It’s “new year, new Nicki Minaj,” so she’s retiring one of her earliest hit songs and focusing on the future.
On New Year’s Eve, Minaj, 41, performed at Miami’s E11EVEN. During the event, she began to play “Starships,” the lead single from her massive 2012 album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. Along with “Super Bass,” it’s one of the songs that put Minaj on the map early on in her career, and the Barbz in attendance knew it well. As they began to sing along, Minaj paused and watched in slight amazement before waving her hand to the DJ.
“Hold on,” she said, cutting off the song. “Psych. Psych. Psych. Psych.” Minaj turned around and looked apologetic as a chorus of boos sounded. “I don’t perform that song no more, y’all.” As the Barbz continued to boo her, Minaj said, “I don’t like it! What do you want me to do?” She then dubbed it a “stupid song” before flashing a smile and continuing with the show.
Minaj cowrote “Starships” with Nadir “RedOne” Khayat, Carl Falk, Rami Yacoub, Wayne Hector and Bilal “The Chef” Hajji. Released in February 2012, the song debuted at No. 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 before reaching the No. 5 spot. Coming nearly a year after the success of Minaj’s “Super Bass,” “Starships” blended dance-pop and hip-hop to further Minaj’s crossover appeal. “Starships” reached the Top 5 in numerous countries, and as of 2024, it’s gone platinum nine times in the USA.
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Despite this commercial success, Minaj has publicly distanced herself from the song. During the 2020 Pollstar Live Conference in Los Angeles, Minaj said that she regretted making “so much of my discography. I wish I had never recorded [2014’s] ‘Anaconda.’ I like the video but ugh.”
“My first ever solo song on Billboard was ‘Your Love.’ To this day, I like the video, but I hate the song,” she continued. “I could go on and on. I hate ‘Starships.’ I mean, ew. Like, ‘Starships are meant to fly?’ I’m like, ‘Why did I do that?’ I really think that every time I hear it.”
Nicki Minaj Jason Koerner/Getty Images for E11EVEN
Minaj released Pink Friday 2, her fifth studio album, in December 2023. During the album’s rollout, Minaj was open about how she’s changed and grown since breaking out on the music scene with “Super Bass” and “Starships.” In November 2023, she openly regretted getting plastic surgery, saying that she was “just fine the way I was.” That same month, she told the notoriously aggressive Barbz to “never threaten anyone on my behalf.”
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During a stop on The Late Show in December 2023, Minaj told host Stephen Colbert that giving birth to her son in 2020 changed her in more ways than one. “My life was so selfish before he came here,” she said, adding that she could “do anything I wanted when I wanted” before motherhood. “Since this little human came on to planet Earth, I can’t do anything without thinking about him first.”
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