David Magazine v9_i53 | Happy New Year

V9-53 12.30.25

Oceane Aqua-Black Goes Shameless

Body Manual: January Won’t Fix Everything

Queerly Beloved: A Softer Promise

Plus Photos & More

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DEC 30, 2025 V9-53

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Oceane Aqua-Black Goes Shameless — and Makes History Doing It

Edited by Mikkel Hyldebrandt Photos: So Fierce Music

In a culture that often demands conformity, drag has always been about excess: more glamour, more honesty, more truth spoken loudly and without apology.

With her debut album Shameless, Oceane Aqua-Black doesn’t just embrace that tradition—she expands it to recordbreaking proportions.

Out now via So Fierce Music, Shame-less clocks in at an astonishing 83 minutes and 27 seconds across 23 tracks, officially making it the longest album ever released by a drag performer. In doing so, Oceane surpasses the previous record held by Ginger Minj, carving out a new milestone not just for herself, but for drag artists claiming space in the music industry. And for fans who want even more, a Deluxe CD Edition—available exclusively through So Fierce Music—pushes the project to 31 tracks and a full two-hour runtime, complete with unreleased songs, photos, and lyrics.

“This is so exciting!” says Oceane.

“Every song has been carefully crafted over the past two years. It wasn’t just about breaking a new record. It was about delivering true quality and dedication.”

That dedication is audible throughout the album’s genredefying soundscape. Shame-

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less is a fearless blend of pop, dance, hip together some of the fiercest and most hop, rock, electro, and tribal influences, beloved Black queens from the Drag mirroring Oceane’s multifaceted Race franchise. These are queens I’m identity as both drag superstar and pop proud to call my sisters,” says Oceane. provocateur. Humor and honesty are constant companions. “My inspiration The album’s collaborative spirit extends comes from my life experience with a even further, with appearances from Emoji Nightmare, Halcyon Gray, Helena dash of humor,” she explains.

Poison (Canada’s Drag Race Season 5), Vanity Milan, Lady Boom Boom (Canada’s Drag Race Season 3), and the incomparable TS Madison—each adding their own flavor to an already expansive project.

Partially funded by the You Do You Foundation’s Mentorship Program, supported by TD Ready Commitment, Shame-less also stands as a testament to what’s possible when queer and trans artists receive tangible support.

Sonically and spiritually, the album bridges drag, hip hop, and club culture, affirming drag’s role as both art form and activism. “Drag is about breaking That lived experience sometimes down barriers and speaking our truth,” comes wrapped in explicit, tongue-in- says Oceane. “It’s about standing up cheek tracks like “College Bois” and for what we believe in and fighting for “Creampie,” songs that gleefully refuse it.” respectability politics. “I’m not afraid to ‘go there.’ The album is unapologetically For Oceane Aqua-Black, being shameless isn’t just a title—it’s a philosophy. me, and I’m shameless about it.”

“It means being okay with who you Still, Oceane is quick to point out that are. Whole heartedly accepting your Shame-less isn’t one-note provocation. physical, emotional, and personal self “It’s not all dirty though,” she clarifies. and understanding that you will never “There are songs about mental health, be liked by everyone, so pay them no online bullying, body positivity, and mind. You simply do you!” fearless self-expression.” The result is an album that feels both playful and Shame-less is available now on all purposeful—glittery on the surface, but streaming platforms. The Deluxe Edition CD can be purchased exclusively at rooted in real emotional terrain.

SoFierceMusic.com.

At its core, Shame-less functions as an empowerment manifesto, one that invites listeners—especially queer and trans folks—to release the weight of other people’s expectations. Nowhere is that message louder than on the standout anthem “F.A.B. (Fake Ass B*tch),” a high-energy collaboration featuring RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty Ra’Jah O’Hara, Kween Kong, and Silky Nutmeg Ganache.

“I wanted to create a song that brought

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A Softer Promise for the Year Ahead Edited by Mikkel Hyldebrandt

This is especially important in a political climate that feels volatile at best and threatening at worst. For LGBTQ+ people, the constant low-level stress of watching our rights debated can drain even the most optimistic among us. It’s hard to plan a “best year ever” when the news cycle keeps reminding you that your safety isn’t guaranteed. In this context, adjusting expectations isn’t pessimism – it’s wisdom.

There’s something intoxicating about the first days of a new year. Fresh calendars. Clean planners. That quiet hum of possibility that whispers, This is the year everything finally clicks. For queer folks especially – after years that may have included political whiplash, cultural backlash, or simply the exhaustion of existing visibly – the urge to declare the coming months “the best year ever” can feel like a form of survival.

But here’s the gentle truth we rarely say out loud: overpromising yourself a perfect year can quietly set you up for disappointment.

Not because you failed – but because life, politics, and people are unpredictable. And that doesn’t mean the year was bad. It just means the expectation was too rigid to hold real life.

Another helpful shift is moving from “I should” to “I can.” “I should be happier by now.” “I should be more productive.” “I should be further along.” These thoughts stack pressure onto an already full plate.

