Why Is Nicki Minaj Refusing to Perform "Starships" Anymore?

The Gist:

• Nicki Minaj has spoken out about hating her early song "Starships."
• Fans aren't really on board with the rapper's take on her hit song.
• Nicki isn't the only singer who hates some of their work.

It's a party anthem that we all get excited to hear at a club or while driving around. But singer Nicki Minaj says her days of performing her 2012 hit "Starships" are behind her.

Why does Nicki now hate the popular tune? Her dislike of the hit song is general public knowledge, but fans want more details. Here's what we know about the song.

According to People, while performing a New Year's Eve concert at a nightclub in Miami called E11EVEN, Nicki made her true feelings for the song "Starships" crystal clear.

Although she began to do a rendition of the song, apparently she changed her mind.

According to a fan recording of the viral moment, Nicki told the audience, “Hold on. Psych, psych, psych, psych. I don’t perform that song no more, y’all. I don’t like it, what y’all want me to do? Stupid song.”

This wasn't the first time that Nicki blasted "Starships," and as it so happens, this isn't the only song that the star regrets recording.

In 2020, Nicki got real about her song catalog, revealing, “I wish I never recorded ‘Anaconda.' I like the video but ugh. My first ever solo song on Billboard was ‘Your Love.’ To this day I like the video but I hate the song. I could go on and on."

The hip hopper went on to confess, "I hate ‘Starships,’ I mean ew, ‘Starships’? I’m like, ‘Why did I do that?’ I really think that every time I hear it.”

Commenters on the TikTok video that shows Nicki dissing her song on New Year's Eve were a bit nonplussed by her disdain for the popular ditty. At least one person pointed out that "Starships" still pays Nicki's bills and is beloved by her fans.

"It's what got us all loving you," another fan said about "Starships," adding, "Don't forget about us."

Another fan blasted Nicki for not doing what she was paid to do and performing the songs her fans wanted to hear. "The ego on Nicki is unreal," the TikTok user lamented.

Nicki keeps good company when it comes to celebrities who are so over their early work.

For example, Madonna said in 2008, "I'm not sure I can sing 'Holiday' or 'Like a Virgin' ever again. I just can't, unless somebody paid me, like, $30 million or something."

And Mandy Moore is no fan of her early songs, even going so far as to claim, "Ugh, those were awful … just awful. If I had the money, I would give a refund to everyone who bought my first two albums."

Finally, to bring the conversation full circle, Justin Bieber regrets collaborating on the song "Beauty and a Beat" with Nicki.

"I never really liked 'Beauty and a Beat.' It was music that was popular at that time but I was never really a huge fan of that song," he has said.