Nicki Minaj
2018–2019: ''Queen''
### 2018–2019: *Queen*

After a social media hiatus, Minaj released two singles from her fourth studio album *[Queen](/wiki/Queen_%28Nicki_Minaj_album%29 "Queen (Nicki Minaj album)").* She released "[Chun\-Li](/wiki/Chun-Li_%28song%29 "Chun-Li (song)")" and "[Barbie Tingz](/wiki/Barbie_Tingz "Barbie Tingz")" simultaneously on April 12, 2018, with both reaching number ten and number twenty\-five in the US respectively. She performed "Chun\-Li" on *[Saturday Night Live](/wiki/Saturday_Night_Live "Saturday Night Live")* and the [2018 BET Awards](/wiki/BET_Awards_2018 "BET Awards 2018"). While "Chun Li" appears on the tracklist of the album, "Barbie Tingz" is only included on the [Target](/wiki/Target_Corporation "Target Corporation") version of the album. On the red carpet of the 2018 [Met Gala](/wiki/Met_Gala "Met Gala"), she announced the title of the album and the original release date. "[Rich Sex](/wiki/Rich_Sex "Rich Sex")" featuring [Lil Wayne](/wiki/Lil_Wayne "Lil Wayne") was released on June 11, 2018, as the first promotional single from *Queen*. The second single, "[Bed](/wiki/Bed_%28Nicki_Minaj_song%29 "Bed (Nicki Minaj song)")", featuring [Ariana Grande](/wiki/Ariana_Grande "Ariana Grande") was released on June 14, 2018, alongside the album pre\-order, reaching number 42 on the Hot 100\. Additionally, Minaj appeared as a featured artist on the song "[Fefe](/wiki/Fefe_%28song%29 "Fefe (song)")" along with [Murda Beatz](/wiki/Murda_Beatz "Murda Beatz") and [Tekashi 6ix9ine](/wiki/6ix9ine "6ix9ine"). It debuted at number four in the US, marking Minaj's highest debut on the chart at the time, besting the sixth place start of "Bang Bang" in 2014\. It later peaked at number three and was added to *Queen* in the middle of its first tracking week. The day before the album's release, Minaj launched her own [Beats 1](/wiki/Apple_Music_1 "Apple Music 1") (now branded as Apple Music 1\) radio show, *Queen Radio*. It became the most\-listened radio show on [Apple Music](/wiki/Apple_Music "Apple Music") in 2019, and ran for 17 episodes till February 2020\. Guests on the show included Ariana Grande, [50 Cent](/wiki/50_Cent "50 Cent"), and [Chance the Rapper](/wiki/Chance_the_Rapper "Chance the Rapper"), among others.[thumb\|right\|Minaj performing at the [2018 MTV Video Music Awards](/wiki/2018_MTV_Video_Music_Awards "2018 MTV Video Music Awards")\|upright](/wiki/File:Nicki_Minaj_VMAs_2018_%282%29_%28cropped%29.jpg "Nicki Minaj VMAs 2018 (2) (cropped).jpg")*Queen* received multiple delays before finally being released on August 10, 2018\. It debuted at number two on the U.S. *Billboard* 200 with 185,000 [album\-equivalent units](/wiki/Album-equivalent_unit "Album-equivalent unit"), of which 78,000 came from pure album sales. It also debuted at number five in the UK and at number four in Australia, marking Minaj's highest debut in the latter country. Minaj later expressed frustration and criticized several people including [Travis Scott](/wiki/Travis_Scott "Travis Scott"), whose album *[Astroworld](/wiki/Astroworld_%28album%29 "Astroworld (album)")* claimed the top spot for a second week in a row, blocking *Queen* from the top spot. Minaj alleged that Travis Scott sold shirts, merchandise, and ticket passes for an unnannounced tour to boost his album sales. This controversy and *Queen* roll\-out was documented by several news outlets and commentators. *Queen* received generally positive reviews, with some critics deriding the album's length and direction. The album was certified Platinum by the [RIAA](/wiki/RIAA "RIAA") in January 2019, for moving over 1 million equivalent units.

