Nicki Minaj - Nicki Minaj Embarks On Biggest Ever Tour: How's She Doing?

Nicki Minaj may have made her name for her brief but explosive guest slots on other people's tracks but she has swiftly evolved into an artist in her own right. At times, she seems to lack the power of quality control (see the immense tracklisting of her latest album 'Pink Friday, Roman Reloaded') but Jon Caramanica, writing for New York Times argues that this allows her to play to all of her strengths: "As a young rapper, Ms. Minaj was an assassin. As a star herself, she has become emotionally and tonally varied, sometimes an outright softy." This opening tour date saw Minaj playing to her newer fans, with tracks like 'Starships' ("an ungodly mix of pop, dubstep and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" that, against all odds, is great," reckons Time Out Chicago) and 'Stupid Hoe' but not forgetting her faithful followers who had pleaded for some of her old mixtape songs. She obliged, with 'Itty Bitty Piggy' and 'Beam Me Up Scotty.'

Her Detroit performance, though, failed to hit the spot for the Detroit News reporter. Unimpressed with the setting and the scatty "Add-addled" nature of her set, surmised "she's best when just being herself, a good sign going forward."