“I can rest when I need to.” “I can change my mind.” “I can reassess.” Permission is a radical tool, especially for those of us taught to overperform just to be accepted.

It’s also worth revisiting how we evaluate a year once it ends. Too often, we measure success by what didn’t happen: the goals we didn’t meet, the version of ourselves we didn’t become. But what if we asked different questions? Did I listen to my body more than I used to? Did I set at least one boundary that mattered? Did I show myself compassion on hard days? These are quieter wins, but they’re no less real.

This doesn’t mean abandoning hope or ambition. It means right-sizing them. You can still dream, plan, and strive – just without chaining your self-worth to a flawless outcome. A year can be meaningful without being magical. Healing without being linear.

Better without being perfect.

Many of us start January armed with resolutions that assume stable ground: better routines, improved finances, more joy, more rest. Then reality arrives. A stressful election cycle. New legislation targeting our community. Global crises. Personal losses.

So maybe this year’s promise doesn’t have to Suddenly, the year feels “hard,” and we judge be “the best year ever.” Maybe it can be the it harshly – even if we showed up bravely, year I stopped bullying myself with unrealistic learned new skills, or simply survived. expectations. Or the year I learned that adjusting course isn’t failure – it’s care.

What if this year isn’t about declaring greatness in advance, but about creating Queerly beloved, let’s aim for a year that’s flexibility instead? gentler than expected. One where we bend instead of break. One where, when we look One strategy is to replace big, outcomeback, we don’t just tally the struggles x– but based resolutions with values-based notice that, despite everything, we were intentions. Instead of “This will be the year I still here. Still choosing ourselves. And that, finally get everything together,” try something quietly and powerfully, might be better than more breathable: I want to practice self-trust. we ever anticipated.

Or I want to protect my energy. Values travel better through chaos. They don’t collapse when plans change. They adapt.

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Stop Asking January to Fix Everything

By Dr. Zachary LaVigne, B.S., D.C The week between Christmas and New imperfectly without requiring a personality Year’s exists in a strange biological limbo. overhaul. The most effective shifts often The calendar insists something important sound unimpressive on paper. Walk most is approaching, but the body disagrees. days. Eat protein earlier in the day. Sit on Sleep drifts later, meals blur together, and the floor regularly. Go to bed slightly earlier. motivation goes quiet. Then January arrives, Strength train in a way that feels restorative and we expect discipline to snap into place rather than punishing. These actions send like a switch being flipped. That mismatch signals of safety and predictability to the explains why so many New Year goals nervous system. Safety allows change. collapse by Valentine’s Day. Chaos, even when self-imposed, keeps the body defensive.

Your body does not recognize resolutions.

It responds to patterns, signals, and January is also a poor time for dramatic environment. When goal setting ignores overhauls. Energy is lower, daylight is biology, it becomes wishful thinking limited, and expectations are high. That masquerading as self-improvement. January combination breeds guilt quickly. Use this 1st may be culturally useful, but it is arbitrary. month as reconnaissance. Notice which There is no internal reset button waiting to be foods leave you steady versus foggy. Pay pressed. From an evolutionary standpoint, attention to movements that reduce tension winter was a season of conservation. rather than adding to it. Track what drains Energy was protected, movement slowed, you socially and what restores you. That and repair mattered more than progress. information becomes the real plan.

Modern culture pushes the opposite Late winter and early spring naturally support approach. Reinvent everything. Push expansion. Longer days, better sleep, and harder. Fix yourself fast. The body resists, rising energy make change easier. Your and it should. A better starting point for the body already understands this rhythm, new year is not asking what you want to even if your calendar pretends otherwise. change, but asking what your body needs Sustainable change does not come from more of right now. declaring war on your body. It comes from cooperation. This year, skip the reinvention Most resolutions focus on outcomes. Lose fantasy. You do not need a new body. You weight. Build muscle. Fix pain. Be calmer. need a clearer relationship with the one you Those goals skip the middle. The body already have. operates on capacity, not willpower. Joint range, nervous system resilience, sleep quality, and strength that leaves you better afterward all determine whether change sticks. When capacity is low, discipline feels exhausting. When capacity improves, behavior shifts with far less effort. That is physiology, not mindset.

Dr. Zachary LaVigne, B.S., D.C Instead of setting a resolution, choose a direction. Something you can move toward

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My New Year’s resolution is to be less passive aggressive. Unlike SOME people!

Unfortunately, Iʼm not pretty enough to be a hot mess. But I identify as a room temp inconvenience.

Whoever has my voodoo doll; put it on a treadmill!

Rest now, b!tch face, we have much work yet to do.

I have to say some unhinged things, otherwise, I’ll pass out.

I’m a very private person – except for when I go online multiple times a dayto share my every waking thought.

You’d think with the amount of overthinking I do I’d make the right decision, right?

Good night, hot people. Ugly people, stay up and stand guard and protect us.