’s clear that Discord Addams is entering a defining moment in her career. With a focus on authenticity, community, and pushing creative boundaries, her work continues to resonate with audiences seeking something that feels both real and representative.
As Discord Addams moves forward, blending punk music with drag performance in a way that challenges expectations, the emphasis remains on connection—bringing together fans from different spaces into one shared experience. With live shows promising high-energy and a deep-rooted sense of nostalgia, alongside new music that aims to capture honesty and emotion, this next era signals not just growth but a bold step towards reshaping how drag and music intersect on the mainstream stage.
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