For Ada Heart, drag is more than just a performance. It’s a way of expressing herself, finding closure, and connecting with her audience.
Story and Photos by Clement Tan
Ada Heart, also known as Yusri, is a 32-year-old Singaporean who is a care navigator by day. By night, with charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent, she transforms into a force to be reckoned with on stage as a drag queen. But for Yusri, drag is more than just a performance. It’s a way of life that has saved her from a dark place.
“Drag actually saved my life. When I was 25 and in a dark place, I told myself that if I did not find anything to look forward to in life, I might end it at the age of 27,” Yusri said. That was when Yusri started dabbling in the art of drag after watching a performance at a local club, where she was inspired to try out drag after witnessing the confidence that
was delivered on stage. She started learning the ropes by attending multiple drag shows and assisting other drag queens with their performances backstage while building rapport with the best of the best in the scene like Vanda Miss Joaquim and Salome Blaque.
Developing her own style
When asked how Ada Heart came to life, she said that it was because of local queens who had made a name for themselves on the international stage. Yusri was awed by their ability to deliver a heartfelt performance even though they just stood in a single spot, lip-syncing. “It’s not always about being able to execute stunts, but you’re also able to stand at a spot, yet deliver,” Yusri said.
Yusri has likewise developed her own style. Her emotional lip-sync performances have become her signature that everyone recognises from her iconic emotional expressions. “I can’t pull off those fancy stunts, but I can surely deliver and trigger your emotions,” Yusri said as she cheekily laughed.
In the past, Yusri tended to separate her duo-life as a boy and as a drag queen, especially coming from a Muslim family where drag is a taboo topic. But as time went by, Yusri slowly accepted herself and found the confidence to come out to her family.
“I slowly found that comfort and confidence to be myself at the age of 31, I know it’s late,” Yusri said.
The acceptance from her family allowed Yusri to fully embrace both identities she had previously separated, allowing her to be herself and even return home in drag.
Her creative process
Music, make-up and the outfit are both important elements of any drag performance. How does Yusri pick out her music?
“There is no process to this, it is all in what I am going through at the moment,” Yusri said. For Ada Heart, picking a song for each gig is a form of closure. She prefers choosing a song according to how she’s feeling to get through to the hearts of her audience. It also allows her to sing her heart out and let go of all her pent-up emotions at that point in time.
Because drag is expensive, it can cost quite a bit to create beautiful costumes. To stretch her dollar, Yusri upcycles old outfits and elevates them. “If you are going to have a different outfit every single time, it is going to cost you a bomb,” Yusri exclaimed as she waved one of her dresses in my face.
“But being creative with outfits isn’t the only obstacle we face, emotional wellness is a culprit too,” Yusri shared. On some days, Yusri does not feel motivated to paint her face. As a performer, people are always expecting her to be at her best, which takes a toll on her emotional well-being.
She shared, “As a performer, people are always expecting you to be at your best, and you have to be. You must put on a smile, with people knowing this is Ada Heart, the cheerful and positive person. That’s what I want to portray.”
“But at the same time, when you suppress your feelings, it gets to you and it can take a toll on you in the long run,” she added.
Ada Heart (left) wearing heart coat, together with director Lei Yuan Bin (center), and Opera Tang (right) Photo courtesy of Ada Heart
Balancing her day job and drag career is challenging, but with the support of her friends, she manages to translate her emotions into her performances.
In October 2022, Mazri Ismail, a fashion designer and close friend of Yusri, designed a customised coat in the shape of a heart for Yusri as she was attending the Busan International Film Festival. It was for the launch of Baby Queen — a documentary by local drag queen, Opera Tang. The film features Yusri as Opera’s big sister showing her the ropes to becoming a drag queen in Singapore. It captures Opera’s journey as a boy going through the highs and lows of becoming a drag queen and how the people around her came to support her.
“Everybody knows Ada Heart as the queen with mood swings,” Yusri said, when asked how she goes about her makeup. She mentioned that the time it takes for her to complete her makeup depends on her mood. In the past, on a good day, it used to take her three hours, but after years of experience and studying her own face, it only takes her up to an hour or two.
The makeup process is tedious, but Yusri emphasises that “brow-blocking” is the worst of it all, which can take up to half an hour due to the multiple layers of gluing down needed to achieve a clean template for the face. The process of makeup then ends with putting on bigger-than-life eyelashes.
The process may sound simple and quick, but each step is tedious. “You can’t rush it, because if you do, it will look rushed on your face and the audience can tell,” Yusri added.
“Drag is all about extravaganza, being loud and extra,” Yusri said.
“It’s not just about the makeup but also the purpose behind every look and every song performed.” And from the looks of things, it can only look grander from here.