WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA- Presented by OUTLOUD, opening night of Slay Ride: A 2025 HoliGay Spectacular felt less like a traditional tour launch and more like a love letter to queer joy. The kind of joy that glows brighter in community, louder in celebration, and, in a year like 2025, felt more necessary than ever.
Led by drag icon and RuPaul’s Drag Race Global All Stars winner Alyssa Edwards, music artist Frankie Grande, and drag sensation Kori King, the nine-city tour was designed to bring festive cheer, fierce performances, and unapologetic queer visibility to cities across the country. From California to Kentucky and Tennessee, the mission was clear: queer joy belongs everywhere, not just in places like West Hollywood where safety and celebration are often taken for granted.
The evening began at the West Hollywood Park Ice Rink, where Edwards, Grande, and King arrived like the holiday queer icons we deserve. Cameras were rolling and interviews were underway, but beneath the spectacle was something deeper. This tour was never just about entertainment. It was about showing up for LGBTQ+ communities nationwide. And yes, Kori King managed to do all of this while dressed as the most glamorous yet clumsy Grinch ever to take the ice. A true sleigh.
From the rink, the celebration moved to Beaches Tropicana, the tour’s first official stop, where OUTLOUD transformed the space into a warm, glittering sanctuary. Exactly the kind of room where strangers become chosen family for a night. A judgment-free space to be fully yourself. The variety show was equal parts camp and catharsis, blending drag, live vocals, comedy, storytelling, and holiday chaos with tenderness and pride.
One of the most magical moments of the night came when Frankie Grande debuted his new song, “I Don’t Remember It.” The track was born from Grande watching Heartstopper and realizing something was missing. “They go to prom, and they dance to Carly Rae Jepsen, who’s an ally, we love an ally,” he explained backstage. “But I was like, where is our gay prom anthem? We don’t have one. A gay song sung by a gay man about a gay prom.”
That realization sent Grande straight into the studio to write the first song he had ever penned on his own. The song reflects his own prom experience, one he admits he barely remembers, in part because it wasn’t fully his. “It’s about me not remembering my own prom and rewriting it the way I wanted it to go, with a cute boy,” he said, laughing candidly about the awkward reality of attending with a girl instead. The accompanying music video gives Grande the prom he never had, reclaiming a moment that so many queer people were denied. Catchy and emotionally direct, Grande hopes the song becomes a queer prom anthem, offering future generations a soundtrack where one didn’t previously exist.
Grande also spoke openly about what it means to be part of a generation of artists able to live unapologetically in public. While grateful, he remains deeply aware of the cost earlier artists paid. “I’m singing George Michael’s ‘Last Christmas’ tonight, and I always think about his horrible journey with the media outing him and treating him like vermin when he finally got to be himself,” Grande shared. “I’m grateful we’re in a different place now, but we still have a long way to go.”
That visibility includes embracing femininity in a pop landscape that still resists it. “I’m very fem-presenting. I deal with a lot of fem-phobia, within and outside of the community,” he said, before adding with a grin that he is proud to represent “the fem boys and the power bottoms of the world.” That fearlessness made his presence on the Slay Ride Tour feel not just celebratory, but affirming.
Throughout the night, Alyssa Edwards guided the show with her signature Southern charm and razor-sharp wit, but backstage she spoke thoughtfully about how personal this tour felt. Her relationship with OUTLOUD stretches back years, beginning with her first-ever performance as a musical artist under the brand’s banner. Jeff Consoletti, founder and executive producer of OUTLOUD, has long prioritized uplifting queer artists, especially in the music space, and Edwards credits that support as foundational.
When the idea for Slay Ride came together, Edwards didn’t hesitate. Touring alongside Frankie Grande and Kori King felt less like casting and more like destiny. She wanted the show to feel like a joyful collision of personalities and styles. Campy, goofy, sassy, lighthearted, and unmistakably queer.
While West Hollywood offers nightly drag shows and built-in safety, Edwards was keenly aware that many of the tour’s stops did not. For her, that made the mission even more meaningful. She spoke about the importance of bringing this kind of entertainment to communities that don’t see it every day. Places where queer people may need a temporary escape from families that don’t understand them, and a chance to spend time with their chosen family instead, especially given the current political climate.
That intention was felt throughout the night, from the way the performers addressed the crowd to the care taken in building an inclusive, welcoming atmosphere. Edwards emphasized that working with OUTLOUD made that possible, reminding audiences that the holidays are about community. You don’t have to understand, you don’t have to like it, but empathy matters. Practice the pause. Take a chance to learn.
Edwards balanced those moments of reflection with her trademark humor, whether joking about her long-running celebrity crush on Tom Hanks or reminiscing about growing up in a large Texas family where the holidays felt like a full-blown production. She described those years as magical, filled with lights, energy, and togetherness. That blend of sincerity, spectacle, and warmth carried through her performance, including a standout rendition of Jessie J’s “The Man With the Bag,” delivered with a wink and plenty of flair.
Beyond the performances, Slay Ride carried a tangible sense of purpose. OUTLOUD committed to donating one dollar from every ticket sold to the Human Rights Campaign, reinforcing the tour’s role as both celebration and advocacy. The production blended live music, drag, dance, and comedy into an immersive holiday spectacle, reimagining the season with OUTLOUD’s signature flair.
And that is the heart of Slay Ride: taking joy, visibility, and unapologetic queer celebration and carrying it into cities that do not always offer the safety net of West Hollywood. Because every queer person, everywhere, deserves nights like this. Nights filled with music, laughter, community, and the simple, radical act of feeling at home.
If opening night was any indication, Slay Ride was never just about spreading holiday cheer. It was about spreading hope.
The tour concluded on December 14, 2025, after stops in Denver, Salt Lake City, Austin, Dallas, Louisville, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Dorchester, leaving behind glitter, gratitude, and a powerful reminder of what queer joy looks like when it’s shared.
Follow OUTLOUD on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
Follow Human Rights Campaign on Facebook, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.
*********************
LIVE CLIPS
The SLAY RIDE Tour kicked off in West Hollywood with an unapologetic night full of queer joy and holiday cheer.
