Sutan Amrull
Quick Facts
Biography
Sutan Amrull (/ˈsuːtɒn ˈɒmruːl/; born June 14, 1974), also known as Raja and Raja Gemini, is an American drag performer and make-up artist. He is best known as the winner of Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race, and also for his work on the reality television show America's Next Top Model, serving as the show's makeup artist for nine cycles (four through twelve). Amrull's clients include Tyra Banks, Dita von Teese, Pamela Anderson, Paulina Porizkova, Iman, Iggy Azalea, RuPaul, and Twiggy. Since 2009, Amrull has been make-up artist to singer Adam Lambert for print media, live U.S. appearances, and Lambert's international 2010 Glam Nation Tour.
Early life
Amrull was born in Baldwin Park, California, United States. At the age of three his family moved to Indonesia (where his parents are from) and stayed there for six years before returning to the U.S.
Career
Career beginnings
When he was sixteen, Amrull got into the drag scene by attending L.A. nightclubs with his friends. He was part of a sector of drag that was inspired by the goth and punk subcultures. The first few years of his drag career in the early '90s were spent as a club kid named Crayola.
He attended California State University, Fullerton as an art student, focusing on art direction and illustration, for two years, then decided to pursue a career in makeup artistry and female impersonation.
RuPaul's Drag Race
He was a contestant on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race as Raja. He was a member of the "Heathers" clique, which took its name from the popular cult film Heathers. In the final episode, after a lip-sync battle with Manila Luzon, Raja was declared the winner of the show's third season and crowned America's Next Drag Superstar. As part of his duties as the third-season winner of Drag Race, Amrull toured the U.S. and Canada on Logo's Drag Race Tour in 2011. Raja is the first and only Asian American winner of the Drag Race series.
In 2014 Raja joined the Drag Race Battle of the Seasons tour where she performed a lip-sync duet with Manila Luzon to the Babymetal song "Gimme Chocolate!!"
Other ventures
In May 2011, Amrull released his first single as Raja, titled "Diamond Crowned Queen." The single debuted at number fifty on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs, before peaking at number thirty-five. On August 21, 2012, his second single "Sublime" was released. His third single, "Zubi Zubi Zubi" (roughly translating to "Dance Dance Dance"), was released June 1, 2013.
Since 2014, he has presented the weekly WOWPresents YouTube series RuPaul's Drag Race Fashion Photo RuView with fellow Drag Race alumna Raven.
In February 2017, he starred as an intergalactic creature in the music video for Blondie's single "Fun." He also appeared in the "Make Love Not Walls" Diesel campaign directed by David LaChapelle and in a campaign for Urban Decay alongside fellow Drag Race alumni Alaska, Jiggly Caliente, and Katya.
He guest stars as himself in The Simpsons episode "Werking Mom," which aired on November 18, 2018. In June 2019, he was one of 37 queens to be featured on the cover of New York Magazine.
Personal life
On December 14, 2017, Amrull married Ryan Turner in Norwalk, California.
Discography
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart position | |
---|---|---|---|
USDance | |||
"Diamond Crowned Queen" | 2011 | 35 | |
"Sublime" | 2012 | — | |
"Zubi Zubi Zubi" | 2013 | — | |
"Cholita" | 2015 | — | |
"Divine" | 2017 | — | |
"Moodbored" | 2019 | — | |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award Giving Body | Category | Work | Results | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | WOWIE Awards | The Surprise Bitch Award | Herself and RuPaul on The Simpsons | Won | |
2019 | Choose Creativity Awards (Lulu & Leo Fund) | Choose Creativity Award for Expressive Artistry | Honoree: The world’s most inspiring and impactful creators | Won |