Another month is coming to an end, and that, of course, means it is time for another magazine! I’m writing to you on this late Saturday evening, because, as you might be able to tell already, this is the first of, hopefully, a few new pages we would like to introduce to our magazine over the coming months. Here, we are hoping to be able to talk about things that might not fit within the limits of our other regular pages, or update you on anything we feel the need or want to. 

February is, perhaps, for many known as the month of love, and Valentine’s day definitely seemed to be a big hit on vp this year. The site was flooding with roses, balloons, teddy bears and lovely messages, and of course, the population of vp did not disappoint when it came to dressing the part! This month’s magazine, however, isn’t related to the holiday, but we still hope you enjoy having a look through what we have prepared for you, and we might also need your help with a little… issue.  

Moving on to some general vp related matters, the new general rules are now viewable from the rules page under the social tab, as well as in the ‘game’ section of the forums. Since the rule update was introduced back in January, a few of them have been reworked from some clarification, and notably is the section on cheating. Now, due to the removal of the popstar games, there is a limit of maximum two HOF / Game sets each user is allowed to obtain per week, one from a HOF list and one from a classic game. 

As I’m sure most of you are aware, this weekend there has been a fan contest, and, as our admin Shadowjess shared in an update message to all on 21 February, starting Monday 1 March, there will also be another TikTok contest. More info on that will be revealed on the day. 

Lastly, we would also like to take this opportunity to encourage you to keep nominating people for User of the Month, by sending a message to the NT account with the name and a reasoning behind your nomination. You can nominate at any time of the month, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you think someone deserves the monthly highlight. 

This month’s UOTM is Callum, and an interview with him can be found on a later page in this magazine! 

Thank you all for reading our magazine every month! 

Love,

News Team 

February's user of the month is none other than Callum, who has been nominated by several users for what he brings to the site. To the left, you can read some messages from Callum's friends, who have been asked to say a few words about why he deserves to be user of the month. But first, here's an interview with the user behind VP's own version of RuPaul's Drag Race himself!

- Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I'm Callum... obviously, very weird introducing myself on VP. I'm 17 and I host this stunning VP competition show.

- How did you come up with the idea of hosting Virtual Popstar's Drag Race (VPDR)?
Well essentially, the idea was floating about since 2019. I was always interested in selecting a cast of users and following the format of drag race because I just love the show so much. I knew it could be fun and if there was a big enough prize, people would join haha. The reason VPDR actually came to light and happened was a spur of the moment decision. I had gotten rejected for the event team so I kind of used that as motivation to go ahead anyway and I'm really happy I did!

- Could you tell us a bit about how it works, for those who might not be familiar with concept?
Essentially we open up applications each season and cast 10 of VP's finest fashionistas and put them against each other week after week with different runway themes. Those who do well, win the challenge/continue in the race. Those who don't must participate in a 'runway for your life' which leads to 1 person being eliminated each episode. It's a pretty simple concept to get your ahead around really: challenge/brief -> runway -> critiques -> elimination.

- How do you decide on the specific themes?
I come up with my themes based on a set of criteria I'd want to see in the winner. For example, I'd want a winner who can be resourceful. Hence the latest challenge which had the kings and queens wear non designer items only down the runway. So each theme is very important to me because I try and make sure they showcase a specific skill and that's how I come up with them basically.

- There seems to be a lot of work involved, with the voting, video editing and so on. Do you do everything on your own?
I'd say I do pretty much everything, I do on my own. Of course, the kings and queens create their own looks but I have to create graphics, host applications, answer questions the contestants may have, create a brief each week, judge the looks and then create the actual video. It's very very demanding honestly but when I see all the positive comments, or when people comment if they disagree with an elimination, etc, it gives me motivation to do all this because people are really getting involved in a passion project of mine and thats always nice. One final thing about this is I'm just gonna take this opportunity to thank everyone who has donated to the prize fund and allowed season 2 to happen. Without the donations, it wouldn't be possible!

- This is the second season of the competition, which seems to have been a success so far. Do you have any plans to host a third season?
The second season is doing amazing! Funding for the season is always an issue but should we get that sorted? A season 3 could definitely (hopefully) be on the cards. As long as the response is good and people enjoy it, I'll continue making it!

Petal
Callum is a bad bitch.

Horcrux
It's hard to pick where to start with Callum but what I have always admired is their creative mind and the ambition that drives them. VP's drag race, for example, has been so much fun to watch unfold during both the first cycle and the current one ongoing. The time and energy they have put into VP over the years, both on and off teams, is reason alone for why they deserve to be crowned user of the month. But not only that, Callum is an incredible friend who always speaks their mind without hesitation and is always there to offer support for those they care. Callum is truly one of a kind. Ily & thank you for all your hard work and passion. ❤️

Saudade
What can I say about Callum...I've basically known him since my young MovieStarPlanet days! He is a true ride or die, and he'll spill all the tea! I can always trust in him to have my back, no matter the situation! A true friend and I am so grateful to have him, I really wouldn't still be on VP without him! ❤️

MissLondon
Funny and friendly are the first words that come to mind when I think of Callum. Whether he’s posting in the forum, in a guestbook or Startalk it’s never a dull moment when Callum is online! I’m appreciative of his creativity ( I’m sure others agree -VPDR ) and everything that he brings to VP ❤️

Auction
The month started off with an auction as usual, this time held on Saturday 6th of February. The female pd set, designed by Dwaal, featured lots of summery sunflowers, while the male pd set, designed by Devilcake, was perhaps even more summery with its beach background, swimming trunks and snorkel. The female credit set was a stylish red, white and green-themed set made by Solovey, while the male credit set, made by Teddy, was a cute black and white outfit.




