EDGE Interview: This 'Boxx' is Personal. 'Drag Race' Star Pandora Boxx Opens Up on New Album

Nothing pleases Pandora Boxx more than finishing her latest album, "Boxx," but it wasn't easy. First, it took three years to complete and in that time, she had to dig deep within herself to express on paper what she had only been feeling in her heart. It's a personal album that becomes more meaningful the further down the track list you go.

"I hope people like it," she says in a phone interview with EDGE. "But then there's a part of me that's like, well, that's fine if they don't because I made the album I wanted to make."

Pandora made her television debut on the sophomore season of "RuPaul's Drag Race," where she placed fifth, taking home the Miss Congeniality award. She would return to the main stage in 2012 for the first season of "Drag Race All Stars" and then again almost a decade later for Season 6. She didn't win, but she did come away with the inspiration for this album.

"When I was on 'All Stars' [Season] 6 and I did the girl group challenge and my verse didn't really come out exactly how I wanted it to, that kind of put me to really wanna write and go deeper. I wrote the track 'Laugh,' which is kind of like my redo of that verse. It, also talks about having to be funny all the time, because that's what people expect."

There is no denying that Miss Boxx has near-perfect comic timing. But having to be "on" all the time can take its toll mentally. A day before our interview she had just finished two days at New York Drag Con, co-mingling with her colleagues and thousands of fans.

"It was good," she says about the event. "It's always great to meet people and how excited people are to be there. And so it's always a really good time. it's definitely exhausting though."

While fatigue might be a part of the business, Pandora won't succumb to its attempts at sabotage; she refuses to sacrifice her creativity. She says making music is where she can honestly honor her self-expression. Barroom drag shows and brunches are fine and she enjoys audiences singing along with her, but it's not enough.

"That's not truly an artistic expression, but it's still fun and it pays the bills. If I'm doing a one-woman show there's definitely more personal things in there. But I think of music as a, good, creative outlet for me to really feel like an artist."

Undeniably, Boxx goes deeper in her songs on this album. Some sound like dance floor anthems or party bangers but they all have a deeper subtext. There is a duality to her music depending on the mood you're in. Take for instance the second song on her album "Pill" which on the surface feels like fast tempo bop about drugs, but if you go beyond the beat and pause to just listen to the lyrics, you'll hear:

"Just hidin' behind this false face. Oh so tired of the, Not. Real. Race."

In fact, she says "Pill" might be her most personal song on the track list, "It's kind of personal but then I interwove 'Alice in Wonderland' references because I love 'Alice in Wonderland,'" she adds. "It's kind of like how I feel now, how I felt as a kid and not feeling like I belong, and, you know, trying not to let the world make you too bitter."

For as much as Boxx seems booked and blessed to the point of being cynical don't expect her to retire anytime soon. The pressure is fuel to her fire and although some of her patience might be collateral damage there's nothing else she would rather do.

She is excited about doing tour stops to promote her album, and she's putting together a show that features stand-up comedy and songs from "Boxx." Stepping away from show business doesn't seem to be in her future and maybe that's because she draws inspiration from a prolific country music legend.

"I don't know about retiring," she says, pausing for a moment. "I mean, Dolly Parton always says that she just wants to die on stage. And I'm like, well, that's gonna be a really good story. So maybe that's it."

Speaking of good stories, social media seems to be the place to tell them especially among drag queens whether it's on X (formerly Twitter) or Instagram or even an episode of Roscoe's Recap. "Shade," as they say, gets thrown and tea gets spilled. Usually, this is done with tongue firmly in cheek, while other times it can get hateful, bordering on bullying.

Boxx's haunting song "Dance" addresses bullying: "They throw stones, they throw pain, Make you run; hide in shame. Hurl those knives, cause a scare. Take a stand, you don't dare."

Those words might apply to other drag entertainers who use their social media power for more than just life updates and humorous shade. For a community that's so against bullying isn't attacking someone, especially a colleague online just another form of it? Boxx says yes and no.

"It's funny because I was just talking about this last night with some friends and my husband and the day after 'Drag Con' we were talking about somebody's drama and I said, 'You know what? I, love, reading and watching drag queen drama because I find it funny as long as I'm not involved in it,'" she laughs.

Joking aside, she adds that fans can indeed take it too far. "It becomes like they're bullying one or the other, whoever they sided with and that's where it gets out of hand."

Conversely, she is also glad that her sisters aren't afraid to stick up for themselves, "because if one talks trash about somebody in a podcast, yeah, I'm like, that other queen should say no, that's not how it was. It can get out of hand for sure. I've been in the 'Drag Race' world for a while, so I definitely know which ones are full of shit."

At a time when everything seems to be happening for Boxx, she isn't about to slow down. Along with her developing tour and comedy show, she's also working on a movie.

"It's a gay slasher movie and I don't know the release date, but I've always wanted to be in a horror movie so I'm excited and hope that it comes out soon."

For now, everyone can follow Pandora Boxx on her website and social media channels. You can listen to her new album "Boxx" on your favorite music streaming platforms. But, she laughs, "If you don't like it, don't tell me. I'm good."