Filipinos look forward to a very pink Friday the 13th today with the recent visit of international rap star Nicki Minaj for a one-night only concert at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila last Wednesday night.
The concert, part of the rapper-songwriter’s first solo tour called Pink Friday, was made exclusive to over 12,000 Globe BlackBerry subscribers, the two companies claimed in a statement.
Besides for her hits “Super Bass,” “Starships” and “Turn Me On” that made her the first female solo artist to have seven singles in Billboard Hot 100, the Trinidadian-born American with an Indian blood is also known for her alter-egos, which, she said in an interview with the weekly magazine New York, were her means as a child to escape from a troubled home. She reportedly told her over 13 million Twitter fans that she coped with her childhood pains by attending church as a Christian.
During a press conference prior to her Manila concert, Minaj assumed one of her favorite alter-egos, Harajuku Barbie, so she was then addressed by Filipino TV host Tim Yap as “Barbs” or “Barbie.” She was complimented for her glittery pink baseball cap that accentuated her pink hair and simple get-up of violet tank top and purple-dyed acid-washed jeans. Her skin-tight pants emphasized her controversial booty.
In two separate articles for American magazines Vibe and Interview, Nicki explained that her curvaceous figure was an offshoot of hearing a lot of other female rappers talk about sex when she was still starting in the 1990s.
In an interview with Filipino reporters, she again reiterated that a sex kitten image is not the only key to success. “There is always somebody who will find you attractive so love your own body and have confidence,” she advised those who feel like they do not have a body as perfect as hers. “Girls should be focusing on school and going to college and making their minds right and not on their beauty and being attractive. You will have the time for that later.”
Minaj’s “Super Bass,” a quadruple-platinum certified by the Recording Industry Association of America, has sold more than four million digital copies as of May this year, making it one of the best-selling singles in the United States. Her second single, “Your Love,” reached number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, making her the first female artist to top the chart unaccompanied since 2002. Her second studio album after Pink Friday, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, has a carrier single, “Starships,” which now ties with The Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling” in Billboard Hot 100s mark for “most uninterrupted weeks in the top 10 for a song.” “Starships” is now on its 20th consecutive week in the top 10 after debuting at number nine on March 3, Billboard said in its Web site.
These solo accomplishments followed after her many collaborations with artists like Madonna, Mariah Carey, Ludacris, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Kanye West, Rihanna, David Guetta and her “discoverer,” Lil Wayne, which she said she respects “as a boss” and considers as “the best rapper ever.”
“I just ask people I’m a fan of and reach out to them,” she replied when asked how these collaborations happened.
Outside of music, she said she enjoys her “me time” by locking herself in her room to do what she wants like Internet surfing and listening to her current “favorite song,” Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know.”
Although the song is about breakups, she clarified that she has experienced not so many breakups because she was always on a long-term relationship. “I deal with a breakup with a lot of crying and text messages... I’m single now. I believe a lot of breakups are always for the better,” she enthused.
According to her, she is still getting used to fame and success.
“I always see to it that I still have my alone time. I make sure to still have the time to meditate, to do the things I want, have my own moment to focus on, and do shows and interact with fans,” she gushed.