Minaj performed at the [2018 MTV Video Music Awards](/wiki/2018_MTV_Video_Music_Awards "2018 MTV Video Music Awards") where she also won her fourth MTV Video Music Award for the "Chun\-Li" music video. The same month, she featured on the remix of "[Idol](/wiki/Idol_%28BTS_song%29 "Idol (BTS song)")" by South Korean boy band [BTS](/wiki/BTS "BTS"). It debuted and peaked at number eleven in the U.S. which was the group's second highest\-charting song at the time. She also featured on the song "[Woman Like Me](/wiki/Woman_Like_Me "Woman Like Me")" by British girl group [Little Mix](/wiki/Little_Mix "Little Mix"), which was released on October 12, 2018\. A music video was shortly released after, with Minaj and Little Mix later performing the song together at the [2018 MTV Europe Music Awards](/wiki/2018_MTV_Europe_Music_Awards "2018 MTV Europe Music Awards"). She was also featured on ["Dip"](/wiki/Dip_%28song%29 "Dip (song)") by American rapper [Tyga](/wiki/Tyga "Tyga") which reached number sixty\-three in the U.S. making her the first female artist to have 100 entries on the *Billboard* Hot 100 chart. She later attended the year\-end [*Billboard* Women in Music](/wiki/Billboard_Women_in_Music "Billboard Women in Music") event, receiving the Game Changer Award for the accomplishment.

In September, Minaj co\-headlined the annual [Made in America Festival](/wiki/Made_in_America_Festival "Made in America Festival") and suffered another wardrobe malfunction when the front of her outfit fell open. In November, she was invited to the DWP music festival in China but did not perform due to problems with the company hosting the event. The next year in April 2019, Minaj made a surprise guest appearance at the 2019 [Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival](/wiki/Coachella_Valley_Music_and_Arts_Festival "Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival") during [Ariana Grande](/wiki/Ariana_Grande "Ariana Grande")'s set where they performed their collaborations "[Side to Side](/wiki/Side_to_Side "Side to Side")" and "[Bang Bang](/wiki/Bang_Bang_%28Jessie_J%2C_Ariana_Grande_and_Nicki_Minaj_song%29 "Bang Bang (Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj song)")". However, she experienced technical difficulties with her earpiece. Later that month, Minaj parted ways with her longtime management team after a mutual agreement, with American entertainment executive [Irving Azoff](/wiki/Irving_Azoff "Irving Azoff") serving as her new manager.

In June 2019, Minaj released a standalone single titled "[Megatron](/wiki/Megatron_%28song%29 "Megatron (song)")" along with an accompanying music video. In the U.S., the song debuted at number twenty. A month later, she provided information on her upcoming fifth studio album, appearing on *[The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon](/wiki/The_Tonight_Show_Starring_Jimmy_Fallon "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon")*, stating that "there's definitely a new album, of course." She featured on the song "[Hot Girl Summer](/wiki/Hot_Girl_Summer "Hot Girl Summer")" alongside fellow female rapper [Megan Thee Stallion](/wiki/Megan_Thee_Stallion "Megan Thee Stallion") in August 2019, which reached number eleven in the U.S. Minaj had a voice role as Pinky in *[The Angry Birds Movie 2](/wiki/The_Angry_Birds_Movie_2 "The Angry Birds Movie 2")*, which was released in August 2019\. In November, Minaj appeared on the *[Charlie's Angels: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack](/wiki/Charlie%27s_Angels:Original_Motion_Picture_Soundtrack "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack")* on the song "Bad To You", along with [Ariana Grande](/wiki/Ariana_Grande "Ariana Grande") and [Normani](/wiki/Normani "Normani"), marking her sixth collaboration with Grande. Minaj also collaborated with Colombian singer [Karol G](/wiki/Karol_G "Karol G") on the song "[Tusa](/wiki/Tusa_%28song%29 "Tusa (song)")", which was released to streaming platforms on November 7\. The song reached forty\-two in the U.S. and reached the top of many other charts including the "[Hot Latin Songs](/wiki/Hot_Latin_Songs "Hot Latin Songs")" chart, which made it the first song with two lead female artists to debut in such position. "Tusa" later became the longest\-running number one single in Argentina, spending five months on the top of the chart.


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