What do you get when two of drag’s boldest rule-breakers turn their creative tension into a pop anthem? A total knockout, literally.
With their debut musical collaboration, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” stars and “No Gorge” podcast co-hosts Gottmik and Violet Chachki aren’t just stepping into the ring — they’re redefining what it means to fight fabulously. Equal parts glam, grit and campy chaos, the duo’s new single, “TKO,” launches a gritty new chapter for these longtime sisters-in-drag who have clashed like siblings, reconciled like best friends and who have now transformed that fiery dynamic into a full-blown tour.
The Knockout Tour, their first co-headlining North American outing, is more than pure spectacle — it’s protest-meets-pageant, a defiant statement that drag isn’t going anywhere despite persistent attacks on the art form. The Knockout Tour swings through Pittsburgh on October 1, 2025 at the Roxian Theatre.
During our recent conversation, the pair opened up about the inspiration behind “TKO,” why queer power remains vital in 2025 and how being loud, proud and unapologetically visible — whether on a tour stage or the Met Gala red carpet — is still a radical act.
How did you know “TKO” had to be your debut music collab?
Gottmik: It started from the reality of us fighting. [Both laugh.]
Violet: We are definitely a chosen family. And just like any family, you fight. Sometimes you make up; there’s love. We really are ride or die for each other, and we’ve been through so much already. And there’s a bit of crossover with our drag aesthetics, a juxtaposition of me being more rock-’n’-roll and Gottmik more classic glam. So we thought, what better way to showcase that than highlight our differences and play it up?
Gottmik: Battle it out. And let the audience decide.
Is there a champ in the end? Will we have to wait till the end of the tour to find out?
Violet: The audience is going to have to let us know September 28th in Detroit. I mean, that’s really what it’s all about. Majestic Theatre, darling, that’s where it’s all gonna happen.
All the queens should be working their shit out in music, right? Because there’s some shit to be worked out.
Violet: There really is, especially these days.
It’s good to see two queens battle it out and still remain friends and collaborators. In the “Drag Race” world,” there’s no shortage of iconic feuds, including the infamous 2013 beef between Alyssa Edwards and Coco Montrese and the latest clash between past contestants Mistress Isabelle Brooks and Willam.
Violet: I don’t even keep up. I don’t see everything that goes on. I just hear people are talking about Mistress and Willam a lot right now. I don’t know what’s going on.
Gottmik: [Laughs.] Zip it! Yeah, we feud in a very family way.
Violet: Maybe they should have a song?
Gottmik: Nah. [Laughs.]
What was the most challenging aspect of working together?
Gottmik: We both are such insane perfectionists that sometimes what we think is perfect isn’t for the other person. We do have an extremely similar vibe, and we always want the same end goal. But the process is extremely different.
Violet: The reason I love drag to begin with is: I get to choose the song. I get to choose the makeup. I get to choose the outfit. It’s not a team sport. And even the group challenges on “Drag Race,” I hate them. I do not think drag is a group challenge thing. So collaborating with someone like this who is an equal, and we’re both sharing the spotlight, you do have to be like, “OK, we want the same goal.” A lot of times we find ourselves talking in circles and we get a bit frustrated. But we do, at the end of the day, have the same goal. And so every artist just has their own approach, and sometimes one of us is right and sometimes the other one’s right, and sometimes we’re both right.
Violet, you’ve said that “TKO” feels like “walking into a club and taking over a room.” Gottmik, you called it “queer power.” Why were those the feelings that you wanted to bring to the surface of the song?
Gottmik: I said it feels like queer power because I think it’s just that energy of being strong, entering the ring and gearing up for the fight — training for this like it’s a big moment. I feel like that’s what being queer is like. We’re constantly being thrown crazy stuff every day. I feel like when I wake up, there’s a new bill. There’s a new thing that’s telling me that I’m not the person that I know that I am. Sometimes it feels really tiring. But you have to look at yourself in the mirror and be like: I know me. I know I’m not going anywhere, no matter what anybody says, and I am entering the ring to show people that I’m not going anywhere. I’m gonna win this.
How do you define “queer power” in 2025, Violet?
Violet: I’ve always thought of drag as escapism and as a form of therapy for myself, personally. That’s kind of how it started. Since, it’s really evolved into taking up as much space as possible, usually in spaces that drag queens or drag artists don’t get necessarily the opportunity to go to – places like the Met Gala, or other spaces that are reserved for cis heteronormative people.
You both walking the Grammys red carpet in 2023 is another example of that.
