Nicki Minaj Attends ‘Barbie’ Pink Carpet Premiere: “It’s A Very Full Circle Moment”
The biggest Barbie of them all had her “full circle moment” at the pink carpet premiere for the forthcoming film Barbie.
Nicki Minaj attended the pinked-out event, where she spoke on her connection to the alias and the making of her Ice Spice-assisted single “Barbie World” for the soundtrack. During the Los Angeles premiere held at the Shrine Auditorium, Minaj wore a snug, bluish-gray two-piece ensemble and blonde tresses flowing down to her knees — styled by Arrogant Tae.
“I am so excited to be here and be a part of this entire moment,” Minaj told ET. “I’m glad that they thought of me because I’m excited just like everybody else is excited to see this movie.”
“I’ve been saying Barbie my whole career. So it’s a very full circle moment,” she added.
The Queen MC has dubbed herself the “Barbie” since the onset of her career, dating back to 2007 when she released her first mixtape, Playtime Is Over. On the project’s cover, Nicki appears as a doll trapped inside a box. Since then, the alias has become a part of her image and brand, as she also calls her fans “Barbz.”
Minaj has included the Mattel toy’s name in many of her musical efforts including: “Barbie Tingz” (2018), “Big Barbie” (unreleased 2021), “Barbie Drip” (2019) “Barbie Dreams” (2018) “It’s Barbie Bi**h” (2009 mixtape), “Barbie Goin’ Bad” (2019) and her newest track “Barbie World” with Ice Spice.
Speaking to the latter, the New York rapstress addressed how the song came about.
“There were a couple of songs that I didn’t love and then there was another song, well, this ‘Barbie’ sample, I loved it,” she spoke of the Riot-produced track. “I just wanted it to have a dope drum and so the one they sent me, I loved and I jumped on it right away.”
“Barbie World” samples Aqua’s 1997 hit, “Barbie Girl.” The Danish electropop group is also credited on the 2023 track as co-writers. Director of “IceNika’s” official video, Hannah Lux Davis, also spoke on working with Minaj and Ice Spice for the soundtracked single in an exclusive statement to ET.
“It was a privilege to work with Nicki and Ice in close collaboration with the movie studio and Atlantic Records to create the visual for ‘Barbie World,’ Davis stated. The goal of the video was to create fantastical worlds that both artists could thrive in that could feel like an extension of Greta Gerwig’s masterfully-crafted creative vision.”
Minaj’s “Barbie World” appears on Barbie the Album, which is set to release the same day as the film on Friday (July 21).
See Nicki Minaj speak about the film and “Barbie World” above, as well as hitting the pink carpet amongst Issa Rae, Kinglsey Ben-Adir, H.E.R. and more below.
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