Tag Archives: Roman Holiday

Nicki Minaj’s ‘Starships’ Video ‘May Be Too Saucy For TV’

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Apparently, getting it just right is more important than keeping it especially timely.

Nicki Minaj‘s smash single “Starships” has been burning up the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks now, peaking at #5 a few weeks back and currently holding it down at #7. The pop-dance track was the official lead single (“Roman Holiday” and “Stupid Hoe” were promo singles) from her new album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, which debuted at #1 two weeks back.

All of which makes the fact that there’s been no official video release for the buzz-heavy track seem all the more glaring. Heck, she’s already released the video for “Beez in the Trap,” technically the album’s third single after “Starships” and “Right by My Side” featuring Chris Brown.

So when will we finally see the “Starships” video? Pretty soon, according to Minaj.

“It’s officially done,” Nicki told the U.K.’s Capital FM. “There was just one tiny little thing I wanted to change, but I know at the beginning of next week you guys will see it.”

But watch out, Nicki warns: “It may be too saucy for TV.”

Pictures of the rap/pop superstar hard at work on the clip surfaced in mid-March, showing Nicki looking amazing while sporting green hair and a pink bikini as she filmed in an exotic location.

At the time, Minaj told MTV News that seeing girls sporting her unique style has been an exciting byproduct of her fame. “I guess I am pop culture, just because what I’m doing seems to be popular. When people want to do what you’re doing, it’s kinda popular,” she said. “I don’t ask girls to wear pink hair; they just do it. It’s not about black or white; I think it’s just a statement. It doesn’t matter which color you are; it’s just a statement of being fearless.”

What are you expecting from Nicki’s “Starships” video? Let us know in the comments!

Nicki Minaj Talks Theater Background, Influence On Pop Culture

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By Rob Markman

During her recent performance at the Grammys Nicki Minaj went above and beyond with the theatrics and when MTV News caught up with the Queens rapper after her performance at the 2012 NBA All-Star game, she put it all in perspective. In her dressing room, Minaj talked about her background in theater, addressing the balance she strikes between hip-hop and pop.

“That’s just who I am. I was a theater major; I studied theater,” Nicki Minaj told MTV News. “It’s funny because, even with the Grammys, that wasn’t the first time I’ve done theater. Like ‘Moment 4 Life,’ I did a skit I was pretending to be an old lady, Martha, when I did ‘Right Thru Me,’ I did a skit. I always try to do that when I have the forum to do it.”

Before she took the stage to perform “Roman Holiday” at the 2012 Grammy Awards ceremony, Nicki prefaced her stage show with the “Exorcism of Roman” mini-movie. Her recent theatrics, which have drawn a ton of criticism, aren’t a far cry from the skits that appeared in her “Moment 4 Life” and “Right Thru Me” videos.

Nicki may have started out a rapper, but she has grown to be so much more. A number of her recently released songs, which are being used to set up her sophomore Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, have been pop affairs. From the RedOne-produced “Starships” to “Roman Holiday,” there will be songs that will exist outside of the canon of traditional hip-hop. However, Nicki’s recently released “Roman Reloaded” single featuring Lil Wayne proves that she can still spit bars with the best of them. (After all, she did rank #4 on MTV News’ “Hottest MCs in the Game” list.) Still, Nicki insists that she is merely being herself.

“I guess I am pop culture just because what I’m doing seems to be popular. When people want to do what you’re doing, it’s kinda popular,” she reasoned. “I don’t ask girls to wear pink hair; they just do it. It’s not about black or white; I think it’s just a statement. It doesn’t matter which color you are; it’s just a statement of being fearless.”

Being fearless is also about knowing when to cut an interview short. “OK, bye, y’all. Get out of my dressing room,” Nicki joked.

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Nicki Minaj Makes ‘Fearless’ Statement With Music

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ORLANDO, Florida — Who says divas have to be difficult? After her performance at the start of the NBA’s 2012 All-Star Game on Sunday, Nicki Minaj graciously invited MTV News into her dressing room before she even got a chance to catch her breath. Once inside, the reigning rap queen spoke on balancing her pop status with her hip-hop background and used her recent Grammy performance to contextualize things.

