‘We’re Here’ Star Eureka O’Hara Brings Some Monster Hits With Her Exclusive Selections For ‘The Sound Of Halloween’
Drag superstar Eureka O’Hara shares how she’s doing good this October while picking some songs to move your bones for ‘The Sound Of Halloween’ playlist.
Boo! It’s Halloween! Throughout October, HollywoodLife is running The Sound Of Halloween, where some of your favorite fiends of the music, movies, television, and pop culture worlds pick songs that should be on your Halloween 2022 playlist. Today, drag performer Eureka – the “Big Mawma” and Elephant Queen – is here to trick your treat with some fellow queens for their TSOH picks.
Eureka (They/Them) first made their way into our hearts thanks to appearances on RuPaul’s Drag Race, AJ and the Queen, and Ru Paul’s Drag Race All Stars. Since then, Eureka has taken the pop culture world by storm with their critically-acclaimed series, We’re Here, alongside fellow drag performers Bob The Drag Queen and Shangela – who is killing it on Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars.
Whereas Drag Race sees established drag performers compete against each other, We’re Here sends Bob, Eureka, and Shangela into small towns across America to connect with LGBTQ+ people (and their straight allies) to put on one-night-only drag shows. It’s a move that builds tolerance, understanding, and – as often needed with at-risk queer youth – confidence to be who they truly are. (Season 3 premieres on November 25 on HBO.)
Such humanitarian work is one of Eureka’s platforms, and we’re not talking about their pumps. “I’m traveling to Vietnam with the non-profit organization Influence the World,” Eureka tells HollywoodLife when discussing their upcoming October plans. This trip will see them “work with underprivileged children and orphanages to create a happy space for the youth in Vietnam.”
To help create a happy space in your holiday, Eureka has picked a couple of selections for The Sound of Halloween playlist.
Eureka’s Halloween Playlist Picks
Elvira, “Monster Rap”
[Editor’s note: One would think that with the paperback release of the New York Times Bestselling memoir Yours Cruelly, Elvira, that Elvira Presents Monster Hits, her 1994 release on Rhino Records, would be on streaming platforms – if just for her songs. Again, this is a cautionary tale for getting physical media. We also are putting Elvira’s “13 Nights Of Halloween” on the playlist as a placeholder]
Lady Gaga, “Teeth”
Eureka O’Hara, “WERQ!”
[While “WERQ!” isn’t a Halloween song, there’s an argument to be made that Halloween is a queer holiday – The Advocate made such an argument in 2019 – so any Halloween playlist without anthems like this is incomplete – Ed.]
Halloween: When someone says “Halloween,” what’s the first thing that jumps into your mind from your past?
Eureka: I fondly remember dressing my sister, nieces & nephew in full makeup and all of the Halloween regalia. Then trick-or-treating all across town.
What do you think will be the most popular Halloween costume this year? Or, what SHOULD be, in your mind?
The Sanderson Sisters!
Do you have any particular October/Halloween traditions?
I always try to spend some quality time with my family. I’ve always enjoyed helping get them all dressed up for All Hallows’ Eve.
What horror movie would you star in if given a budget and free range to do whatever? You can remake any film of the past, or you can create your own.
I would most definitely pick Friday the 13th, playing the role of Pamela Voorhees. “Because the counselor should have been paying attention, no one was paying attention when that poor boy drowned.”
What’s on tap for October for you — and the rest of the year? Tell us what you have going on?
October is full of fun stuff this year! I’m traveling to Vietnam with the non-profit organization Influence the World to work with underprivileged children and orphanages to create a happy space for the youth in Vietnam.
On Halloween, you can catch me at The Garden in Las Vegas. As for later this year, we have Season 3 of We’re Here premiering in November as well as a pretty special project that I’ve been working on since earlier this year. Big Mawma can’t wait to let that cat out of the bag!