 

MCW
This month's mega credit set week was held between 1st and 7th of February. This edition of MCW featured sets made by six different designers, as well as animal-inspired bonus sets for females, designed by Solovey. The twelve female sets were designed by Marissa, Lamb, Trainor, Allie and Solovey, and featured everything from a watermelon bag to stunning purple butterfly wings. The four male sets were designed by Askr, Trainor and Solovey, and featured both a dapper blue suit and a sagittarius-inspired set. To see all the sets, click here!

Apart from these regular news updates, February has given us two more things to report on. The first is the new female manager set, which was released at the beginning of the month. Made by Solovey, it's a colourful set inspired by Instagram, as you can see here below.



The second is the new fan contest, which started on Friday the 26th, and will run until Sunday 28th. As usual, the top 50 winners will receive an exclusive outfit, this time designed by Allie, and 500 credits, while top 20 winners will receive Allie's set, plus a set designed by Melk and 1500 credits. Finally, the first place winner will receive a full MCW package, a 100€ gift card and the two outfits. As of now, there are still a few hours left for the contestants to get as many fans as possible, so good luck to everyone participating!

There have been some exciting team updates this month, so let’s get right into it!

First up, the YouTube Team announced who they had chosen to join their team after the application round they held last month. And, on 1 February, DandelionMarie officially joined the team. To see hers, and the other YouTubers’ videos, on the official (EN) VP YouTube channel click here.

Congratulations DandelionMarie!

Also this month, the Designer Team announced that going forward, they will have open applications, meaning that the deadline is indefinite and they will evaluate each application as they come in. If you want to know more about what being an official designer entails, as well as how to apply, you can check out their application thread here.

DT has already welcomed some new faces to the ranks of official designers, and we in NT would like to congratulate all of you!

Lastly, we have some exciting news for the forum active users out there, because the Forum Team just announced that they are looking for new members this month as well! So, if you enjoy taking part in the forums and would like to be able to make official FT topics, now is your chance. The deadline is 2 March, so you still have a few days left to send your application if you would like to give it a shot. Check out the application thread here for more info!

The winners of one of last month’s competitions, ET’s Cult Leader Coutoure, were announced in the beginning of the month - congrats!

Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of Valentine’s Day themed competitions this month. ET held two comps;
In one of the comps, Will you be my Valentine, the participants had to design their own Valentine’s card based on a template. The prizes were some very pink sets with cute plushies made as a collab between Encrede and Bones. The winners were announced here.
ET’s second Valentine’s competition was a dressup titled Cupid’s Heartbreak. Here participants had to make two outfits, one representing Cupid and the other one heartbreak. There were many creative entries for a chance at winning some beautiful sets made by Askr.
SMT decided to do things a bit differently and celebrate Galentine’s Day instead of Valentine’s. This was done with a duo dressup, where, together with a partner, users had to make coordinated outfits showing how two friends would celebrate. The winners were announced on Instagram, and received some lovely prizes, the female a collab between Ouch and Heaven, and the male made by DUCKBOY.

This month also saw a continuation of ET’s Legally Blonde series. For the second comp, participants had to make a pink collage inspired by Elle Woods, in order to win some cute pink sets made by Bowie. The winners are yet to be announced.
If you like Harry Potter, this month had something for you too. Following the previous Yule Ball competition, ET hosted the second event in a Harry Potter series. This time, participants had to create their own Hogwarts student. This could be done either as a drawing or in text, and certain things like Hogwarts house had to be mentioned. The winners have yet to be announced.

For the SMT raffle this month, participants had the chance to win some cool sets made by Talent. The event was hosted by Tumblr, and the winners raffled in this forum.
This month’s WWIB was hosted by Facebook. This time you had to style the prize, which was a set consisting of a fox head, tail and paws made by Encrede. The winners were announced on Facebook earlier this month.
A still ongoing competition is SMT’s Movie Poster comp. For this competition, you have to make a movie poster inspired by one of the gorgeous prize sets, the female made by Helmi and the male by Petal. You have until March 6th to get your entry in!

On February 7th it was time for another LE Sunday which meant we had a day with new limited sets in the shop every half hour. It started at 17.00 CET and the last sets were in the shop at 21.00. Females got a bunch of beautiful sets from different designers and this time male also got some gorgeous sets and items throughout the afternoon. The sets and items were sold for credits only to get some credits out of the system. If you want to see all the sets and items you can find them in this forum by the ForumTeam!