“That’s just who I am. I was a theater major; I studied theater,” Nicki Minaj told MTV News. “It’s funny because, even with the Grammys, that wasn’t the first time I’ve done theater. Like ‘Moment 4 Life,’ I did a skit I was pretending to be an old lady, Martha, when I did ‘Right Thru Me,’ I did a skit. I always try to do that when I have the forum to do it.”

Before she took the stage to perform “Roman Holiday” at the 2012 Grammy Awards ceremony, Nicki prefaced her stage show with the “Exorcism of Roman” mini-movie. Her recent theatrics, which have drawn a ton of criticism, aren’t a far cry from the skits that appeared in her “Moment 4 Life” and “Right Thru Me” videos.

Nicki may have started out a rapper, but she has grown to be so much more. A number of her recently released songs, which are being used to set up her sophomore Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, have been pop affairs. From the RedOne-produced “Starships” to “Roman Holiday,” there will be songs that will exist outside of the canon of traditional hip-hop. However, Nicki’s recently released “Roman Reloaded” single featuring Lil Wayne proves that she can still spit bars with the best of them. (After all, she did rank #4 on MTV News’ “Hottest MCs in the Game” list.) Still, Nicki insists that she is merely being herself.

“I guess I am pop culture just because what I’m doing seems to be popular. When people want to do what you’re doing, it’s kinda popular,” she reasoned. “I don’t ask girls to wear pink hair; they just do it. It’s not about black or white; I think it’s just a statement. It doesn’t matter which color you are; it’s just a statement of being fearless.”

Being fearless is also about knowing when to cut an interview short. “OK, bye, y’all. Get out of my dressing room,” Nicki joked.

What did you think of Nicki Minaj’s performance at the NBA All-Star Game? Leave your comment below!

Nicki Minaj’s Grammy Performance Is A Preview Of Her Movie

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(Nicki Minaj performs at the 2012 Grammy Awards)

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy

Nicki Minaj’s headline-grabbing mock exorcism performance at the recent Grammy Awards, complete with religious epithets, speaking in tongues, backup dancers dressed as priests and imagery from the 1973 classic horror film “The Exorcist,” appears to be just the tip of the iceberg. At last night’s MAC Viva Glam cosmetics benefit in NYC, the rapper explained that her controversial onscreen antics serve a preview for an upcoming movie.

Nicki Minaj Offends Catholic League With Grammys Performance

“You know how people write plays and movies? That’s what I did. I wrote that and I gave the world a tiny little preview of what was to come. And so I have to perform it on the set in which it would be in the movie, right?” she said, according to CBS. Minaj’s theatrics heightened the debut of her new single “Roman Holiday,” in which the rapper plays her haunted and somewhat demented alter-ego Roman Zolanski. “Roman Holiday” will appear on Nicki’s upcoming album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded slated for April 3rd.

Nicki Minaj Hits Grammys Red Carpet In Red Robe, With Pope Look-alike

Critics and fans have received it with mixed reviews. MTV News spoke with choreographer Laurieann Gibson, who gushed about the spectacle and explained what really happened behind the scenes. “Well, I’m not really moved by what people say; I’m moved by what it is and again just a big ‘thank you’ to the Grammys. I was super-proud about the execution and really excited about how well Nicki performed,” she said. “[Her] being a rap queen, it was really amazing to see rap music at that level and have the ability, at that level, to perform something so theatrical.”

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Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Is ‘Brilliant’

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Nicki Minaj will drop her highly anticipated Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded this April. And as she amps up to do more performances and release more videos connected to the release, there’s a good chance she just might work with her Grammy performance choreographer, Laurieann Gibson, again.

When MTV News spoke to the famed Gibson, she told us that she was “just looking forward to more great stuff with that artist, more to come.” The two are both known for their eye-catching creativity that made for a number of post-Grammy headlines.

“She’s so full of life. She’s so fun. She makes me laugh,” Gibson said. “It’s such a great time with her and other artists [like her]. It’s just really great to be part of just really pure, bright people who just love what they do and the music. She’s an MC, she’s a rap artist, and it’s great we have the chance to compete on such a huge scale.”

That love of all things done on a huge scale, of course, was certainly tested on the Grammy stage Sunday. And Gibson made sure that “Roman Holiday” got plenty of shine despite the theatrical performance.

“Roman Reloaded, I thought, is a brilliant record,” she said. “The way she’s throwing it so bold, impactful, not afraid. When people get into the record, they’ll actually understand that that was the energy [of] ‘I’m done with you, be done. I’m gonna believe in myself.’ The record is amazing. And in choreographing it and in the beats and the camera angles, everything came from the power of the record.

