Adore Delano

Adore Delano, born Dani Noriega on September 29, 1989 in Glendora, California, is an American drag performer, singer-songwriter and television personality best known as the runner-up of season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race. She first reached a national audience in 2008 as a contestant on the seventh season of American Idol, where she finished in the top 16 and was credited as Danny Noriega. Delano has since released three studio albums and an EP, and came out publicly as a transgender woman in July 2023. She lives in Los Angeles and uses she/her pronouns.

Who Is Adore Delano?

Delano was born in Glendora, California, a suburb in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, though several sources list the neighbouring city of Azusa. She grew up in a Mexican-American household and came out as bisexual at the age of 12, later identifying as gay before publicly coming out as a transgender woman in 2023.

Her first brush with fame arrived at age 18, when she auditioned for the seventh season of American Idol in 2008 under the name Danny Noriega. She advanced to the top 16 and became one of the season’s most talked-about contestants, largely because of an unfiltered on-camera personality that drew both criticism and a loyal fanbase. The Idol run gave her a platform that she carried directly into her drag career.

Adore Delano on RuPaul’s Drag Race

Competing as Adore Delano, she joined the cast of season six of RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2014. She reached the final three and finished as a runner-up, becoming one of the season’s most popular figures for a deliberately raw, thrift-store aesthetic she summarised as “party.” The season established her as one of the franchise’s breakout stars.

She returned to the franchise in 2016 for the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, but withdrew from the competition partway through. The exit was widely covered, and she has discussed it in interviews in the years since. Her Drag Race alumni status remains central to her touring and recording career.

Adore Delano’s Music Career

Delano has released three studio albums. Her debut, Till Death Do Us Party, arrived in 2014 and charted on the Billboard 200, making it one of the best-selling albums by a Drag Race alum. She followed it with After Party in 2016 and Whatever in 2017, then the EP Dirty Laundry in 2021.

Her music blends pop-punk and electropop rather than the club-oriented dance records common among her peers. The albums have supported extensive international touring, and her recording catalogue remains a significant part of her income alongside live performance.

Adore Delano’s Coming Out as Transgender

On 26 July 2023, Delano posted an emotional video to Instagram in which she came out publicly as a transgender woman. She revealed that she had already been transitioning for several months before making the announcement, and said she had first come out to her mother as a teenager. She now uses she/her pronouns in and out of drag.

The announcement was covered widely by LGBTQ+ and mainstream outlets, and placed her among a group of Drag Race alumni who have come out as transgender after appearing on the show. She had previously come out as bisexual at 12 and later as gay.

Adore Delano’s Social Media and OnlyFans

Delano maintains a substantial online presence. Her Instagram account, @adoredelano, has roughly two million followers, while her YouTube channel @itsadoredelano carries approximately 519,000 subscribers and 87 million lifetime views. She is also active on TikTok as @itsadoredelano, and maintains an official website at adoredelano.com.

She launched an OnlyFans account that drew significant press attention, joining a wave of Drag Race performers who added subscription platforms to their income streams. Like entertainers such as Trisha Paytas and Bella Thorne, she has used direct-to-fan monetisation alongside a traditional entertainment career.

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