Nicki Minaj - Starships

The thing about Nicki Minaj is that, like I've said before, her success is based on her novelty. Her unique rapping style is what gets people hooked on her music; but that's also why it's easy for her to get stale, which is what clearly happened with "Fly." Nicki either has to more than just rapping, or something completely different. With "Starships" it seems like she's picked up on this and is just going along with the electronic-dance craze right now.

The song has a promising start; it's not quite rapping, but it's still the unique Nicki Minaj sound. It's catchy and dancy, while not getting redundant. The chorus is the same stuff that you'll hear on any other dance track, though. It's auto-tuned vocals singing a command to dance. So, that takes away a bit from the uniqueness, but doesn't make it any less danceable. Things get weird in between verses where she switches to chipmunk mode. I don't see the point of that, and it's annoying. Overall, the song is really a mixed bag musically.

Lyrically, the song sounds like it could be a summer anthem. Nicki's not saying anything particularily clever, it's just let's party, let's dance, whatever. Summer's not for a while, though, so she's missed out on that opportunity. Another part of the song that bothers me is the references to starships. Most of the lyrics are pretty straightforward, but at the chorus she sings, "Starships were meant to fly." I don't really see where this comes from. I'm sure she could be getting at something, but I don't see it and it seems out of place.

One thing to mention is that, despite it's faults, this song is incredibly catchy. You will not get it out of your head and you can listen to over and over again without it getting old. And, really, that's what Nicki Minaj probably wants. This is a sound that's still unique, and catchy enough to keep us hooked for more. It's already smashed onto the billboard and it'll probably be another big hit for Nicki Minaj.