“Those levels usually lend itself to a pop performance,” she said. “And now it’s being done by an MC and being done well. The execution of it is what has people in shock, I think.”

Minaj and Gibson worked together in 2010 on an eye-popping VMA pre-show performance, when Minaj took the stage with will.i.am to perform “Check It Out.”

“I always connect with the passion and the gratefulness and the humility that she has,” she said. “Musically and lyrically, as far as a writer, she’s very, very talented and that excites me. I love the delivery of her records. I saw it then, and now that I have the opportunity to work with her again, I see it now, and it’s only going to get bigger and brighter for her. And I’m looking forward to helping her do that.”

What are you hoping to see on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded? Leave your comment below!

Nicki Minaj’s Grammy Performance A Preview Of Her Movie

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(Nicki Minaj performs at the 2012 Grammy Awards)

By Sowmya Krishnamurthy

Nicki Minaj’s headline-grabbing mock exorcism performance at the recent Grammy Awards, complete with religious epithets, speaking in tongues, backup dancers dressed as priests and imagery from the 1973 classic horror film “The Exorcist,” appears to be just the tip of the iceberg. At last night’s MAC Viva Glam cosmetics benefit in NYC, the rapper explained that her controversial onscreen antics serve a preview for an upcoming movie.

Nicki Minaj Offends Catholic League With Grammys Performance

“You know how people write plays and movies? That’s what I did. I wrote that and I gave the world a tiny little preview of what was to come. And so I have to perform it on the set in which it would be in the movie, right?” she said, according to CBS. Minaj’s theatrics heightened the debut of her new single “Roman Holiday,” in which the rapper plays her haunted and somewhat demented alter-ego Roman Zolanski. “Roman Holiday” will appear on Nicki’s upcoming album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded slated for April 3rd.

Nicki Minaj Hits Grammys Red Carpet In Red Robe, With Pope Look-alike

Critics and fans have received it with mixed reviews. MTV News spoke with choreographer Laurieann Gibson, who gushed about the spectacle and explained what really happened behind the scenes. “Well, I’m not really moved by what people say; I’m moved by what it is and again just a big ‘thank you’ to the Grammys. I was super-proud about the execution and really excited about how well Nicki performed,” she said. “[Her] being a rap queen, it was really amazing to see rap music at that level and have the ability, at that level, to perform something so theatrical.”

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Nicki Minaj’s Grammy Performance Was ‘So Theatrical’

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On Sunday night, Nicki Minaj assaulted the Grammy stage with a controversial, over-the-top performance of her new track, “Roman Holiday.” Full of kookiness, complete with religious imagery and an exorcism of her bad-boy alter ego, Roman, Minaj owned the headlines coming out of the show.

MTV News caught up with choreographer Laurieann Gibson, who dished about what went down behind the scenes to stage the spectacle. “Well, I’m not really moved by what people say; I’m moved by what it is and again just a big ‘thank you’ to the Grammys. I was super-proud about the execution and really excited about how well Nicki performed,” she said. “[Her] being a rap queen, it was really amazing to see rap music at that level and have the ability, at that level, to perform something so theatrical.”

Nicki is no stranger to theatrics, and neither is Gibson, and the ladies turned up their creative dials to a big 11 when it came to the debut performance of the Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded track.

“I’ve worked with Nicki before. When she was first starting I did an MTV performance [on the VMA pre-show in 2010]. She just is so unique,” Gibson said. “I love being able to get back in that, and when she called me, she talked to me about the movie aspect of it, the exorcism part of it, and then we just evolved it. And I just evolved the inspiration not from a literal perspective, but for me, it was ‘OK, that’s the subject matter.’ Then I am able to be very theatrical, very dramatic, very big, very bold without it being literal.

“So the exorcism was her idea and her concept,” she continued. “And for me, it was just a place of being theatrical and dramatic in the coloring and the content and the story of the monastery and the monks.”

At the end of the day, the women did have something to say, and Gibson was surprised that the message didn’t translate on a bigger scale.

“I do have to understand how they want to evolve the character, with her in particular it was Roman, with the idea that he needed to go to a monastery because he needed to go,” she teased about his naughty ways.

