RuPaul Reveals Simple Reason for Dropping New 'Essential Vol. 3' Album: 'I'm a Fan of My Own Music' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

RuPaul.Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

RuPaul is ringing in the new year with a brand-new compilation album!

“OK, full disclosure, I’m a fan of my own music. There, I said it,” RuPaul, 63, tells PEOPLE of the inspiration behind the new compilation album, which marks his latestEssentialinstallment following the release ofEssential Christmaslast month.

RuPaul ‘Essential Vol. 3’ Album Cover.RuCo Inc.

RuCo Inc.

“Essential Vol. 3is a collection of my favorite collaborations from the past 10 years. I’ve also included the first 3 songs I ever recorded with my band Wee Wee Pole in 1983 — streaming for the first time ever,” adds theRuPaul’s Drag Racehost.

“The juxtaposition of my music today with music I recorded 40 years ago makes for an interesting contrast,” says RuPaul of including the early music onEssential Vol. 3.

Essential Vol. 3’s release coincides with the season 16 premiere ofRuPaul’s Drag Race, and the project’s tracklist also features “the brand-new runway song from season 16 ofDrag Race’Hustle That Cat,' plus some re-recorded and reimagined songs from my catalog,” adds the legendary performer.

“I love this collection so much because it spans my music career from the very beginning till today,” continues RuPaul. “You better…listen!”

RuPaul.VH1

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Beyond music and television, the all-around mogul is set to release his highly anticipated memoir,The House of Hidden Meaning, on March 5 via HarperCollins.

The book marks RuPaul’s fourth literary work, following 1995’sLettin' It All Hang Out: An Autobiography, 2010’sWorkin' It! RuPaul’s Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Styleand 2018’sGuRu.

See the completeEssential Vol. 3tracklist below.

source: people.com