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Charli XCX Opened Her Surprise Virtual DJ Set With the 'Macarena'
04 April 2020
Dressed like a queer Guy Fieri, Dorian Electra opened their virtual DJ set with a fake bouncer behind them, while repeatedly taking shots of Emergen-C like it was vodka. This is PAPER x Club Quarantine.
At 9 PM EST Friday night, social distancing fans began flooding into the party's waiting room on Zoom, eager to see the lineup co-curated with HEAV3N. Charli XCX had just been announced as the surprise guest DJ, so they came by the hundreds in seconds, all dressed in full looks with different at-home party sets, from strobe lights surrounding their laptops to projections on the walls that they danced in front of.
The night was organized to raise money for the HEAV3N Fund, a newly launched extension of the LA organization that will distribute resources back into the city's queer nightlife community. To do so, HEAV3N HBIC Lulo called upon some of her regular performers and hosts for a three-hour digital party that opened its doors to thousands of club kids from all over the world. Pre-coronavirus, HEAV3N would do monthly parties IRL, including their 2019 Halloween party with PAPER featuring Noah Cyrus.
In between sets, host Chester Lockhart (the birthday boy) gassed up all the night's performers and demanded that the chat room type "QUEEN" and "GAY RIGHTS." They did, of course... hundreds at once. Online favorites like Internet Girl and Teale Coco popped through, flirting for the webcam world from their beds. And the drag shows were wild, from London-based queen Santi Storm doing "Hey QT" with a bubble machine from her bath tub to Dragula's Abhora performing in her living room on stilts to an explosive metal track.
HANA, who recently released her album HANADRIEL, DJ'd and performed a live remix of her Grimes collab, "We Appreciate Power." Cape God pop star Allie X made her DJ debut, playing an eclectic mix that included Gesaffelstein and some funky throwbacks. (Her adorable puppy Koji also made an appearance.) Alice Glass' ravey late-night set was a highlight, as she chugged White Claws, before Charli XCX arrived on-camera in a crystal face mask to play songs like Britney Spears' "Piece of Me" and Los del Río's "Macarena." Breakout internet pop star That Kid closed out HEAV3N's PAPER x Club Quarantine, piecing together glittery songs off his debut mixtape, Crush.
In the words of Club Quarantine, the night was "MAD CUTE," and a much-needed break from boring isolation. More to come.