“For me, it was about the theatrical aspect of being able to create something like that. It’s about always inspiring people and extract that negative from them and believe in what they can do and empower themselves in a positive way and not be afraid to look at those things that are evil. … The inspiration and the fight in the choreography, in the creative, is bold because when you believe in yourself and you believe in the good, you come from a bold place. You’re not intimidated any longer by the evil.”

Gibson had a message for any haters out there.

“I was super-shocked because one, there was nothing literal. I was very conscious, OK, no crosses … when creating choreography, the instinct thing is to go to a prayer and I was like, ‘No praying hands!’ ” she said, noting that in the end it was all about “the innocence and the purity of just being bold, about the fight and no fear. … There wasn’t anything negative there.”

Nicki Minaj’s Grammy Spectacle Draws Mixed Reaction

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Nicki Minaj’s Grammy performance Sunday night (February 12) was spirited, to say the least. Beginning her set with the “Exorcism of Roman” mini-movie, Minaj unleashed her alter ego onstage in a horror-themed backdrop and debuted her “Roman Holiday” single. It was the most elaborate of the night’s Grammy performances and has everyone talking.

AllHipHop.com founder Chuck Creekmur thinks the performance will be among the most-talked-about tomorrow. “I definitely felt like she was reaching out to the mainstream with this performance, trying to make that full leap into the pop world,” he told MTV News. “She’ll definitely have people talking. Obviously, we’ve seen this before with Madonna and Lady Gaga — especially Gaga.”

Video: Watch Highlights From The 2012 Grammy Awards

Nicki’s fanatic following on Twitter was in full support of Minaj’s display. “@NICKIMINAJ that is a monumental M4L for you and us. I’m in love with your performance,” @SlickerGuy tweeted.

Others weren’t as turned on by the Harajuku Barbie’s set. “Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj, I’m all about expression, but it has gone overboard. Love Adele cause her focus is on music, not controversy,” @thekatiestevens wrote.

“I liked Nicki Minaj’s performance. Too many people be sipping on that hater aid! Hahaha,” @_lookslikeali wrote, responding to all the negative comments.

While he did praise her for pushing the envelope, Creekmur thought Minaj was slowly shifting out of the hip-hop universe for poppier pastures. “One part theater and one part music — it just felt very much like she almost abandoning her hip-hop roots and really making a push for pop,” he said. “Not necessarily in a bad way, but definitely a concerted effort; when you’re making the leap and you know you’re not coming back.”

Stick with MTV News for all the news on Whitney Houston’s tribute, the Grammy red-carpet fashion, Grammy winners and more until the hangover wears off!

Nicki Minaj Calls Grammy Performance Roman’s ‘Coming-Out Party’

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Nicki Minaj nearly stole the show at the 2012 Grammy Awards when she performed her frenetic Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded track “Roman Holiday.” Rife with religious symbolism, the performance welcomed her alter ego Roman Zolanski to the Grammy stage for the first time.
On Monday (February 13), Minaj called into Ryan Seacrest’s radio show to give her take on the red-hot performance.

“Well, [that religious character I walked the carpet with] is a major part of the story and the movie that I’m writing about one of my alter egos; his name is Roman,” she said. “Basically, the religious figure is there because he was called on by Roman’s mom [Martha] to rehabilitate him. I wasn’t going to do the red carpet, so you know I was backstage prepared … my people wanted me to do it. I had this amazing robe made for me by Versace sent from Milan and I said, ‘I have to wear this.’ They were so generous, and I was going to originally wear it in the performance, but then when I got it, it was a little heavy for the performance.

“I had this vision for Roman. I had this vision for him to be sort of exorcised. … People around tell him he’s not good enough because he’s not normal. So his mother is scared and the people around him are afraid. He wanted to show that not only is he amazing, but he’s never going to be exorcised, even when they throw holy water on him, he still rises above.”
In fact, when MTV News caught up with Minaj in late 2011, she shared the origins of this particular plotline. “Well, he was there [in Moscow] secretly because [alter ego] Martha wanted him to go there,” she said. “So they put him in this thing with monks and nuns; they were trying to rehabilitate him.”

