Nicki Minaj Was “So Nervous” to Become an American Idol Judge

Some love the outrageous persona of Nicki Minaj, while others think her brutal honesty is appalling. But one thing’s always agreed upon: this American Idol judge gets people talking.
Ms. Minaj sat down with Pop On The Pop and other news outlets this week to chat about the 12th season of the FOX series, favorite contestants, being harsh and if she’ll return next year. She just might considering that Nicki thinks she’s good at judging. “I’ve been spectacular. Yes, I’m going to toot my own horn,” she said.
Minaj has a horrible poker face and has already picked out her top three favorite contenders. “I would say Kree and Angie, I think are our front runners. I mean Kree, Angie, and Candice.
“Outside of their voices, they’ve just sort of won people over already, which I think is evident in what I see on Twitter, with my fans. You know those three singers have really, really made an impact not only with just a great voice that sounds like it should already be making albums, but for some reason their personality seems to win a lot of fans.”
How do you feel about winning new fans over just by being on a show like American Idol?
Nicki: I think God is good. I feel like my entire career and life I’ve been judged by people who really did not know me, but I don’t think that they—I definitely think that they probably were right to assume what they had assumed about me because there was such little to go on, you know, out there. If you only see videos and me being crazy and hearing little things here and there then obviously you’re not going to have any idea who I really am. I’m just happy that IDOL producers gave me a shot on the show for me to be able to show who I really was because I feel like I’m every single women. I really, really don’t think outside of maybe some pink wigs that there’s anything that separates me from every other woman in America, so I’m just happy that I was given the opportunity.
If you were asked to return to American Idol next season, would you do so? Have you had that much fun?
Nicki: Would I come back next season? I think people would rather be surprised. I like to save the mystery and the drama. I never give that away, but you know what, I always say this, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, that just the people behind the scenes at Idol have been just like a dream to work with and I really, really honestly mean that.
You’re kind of a polarizing person on that judging panel. How do you feel about that as an image, and are you just being you, and people are just reacting to you?
Nicki: I am absolutely just being me. I didn’t know what to expect going in to the show. I was so nervous. I had a lot of anxiety. I felt like, “Okay. I know everybody’s just going to hate me. Oh well.” There were moments in the audition process that I would say to the producers, “I can’t do this anymore because if everyone is going to give good critiques and I’m going to be the only one being honest, than America is going to hate me. I’m going to be seen as mean.” And the producers said, “Nicki, trust me, America is going to appreciate the honesty,” and that’s all I had to go on.