Sharon Needles

Sharon Needles (born November 28, 1981) is the stage name of Aaron Robert Coady, an American drag performer and recording artist. Needles rose to international attention on the fourth season of the Logo reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race, where she quickly became a fan favorite and was subsequently crowned "America's Next Drag Superstar" in April 2012.

After winning Drag Race, Needles released her debut album PG-13 in January 2013. It debuted at number 186 on the Billboard 200 and number nine on Dance/Electronic Albums. Coady is of Irish descent and was raised Catholic. At age four, he began wearing high-heels and dressing up with the encouragement of his parents. His years growing up in Iowa was a difficult time as he faced severe anti-gay and anti-"outsider" harassment, which prompted him to drop out of Newton High School. He began doing drugs at an early age, later being convicted for a DUI and assault on a police officer. and, in 2004, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he began working as a professional drag performer with the stage name Sharon Needles (a pun on the phrase "sharin' needles") in nightclubs and various other venues with the drag troupe "the Haus of Haunt", which Needles describes as "one punk rock, messy mash up of very talented, fucked up weirdos". The season premiered on January 30, 2012, and with Needles winning the first challenge she became an instant stand-out for her "ghoulish" fashion sense and unconventional make-up choices. On the night of the premiere episode, Entertainment Weekly columnist Tanner Stransky hailed Needles' macabre style as "drop dead genius" and rhetorically asked "Is Sharon Needles the most 'sickening' (a drag term for 'fabulous') contestant ever?" On March 27, 2012, Lady Gaga tweeted – "Sharon Needles looks FABULOUS 2night on drag race. Very Born This Way outfit/fame monster wig. Any rentals for my tour? #needthatbodysuit." Needles herself admitted that she was ambivalent in believing that she could win, stating, "(B)eing a comedic, campy, shtick queen and seeing how far those types of queens made it in past seasons, I would have been shocked if I made it past the first day." Instead, RuPaul decided to give fans an opportunity to voice their opinions as to who should win before taping of the final episode on April 25, 2012.

In June 2012, Needles won the Facebook vote to appear as a contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, but declined, as the reigning champion, to participate in the competition. She also confirmed that her replacement in the competition would be fellow RuPaul's Drag U professor and the runner-up in the Facebook voting, Pandora Boxx. Needles also became the face of an advertising campaign by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals promoting vegetarianism, appearing on billboards throughout the United States. In June 2012, the Pittsburgh City Council issued an official proclamation declaring June 12, 2012, "Sharon Needles Day."

On January 29, 2013, Needles released her debut studio album PG-13, which debuted at number 186 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 3,000 copies in its first week. In April 2013, Needles was featured on the single "RuPaulogize," from Willam Belli's debut album The Wreckoning.

In September 2015, Needles released "Dracula" as the lead single from her second studio album. Needles released her second studio album titled Taxidermy on October 31, 2015. The second single, released on August 5, 2016, was "Hollywoodn't". The music video was once again directed by Santiago Felipe and explored the dark side of Hollywood. In the video, Needles portrayed Elizabeth Short, a.k.a. the Black Dahlia, Sharon Tate and Jayne Mansfield. Her third studio album, Battle Axe, debuted on October 6, 2017, along with a video for the single of the same name. The second single from the album was "Andy Warhol Is Dead", released on November 5, 2017. She contributed to the compilation album Christmas Queens 3 (2017).

Sharon Needles was also voted the "Best Drag Performer" of Pittsburgh 2015 by the staff of the Pittsburgh City Paper.

Controversies

Needles has had a history of using racist language. She boasted about her use of the N word in a Facebook comment, though later claimed the comment was a forgery. She has also done blackface and has worn t-shirts with controversial symbols.

In 2021, The Daily Beast reported an account from a former fan of Needles who alleged that Needles had been "physically abusive, encouraged self-harm, and sent them child porn when they were underage". Needles denied the allegations through a legal representative.

A former Drag Race producer named Needles as one of three former queens to be "one hundred percent banned" from the franchise, in part due to her racism and other allegations against her.

Personal life Needles is Catholic.

Needles was also in a long-term relationship with special FX artist Chad O'Connell. The two began dating in late 2013 and got engaged in 2015. They broke up in summer 2020.

Needles lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Discography

Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions US USIndie PG-13 Released: January 29, 2013 Label: Self-released Formats: CD, LP, digital download 186 9 25 Taxidermy Released: October 31, 2015 Label: Sidecar Records, Producer Entertainment Group Formats: CD, digital download — 11 — Battle Axe Released: October 6, 2017 Label: Producer Entertainment Group Formats: CD, LP, digital download — — — Absolute Zero Released: July 22, 2022 Label: Producer Entertainment Group Formats: digital download, LP_3_

Extended play Title Details Spoopy Released: October 11, 2019 Label: Producer Entertainment Group Formats: Digital download

Singles Title Year Album "Why Do You Think You Are Nuts?" 2013 PG-13 "Dressed to Kill" 2014 "I Wish I Were Amanda Lepore"(featuring Amanda Lepore) "Dracula" 2015 Taxidermy "Hollywoodn't" 2016 "Battle Axe" 2017 Battle Axe "Andy Warhol Is Dead" "#Liftmeup"(with Greko, Debbie Harry, Amanda Lepore, and Peppermint) 2019 "Lift Them Up 2020"(with Greko, Debbie Harry, Amanda Lepore, and Peppermint) 2020 "Absolute Zero" 2022 Absolute Zero"Flamin' Hot"

Other appearances Song Year Other Artist(s) Album "RuPaulogize" 2013 Willam Belli The Wreckoning "Supermodel Inc." 2014 Super Electric Party Machine Super Electric Party Machine "Jingle Bells" 2015 N/A Christmas Queens "Snow Machine" 2016 N/A Christmas Queens 2 "The Murder of the Lawson Family" 2017 N/A Christmas Queens 3 "I Don't Give a F**k" 2018 Jiggly Caliente T.H.O.T. Process "Brothers in Our World" N/A Christmas Queens 4

Music videos Song Year Director "This Club Is a Haunted House" 2013 Michael Sharkey "Call Me on the Ouija Board" Santiago Felipe "Why Do You Think You Are Nuts?" Marina Pfenning & Tony Balko "Dressed to Kill" 2014 Ben Simkins "I Wish I Were Amanda Lepore" "Dracula" 2015 Santiago Felipe "Jingle Bells" Steve Willis "Hollywoodn't" 2016 Santiago Felipe "Battle Axe" 2017 "Andy Warhol Is Dead" Ben Simkins "666" 2018 "Monster Mash" 2019 Brad Hammer "Absolute Zero" 2022 Assaad Yacoub "Flamin’ Hot"

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2019The QueensHerselfDocumentary

Television Year Title season Role Notes 2012 RuPaul's Drag Race Herself Season 4 - Winner RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked RuPaul's Drag U 2012–2013 Fearce! Logo TV original 2013 Watch What Happens: Live Season 9, Episode 67: "Laura Linney & John Benjamin Hickey" She's Living for This Season 2, Episode 1 2016 RuPaul's Drag Race Season 8, Episode 1 2017 Good Behavior Tonya Hardon Season 2, Episode 5, "You Could Discover Me".

Music videos Year Title ArtistRef. 2012 "Glamazon" RuPaul 2013 "RuPaulogize" Willam "You Seemed Shady" Pandora Boxx & Adam Barta 2015 "Hieeee" Alaska Thunderfuck 2019"Scores"Kahanna Montrese

Web series