Nicki Minaj Vows to Never Perform “Starships” Again, Releases New Album

Nicki Minaj performed at Miami’s E11EVEN on New Year’s Eve with her usual set of hits. However, when the initial sounds of her 2012 Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit started playing, Minaj told her fans that she will never return to that song again.

A Tik Tok video from the concert showed Minaj stopping the track from her album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded after a few lines into the opening verse, allowing the audience to take over. This song is one of Nicki’s highest charting singles in the U.S.

After gesturing to her DJ to stop the track, Nicki informed the audience that the pop hit is now permanently retired.

“I dislike ‘Starships,’ I mean ew, ‘Starships?’” she stated during a Q&A at Pollstar Live in 2020, also expressing regret about recording “Anaconda,” another one of her major hits. “I’m like, ‘Why did I do that?,’” she said about “Starships.” “I really think that every time I hear it.” “Starships” peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100 and spent 31 weeks on the chart.

Minaj recently released her highly anticipated fifth studio album, Pink Friday 2, and is preparing to kick off her Pink Friday 2 world tour in March.