Anus (album)

Anus is the debut studio album by American drag performer Alaska Thunderfuck, the stage name of Justin Honard. It was released on June 23, 2015, through Sidecar Records and Producer Entertainment Group.[2] After signing a recording contract with Producer Entertainment Group in 2013, Alaska Thunderfuck began planning the album that same year and work continued into 2015. She enlisted a variety of producers for the album, which also features guest vocals from fellow RuPaul's Drag Race contestants: season four's Willam, and season six's Courtney Act and Laganja Estranja.

Anus
A picture of a man in drag, with contact lenses and long nails, with the word "ANUS" printed across the image
Studio album by
Alaska Thunderfuck
ReleasedJune 23, 2015
GenrePop[1]
Length46:50
Label
Producer
  • Tomas Costanza
  • Paul Coultrup
Alaska Thunderfuck chronology
Anus
(2015)		 Poundcake
(2016)
Singles from Anus
  1. "Your Makeup Is Terrible"
    Released: June 10, 2014
  2. "Nails"
    Released: December 9, 2014
  3. "Hieeee"
    Released: June 9, 2015
  4. "This Is My Hair"
    Released: June 23, 2015

The album was promoted with five singles: "Your Makeup Is Terrible", "Nails", "Hieeee", "This Is My Hair", and the title track. Alaska Thunderfuck also supported the album with a concert tour during January 2016.

Release and promotion
RuPaul's Drag Race alumni Willam and Laganja Estranja both contribute vocals to Anus.

The artwork and track listing for Anus was released on June 9, 2015.[3] The CD version of the album was released on July 21, 2015,[4] while an LP version was released on November 13, 2015.[5]

Singles

On June 10, 2014, "Your Makeup Is Terrible" was released as the first single from Anus.[6] Pitchfork named the song as the best song ever by a RuPaul's Drag Race contestant.[7] The video for "Your Makeup Is Terrible" was released on June 9, 2014, and was directed by Saša Numić.[8]

On December 9, 2014, "Nails" was released as the second single from the album.[9]

On June 9, 2015, "Hieeee" was released as the third single from Anus.[10] "Hieeee" charted at number five on the US Billboard Comedy Digital Tracks chart. "Hieeee" was noted as being the "best of the worst" songs by RuPaul's Drag Race contestants by Pitchfork.[7]

On June 23, 2015, the same day as the album's release, "This Is My Hair" was released as Anus's fourth single.[11]

In an interview with Noisey, Honard stated that he plans to shoot music videos for the tracks "Anus", "The Shade of It All", "Pussy", and "Gimme All Your Money".[12]

Critical reception

In his review for Noisey, John Hill simply stated "Anus is a really fucking good album."[12] In his list of "The Best and Worst Music of RuPaul's Drag Divas" for Pitchfork, Andy Emitt praised "Your Makeup Is Terrible", writing that "If any 'Drag Race' diva rivals the immaculate confection of "Supermodel (You Better Work)", it is Alaska Thunderfuck with 'Your Makeup Is Terrible'. In her indescribable voice, Alaska satirizes the dance genre's formulaic predictability on the song's bridge, narrating its rhythmic shift as if surprised herself", later noting "the RuPaulian tradition in Alaska's ability to bridge the song's queer, camp elements with pop music aspirations through a club-ready beat." Emitt went on to list "Hieee" as one of the "fabulously worst" tracks from Drag Race Divas, saying "the song sounds like the catchphrase-ready queen running out of new material live on the studio mic. Apparently, this isn't a problem—the track thumps the hollow but always captivating reservoir of Thunderfuck tonality and delivery... When drag divas produce garbage, at least we're laughing with them."[13]

Commercial performance

For the week of July 11, 2015, Anus appeared on three Billboard charts: number four on the Heatseekers,[14] an extension to the Billboard 200; number three on the Dance/Electronic Albums;[15] and number fourteen on the Independent Albums chart.[16]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Anus.

All tracks are written by Justin Honard, Tomas Costanza, and Ashley Levy, and produced by Costanza and Paul Coultrup; except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)ProducerLength
1."Hieeee"  3:46
2."Anus"  2:48
3."Pussy"  2:37
4."Beard"  3:06
5."This Is My Hair"  3:00
6."Nails" (Piano Introduction) (featuring Jeremy Mark Mikush)
  • Honard
  • Mikush
Mikush1:05
7."Nails"
  • Honard
  • Mikush
  • Costanza
  • Levy
 3:16
8."Gimme All Your Money" (featuring Laganja Estranja)
 3:36
9."Everything Tonight"  3:34
10."Best Night Ever"  2:47
11."The Shade of It All" (featuring Courtney Act and Willam)
  • Costanza
  • Mikush
  • Coultrup [a]
4:41
12."Legendary"  3:37
13."Killer"  5:00
14."Your Makeup Is Terrible"
  • Honard
  • Mikush
  • Costanza
  • Levy
 3:57
Total length:46:50
Notes
  • ^[a] signifies a co-producer
  • "Nails" and "Best Night Ever" were excluded from the vinyl pressing [17]

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[15] 3
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[14] 4
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[16] 14

Release history
Country Date Format Label Ref.
Various June 23, 2015 Digital download Sidecar [18]
July 21, 2015 CD [4]
November 13, 2015 LP [5]

References
  1. "Alaska Thunderfuck-Anus". www.discogs.com.
  2. "Anus by Alaska Thunderfuck on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  3. Avery, Dan (June 9, 2015). "Alaska Launches Music Video For "Hieeee," Announces New Album". NewNowNext. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  4. "Alaska Thunderfuck Official Merchandise – Alaska Anus CD – Pre-order". AlaskaThunderfuck. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  5. "Alaska Thunderfuck Official Merchandise – Alaska Anus Vinyl – Pre-order". AlaskaThunderfuck. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  6. "iTunes – Music – Your Makeup Is Terrible – Single by Alaska Thunderfuck". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  7. Emmitt, Andy (June 26, 2015). "The Best and Worst Music of RuPaul's Drag Divas". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  8. "Alaska Thunderfuck – Your Makeup Is Terrible [Official]". June 9, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2015 – via YouTube.
  9. "iTunes – Music – Nails – Single by Alaska Thunderfuck". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  10. "iTunes – Music – Hieeee – Single by Alaska Thunderfuck". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  11. "iTunes – Music – This Is My Hair – Single by Alaska Thunderfuck". iTunes Store (US). Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  12. Hill, John (June 24, 2015). "Alaska Thunderfuck Makes Better Dance Music Than Your Vanilla Garbage". Noisey. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  13. "The Best and Worst Music of RuPaul's Drag Divas". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  14. "Heatseeker Albums – July 11, 2015 – Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2015. (subscription required)
  15. "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – July 11, 2015 – Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2015. (subscription required)
  16. "Independent Albums – July 11, 2015 – Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved July 2, 2015. (subscription required)
  17. Instagram
  18. Release date references:
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