Nicki Minaj called into Ryan Seacrest to talk at length about how Madonna changed her life (and her wig) and her disappointment in M.I.A.’s finger flipping at the Super Bowl…
On Madonna’s influence…
“Meeting Madonna changed my life.
Working with Madonna changed my life.
Rehearsing with Madonna for two weeks changed my life.
When you look at these amazing women, you have to realize that a lot of work goes into this. I, for the first time, refused to go to any parties. This performance was it and this is the first performance that I’m proud of in my entire career.
I saw how much Madonna sacrificed and how much she rehearses and rehearses and rehearses and rehearses, and everyone there was like, ‘We got it.’ But she was like, ‘No, I want you to know this choreography in your sleep.’ We did know it in our sleep by the time we got on the Super Bowl stage. But when I saw that, it inspired me so much, the same way Wayne inspired me to start really becoming a beast as a rapper.
The Madonna situation inspired me to give it my all and put that work in.”
On how Madonna got her to change her wig…
“Madonna was the first person in history who was able to make me change my wig.
I had some choices in terms of color and she was like, ‘Nicki…’ She has a way with words. She’s a monster, but when she’s speaking to an artist, she’s really sweet and she knows how to word things so you don’t feel uncomfortable.
She was like, ‘I don’t know about it.’
So I really went through four color changes on my wig for the Super Bowl. We got the platinum blonde and she smiled. Once she smiled, I was like, ‘Thank you Jesus.’ I couldn’t take it anymore.
She was one of the only people who could get me to wear red lipstick and when I did it, I ended up loving it, so I told her, ‘I’m so glad I trusted you. You’re amazing, you’re the queen, and everybody has to bow down.'”
On M.I.A.’s Super Bowl stunt…
“My first feeling was disappointment, only because of my respect for Madonna.
I’m a cuckoo lady too, but I would never be able to do it off the strength of Madonna.
There are fines that go into these things, and I just thought, ‘Oh my God. I hope they don’t penalize Madonna.’
Madonna knows the artist that M.I.A. is and it was her decision to take the risk with all of us. We were kinda all firecrackers and she took that risk.
She’s done some crazy things becoming the icon that she is, so I think that’s why she was able to forgive M.I.A.
I love M.I.A. and I don’t want to say anything that is the wrong thing, but me personally, I couldn’t see myself doing it, just for the respect for Madonna.
I wouldn’t want any backlash to come back on Madonna.”
Listen to the interview…
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