Minaj told Seacrest that she feels the performance, choreographed by Laurieann Gibson and directed by Hype Williams, was a success. “It’s funny because it was the most comfortable I’ve been in my entire life,” she said. “The Grammys chose ‘Roman Holiday.’ They heard ‘Roman Holiday’ and I could not play them another record after that. I have to stay true to what I’m doing … My fanbase, they understand every single thing. Roman was created two years ago. I’ve been writing the story for a long time and yesterday was his coming-out party. It just was very literal and streamlined if you know who Roman is and if you don’t know the Roman character, you have to digest it.”

While she has no plans to recreate that Grammy performance, she has made it clear several times to MTV News that this April will kick off the era of Roman. In a previous interview with Minaj, she explained that Roman is definitely her favorite alter ego.

“[He's] bad. That’s why I like Roman,” she said. “I think I started liking Roman more because everybody else starting like Roman, so he became my favorite. People are expecting him to do some real craziness on the next album.”

The over-the-top spectacle was, in part, inspired by her Super Bowl performance with Madonna. “Meeting Madonna changed my life. This performance was it, and this is the first performance I’m proud of in my whole life. Madonna was the first person in history who was able to make me change my wig,” she said of the Queen of Pop’s undeniable influence over her. “When you see her vision, it’s like, ‘Oh, OK. If someone this talented and this rich is still giving it this much [then I should too].’ ”

And, she explained that she cares so much for Madge as an artist that she felt “disappointment” over M.I.A.’s headline-grabbing middle finger salute. “Even though I’m a coo-coo lady too, I would never be able to do it off the strength of Madonna,” she said. “We’re kind of all firecrackers.”

What did you think of Nicki’s alter ego Roman? Leave your comment below!

Nicki Minaj Performs ‘Roman Holiday’ At Grammys, Fans React

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(Nicki Minaj performs at the 2012 Grammy Awards)

By Tomika L. Anderson

Despite losing out on the award for Best New Artist at the Grammys on Sunday night, Nicki Minaj still made quite a statement. First the Young Money rapper walked the red carpet dressed like Little Red Riding Hood, accompanied by a Pope look-alike, then she went full force with a theatrical and slightly creepy performance based around her new Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded single “Roman Holiday.”

In the show’s final act the animated rap star — who lost out to Bon Iver for “Best New Artist” — channeled her infamous alter ego Roman Zolanski onstage, leading the audience through a rap exorcism of sorts. At one point, she even levitated, while speaking in tongues and jumping around against a fiery backdrop.

Minaj caused a Twitter frenzy earlier in the night when she hit the red carpet wearing a blood-red, hooded robe accompanied by a man dressed like the Pope, and she continued her spirited church-act onstage. Minaj marched out sporting a brown ball gown and long, bleached-blond locks, and performed a skit before launching into her new single, “Roman Holiday,” from her upcoming sophomore album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

It was a show that Lady Gaga (who was also missed by the Grammy fairy this go-round) would have been proud of. In a pre-taped skit, Minaj was surrounded by stained glass and other religious imagery, eerily putting on lipstick, singing “I Feel Pretty.” She then climbed a wall to have an exchange with the strange Pope-like figure, a man who’s real identity remains unknown.

After being strapped to a leather lab table onstage, she rapped backed by a goth-looking church choir that sang a haunting version of “Come All Ye Faithful.” At the crescendo, she was lifted by an invisible rope into the Grammy sky. Shooting flames helped to complete the fiery, head-scratching number.

After the performance, fans shared their mixed reactions on Twitter.

CaptainPajamas Nicki Minaj’s performance just canceled black history month.#Grammys

SherriEShepherd Watching Nicki Minaj … I didn’t know whether to dance or pull out my Bible and lay hands on the tv… 2 old for the #Grammys…

LouBrutus I’ll bet even Stevie Wonder was saying, “Nicki Minaj looks like a f*cking lunatic onstage tonight.” #Grammys

daniibethebiiz You can hate all you want, but realize Nicki Minaj is officially the 1st female rapper to perform solo at the Grammys.

TionnaSmalls Nicki Minaj is officially the 1st female rapper to perform solo at theGrammys. OKKKKKKK

EstherFreedman i guess no one informed nicki minaj that the #Grammys are all about good music. was that supposed to be shocking? white-hot mess.

KRASHINDA85 I didn’t like how Nicki Minaj looked at The Grammys but I did like her performance

arthur_read8 It was a wonderful kind of day until Nicki Minaj went onstage at theGrammys…

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