Violet: That’s a good example. We were there when Kim Petras won her Grammy. Just existing in those spaces is an act of rebellion, an act of progress. And so I do like to revisit that kind of escapism. This show is 90 minutes, and you can just come and look at something really beautiful and fantastical and forget about all the chaos and troubles happening in the real world. Just with the imagery that we’re using as very strong fighters — aggressive, queer, loud, proud people — we want to relay to the general population: We are intimidating, strong, queer people, and we’re not going anywhere.
Did the sound of “TKO” come first, or or did you build the track with the visual world already in mind?
Violet: The visual world was first — it always is with us. I’ve been doing drag for so long that I feel like I’ve been every character and done every outfit, except for athletics. So I’m checking off the boxes of all the characters I could be. And so now I’m a boxing star.
Who’s your dream collaborator for a “TKO” remix?
Violet: My dream collaborator of all time, like I would cry to work with her or do a song with her, would be Kylie Minogue. Someone more realistic would be Slayyyter, Cobra or Kim Petras.
Gottmik: Definitely Rob Zombie would be my number one. I would just die.
Violet: That should make so much sense for the tour in general. Rob Zombie versus Kylie Minogue. That basically sums up the tour. [Laughs.]
Given your platform, do you think of yourselves as role models during an era in which trans people and drag queens are being attacked?
Gottmik: I mean, I love being able to have this platform and standing up for what I believe in and being able to take what’s going on politically, research it, digest it, give my opinion and have an impact. It’s just so beautiful to me. I love getting to travel the world and meet other queer people that I’ve inspired and helped, and then I get to know them, and their journeys inspire me, and that whole process inspires me. The fact that I opened doors for someone that was inspired who then pushed and opened another door that inspired other people.
It’s just never-ending, the stories of queer people telling their stories and making a difference. It’s just really crazy because it feels really hard right now, especially. But no matter what happens, that’s not going to change who we are or who any of us are. And so we’re not going to go anywhere, and we just have to come together and band together and learn from our queer elders and make sure that we are constantly fighting and showing everyone that we’re not going anywhere. And we are. We’re queer, and we’re here to stay, honey.
It’s literally about crushing the system. Somebody created the rules that we follow in society and who’s to say we have to follow those rules? If you know you’re you, and society is telling you something different, it’s up to you to soul search and find yourself and share that story and inspire others. Crash the system. Change the world.
In this political era, The Knockout Tour feels like more than a show — but a space for joy, love and community. As the ones leading that, what does it mean to you to create that kind of environment, and how do you imagine it will feel on stage?
Violet: I never set out to be a role model per se. I started out doing drag as a form of therapy, just really embracing the feminine side of myself that I was repressing as a child. I got to a point where I was going to be whoever the fuck I wanted to be as loudly as I wanted, and on purpose. I got power and strength from that and healed myself. And then it turned into this career, and it just coincided with all of these crazy political things going on.
It feels like a responsibility in a way. A lot of queer elders have shaped me, and now I feel like there’s a new generation coming up, and I almost feel the need to pass the baton. It feels like such an important role to get the facts right and position the new generation. Even what you were just saying about being in a room of people where it’s almost like a protest: We’re all here together, supporting each other. And there is this love I cannot wait to feel in those rooms. Sometimes I do get a natural high and it is very emotional. I hope this will be that for everyone who comes.
It might be too soon to say, but who will take longer to get ready on tour?
Violet: Me. Mik is a professional makeup artist and was a professional makeup artist for many, many years. I don’t know how you do it. Sometimes we’ll get ready and your makeup will be done and you’re having a cocktail, and I’m still gluing my eyebrows down. When you’ve done my makeup before, you’ve made me cry because you’re really fast. You jab my eye and I’ll start crying. I’m just a little more sensitive in the eye.
Gottmik: It’s like, “Gotta go! We don’t have time!”
Everyone needs a boss in their life. It sounds like you’ve found yours, Violet.
Violet: Yeah, I think that people have perceptions of our relationship. It flip-flops. We switch. We’re very versatile.
Every city on the tour will feature queer talent. Why was that important to you? And how does the community element shape these shows?
Gottmik: It’s just so important to go to every city and really just engulf ourselves in the vibes of the city. We love traveling every time we go on tour. We love to make sure we set time aside to go out and see the bars and see the vibes and shop. I literally was talking to Violet earlier about how sometimes I’ll be like on a bus tour in Middle America, and I’ll just be in the smallest town ever thinking, I’m moving here.
Violet: I worked many, many years as a local entertainer in Atlanta. I miss it. I miss those drag queens in the dressing room, and I really miss what that was like — the local chosen family. It’s so nice to travel and meet queens and other queer entertainers that have that sort of punk, “no-fucks-given” mentality that I almost feel like we’re missing a bit in the mainstream. Older queens who have been doing this for a long time resonate with me, and to see how they do drag regionally — because it is different — is inspiring.
