Nicki Minaj Nicki Minaj announces she’s pregnant with 1st child

NEW YORK (AP) — Nicki Minaj has a new release coming soon: her first child.

The rapper took to Instagram on Monday to announce she is pregnant, posting photos of herself with a baby bump. One caption simply read: “#Preggers.”

She also wrote on another post, “Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement & gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes.”

Minaj married Kenneth Petty last year. They first dated as teenagers and reunited in 2018.

Musically, Minaj has also had a winning year, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart twice. Her remix of Doja Cat’s “Say So” helped Minaj achieve her first-ever No. 1 on the Hot 100, despite releasing multiple hits throughout her career. She also reached the top spot with “Trollz,” her collaboration with 6ix9ine.

AP

Judge dismisses wig lawsuit against rapper Nicki Minaj

ATLANTA | A judge has dismissed a $30 million federal lawsuit by a celebrity hair stylist who accused rapper and former “American Idol” judge Nicki Minaj of stealing his designs for the colorful wigs that helped boost her career.

Although the wigs Minaj wore are “unique and distinctive in the ordinary sense of the word,” they were not recognizable by the public as having been designed by Terrence Davidson, the stylist who brought the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy ruled Thursday.

Davidson, whose celebrity clients include singers Patti LaBelle and Jennifer Hudson, began working for Minaj in 2010 and designed her wigs for high-profile events worldwide, said the suit filed in Atlanta last February.

The rapper also wore Davidson-designed wigs in a music video for the song “Super Bass,” according to the lawsuit. One of Minaj’s best-known wigs is called the “Pink Upper Bun.” When Davidson stopped working for Minaj more than a year ago, the pop star began copying his wig designs and selling them online, he alleged.

Davidson’s representatives claim it is the first-ever intellectual property lawsuit over wigs. They did have an immediate comment Thursday on the suit’s dismissal.

source: interaksyon.com

Mariah Carey increased security after ‘Idol’ feud with Nicki Minaj

NEW YORK – Pop diva Mariah Carey said she hired increased security following what she described as threats reportedly made against her by fellow ‘American Idol’ judge Nicki Minaj, according to an interview on ABC News.

Carey, 42, one of three new judges to join the “American Idol” panel for the hit talent show’s new season on January 16, told Barbara Walters in an interview airing on Monday, “it felt like an unsafe work environment.”

“Anytime anybody’s reeling threats at somebody, you know, it’s not appropriate,” Carey said.

“I’m a professional. I’m not used to that type of environment,” she said, adding that she hired extra security.

The diva was alluding to widely reported tension between her and Minaj, who were seen arguing with one another in a video from the show’s audition phase.

Walters has reported that, according to Carey, others on the “Idol” set heard Minaj go further and say, off-camera, “If I had a gun, I would shoot that bitch.”

Minaj, a Trinidadian-born singer and songwriter, previously denied making any remarks about firearms, but Carey told Walters that beefing up her security “was the appropriate thing to do.”

“Sitting there on the road with two babies, I’m not going to take any chances,” she said, referring to her 20-month old twins with husband Nick Cannon.

But in a sign of media savvy, she noted that “for all the drama, I hope it helps the show.”

Walters also asked Carey about reports she is being paid $18 million for each “Idol” season.

“I think we’re in the ballpark, (but) I can’t even talk about those things,” the singer replied.

source: interaksyon.com

Nicki Minaj dazzles Manila fans in sellout concert party

To describe Nicki Minaj as pretty in pink is quite the understatement.

Whether it’s in the VIP room of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon her arrival Tuesday, at the Manila Diamond Hotel during her press conference or at the Mall of Asia Arena where the lone Asian leg of her “Pink Friday Tour” was staged Wednesday night, the American pop star born in Trinidad-Tobago was a consistent charmer throughout her short and sweet Philippine sojourn.

“I think Manila had the loudest encore screams I’ve ever heard! ‘WE WANT MORE, WE WANT MORE!!!!’ So I ran back out in my new pink robe! Ha!,” Nicki tweeted nine hours after her well-received performance of her hits, including “Fly,” “Starships” and “Super Bass”, which got the crowd chanting in unison along to its infectious chorus, “Boom, badoom, boom, boom, badoom, boom, bass!”

And as the rapper slash singer slash songwriter slash voice actress promised upon her arrival at the airport, there were indeed “lots of energy, lots of craziness and lots of wigs” at the sold out show which continued to trend in Twitter under the hash tag #PinkFridayManila.

“I’m still singing the songs from last night! Yiiii sooo love you @NICKIMINAJ and your neon outfits last night! :) ,” tweeted Twitter user Carino Silerio the morning after the concert party.

Jemille Benitez posted a similar sentiment with “On my way to school. Feeling energetic today because of #PinkFridayManila last night :) earphones on, Minaj’s playlist On. :) ”

And Angelo Gallardo said, “So no encore performance in last night’s #PinkFridayManila but @NICKIMINAJ went out in her robe to thank the fans! Thats sweet of her.”

In the equally standing-room-only press conference that preceded her show by several hours, Nicki not only gamely answered the questions of journalists and bloggers alike, the Grammy-nominated artist was also a model of punctuality as she actually arrived at the venue at the exact 11am call time.

Expressing her displeasure over lazy people, Nicki also admitted to admiring rapper Jay-Z as well as pop, soul and R & B divas Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey and the late Whitney Houston.

Asked to reveal her favorite song outside of her own big hits and compositions, she replied by saying it’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Gotye, which was also nicely covered by the Canadian indie group, Walk Off The Earth.

Despite her extremely busy schedule and phenomenal success that saw her 2010 debut album “Pink Friday” peak at number one in the Top 200 album chart of Billboard magazine, Nicki also said she puts a lot of premium on her alone time.

“I always maintain some by myself and meditate and focus,” she confessed. “I’m just myself when I’m in my computer and take my mind off the world.”

When asked about her frequent collaborations with several artists and producers, including Carey, Rihanna, the Black Eyed Peas, Chris Brown, Britney Spears, Kesha, Hit-Boy, Dr. Luke and 2 Chairz, Nicki said her criteria for choosing who to work with depends on a case-to-case basis.

“I usually just ask people that I’m a fan of and listen to the beat and see if it makes sense if I can do something with him, her or them,” she pointed out.

As for her song about heartbreak like “Fly” that also featured Rihanna, Nicki admits that there’s “lots of crying” involved.

“I always think to myself, it was nice seeing you but I haven’t gone through a lot of breakups to write more songs about the subject,” she replied. “I’ve always been involved in long-term relationships. But not right now.”

When press conference host Tim Yap asked Nicki about her current status on her BBM instant messaging application on her BlackBerry smartphone, Nicki said that she just sets it to the default “Available” and writes “Barbie” as a nod to her fixation with Barbie dolls.

Finally, when asked to give fashion tips to her fans, the flamboyantly-dressed pop star has this to say. “I would say that there is always someone out there who would always find you attractive so you have to find yourself attractive as well and have to confidence to carry yourself.”

Nicki Minaj’s new album “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” is available in both standard and deluxe edition CDs exclusively under MCA Music at Astroplus and Odyssey Music & Video or online via www.MyMusicStore.com.ph

source: interaksyon.com