The Essence of Jaida Essence Hall
Jaida Essence Hall, winner of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12 was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 9th, 1986.
Season 12 will always have an extra notable place in Drag Race Herstory because in the middle of the airing season, the USA went into quarantine lock-down - cancelling all public entertainment. Drag queens accustomed to enjoying a full touring schedule while their season of RuPaul's Drag Race airs on television, found themselves confined to their homes along with the rest of us.
Jaida Essence Hall was not my first pick for the winner of Season 12 right out of the gate. Like many Drag Race fans, I was perfectly satisfied believing Gigi Goode was destined for the crown. Though I liked Jaida's personality and looks, I thought Gigi possessed that winning je ne sais quoi.
Then quarantine happened. For me that meant long lonely nights with nobody but my iPhone and Instagram Live. And it was here that Jaida showed up for me again and again and again, winning my heart along with the hearts of countless other drag fans. Jaida would broadcast live from her apartment living room in Milwaukee, often along with The Nicky Doll tuning in from NYC, just to hang out, do her make-up and just be silly and remarkably genuine. I listened to her theories on certain character arcs of Sex in the City and I toured her private stash of classic Disney animated movies on VHS. In these live-streamed videos, Jaida Essence Hall's gentle temperament and enormous heart intermingled with her fierce drag looks, impeccable fashion (which she constructs entirely herself!) and athletic dance moves, proving her to be a truly exceptional queen, and also the queen we all loved the most, by the time the finale-under-quarantine rolled around.
One thing I will also say - and only because I said this to an acquaintance and fellow-fan who quizzed me about preferring Jaida for the win over Gigi and Crystal (who won the love of each other, make it a truly faerie-tale finale!) - is that by now we've seen season after season offer us a remarkably talented p.o.c. "pageant queen" who made it into the upper echelons of the race, only to not prevail as a winner: Kennedy Davenport on Season 7, Asia O'Hara on Season 10 and A'Keria Davenport on Season 11. For this reason along, I thought the win was due to Jaida, who truly deserved it and would accept it not just for herself, but on behalf of those other three in some ways. But at the end of the day, my vote was #TeamJaida because by the time the finale rolled around, I felt like I truly knew her, had been to her home and was her friend, and that is an exceptional feeling to transpire between a performer and a fan. In truth, and especially as I re-watch the finale, I don't think any one of the top three is a stand-out. They each possessed the star-power to win. But Jaida's number was up and I'm glad it was, because the genuine humility that is expressed in all of her post-coronation interviews is heart-warming and inspiring. She's a queen of the people and in 2020, that's exactly what the people need.
Jaida's zodiac chart is interesting. Her Sagittarius Sun is conjunct both Saturn and Uranus - two antithetical forces. Saturn makes her cautious, controlled and hard-working - possessing a dream but only believing it will come to be through disciplined efforts. Uranus on the Sun makes for a person who has a very hard time fitting into boxes, a person's whose identity must be of their own and not an identity enforced by society at large.
Jaida has her Venus in Scorpio exactly conjunct Pluto and this a is fierce placement that offers a cunning insight - the kind that gives you an edge over competitors. Though sweet as a bunny - Jaida can sniff out a rat. I remember one night - it must've been close to 3am on a week-day. Jaida was on Instagram Live with The Nicky Doll and Aja was conversing with them via the "comments" stream. Jaida pulled out a rubber ball-gag and some other S&M gear at put it on for the camera. Aja was hysterical and threatened to post screen-shots on Twitter. The Nicky Doll was getting increasingly aggravated with Aja and scolded her for "bullying". It was definitely a rare "ya had to be there" moment in drag herstory. Still it added to the layering complexity of Jaida's character and contributed, in my opinion, to the reason she received the greatest number of votes in the Wow Presents online viewers poll on which of the top three Season 12 queens should win the crown, Jaida Essence Hall, Gigi Goode or Crystal Methyd. Jaida received nearly twice as many votes as Gigi and Crystal.
Without knowing the time of day an artist was born, I cannot accurately predict what a queen's moon sign is most of the time. For Jaida - that Moon is either Pisces or Aries, and I lean towards it being Pisces, as she has a delicacy to her and she also has a very special bond with Pisces queen, The Nicky Doll, a bond reminiscent of a Sun-Moon connection via zodiac charts.
Today, even as threats of COVID-19 continue, the popular Queens on the Voss Events roster are out & about touring with Voss's Drive & Drag shows in cities across America. Voss videographer Marco Ovando had uploading backstage footage of the Queens on tour and Jaida is always featured. From these extremely candid clips it looks like Jaida is having a gay ole time and causing a lot of mischief, especially with her new-found bosom-buddy, Asia O'Hara.
