Nicki Minaj - Nokia Theatre - 8/8/12

Timothy Norris

Nicki Minaj
Nokia Theatre
8/8/12

Plenty at Nicki Minaj's show last night proved to be distractions -- lackluster choreography, tacky costumes that looked straight out of Target and no thematic cohesion. But it was more than that; she's clearly not ready to headline her own show.

Last year, Minaj opened for two touring acts that speak to her increasingly divergent audiences, her Young Money label boss Lil Wayne and former pop queen Britney Spears. Wearing a neon catsuit and her signature two-tone beehive at Lil Wayne's concert, she was cheeky and irresistible. Giving audience members lapdances or spinning around stage like Cinderella on steroids, she was the supporting actress but ended up stealing the show. We were excited to see what she would do with top billing.

Timothy Norris

Her show was divided into different parts, each dedicated to a different personalities she has cultivated -- like Harajuku Barbie, Roman Zolanski, and Mixtape Nicki.

Her first section was the strongest portion of the show. Roaring through the driving delirium of "Roman's Revenge" and "Did It On'Em's" woozy braggadocio, she was wearing a hot pink leopard-print full body leotard under cut-off jean shorts and a ripped t-shirt. Bouncing like a sorority girl during "Dance (A$$)," she seemed confident and in fighting form.

But then things took a turn for the worse. She re-emerged after a costume change so nominal (a white dress layered over the same bodysuit) we were actually deflated. (Her costumes as a supporting act were far more interesting.) Even weirder was her go-to expression of the night, a wide-eyed look of "astonishment" better suited to naïve Disney princesses who feel lucky to be invited to the ball -- not a bold, self-assured woman who crashed hip hop's boys' club and then moved on this year to dominate as a pop princess as well.

The audience was full of many daddies and their daughters, some who looked as young as 5 or 6 years old. Which is probably why several times last night, Minaj noticeably skipped the curse words in her songs.

On her most recent album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, Minaj dedicated half the songs to pop and half to rap. While her profile, and pockets, have greatly benefited from easing into pop music, there's been much grousing from many in hip hop who wanted her to continue on as the growling emcee who showed up Kanye West and Jay-Z on "Monster." Though the last bit of her show was branded "Mixtape Nicki," she only did a short medley of those early cuts, quickly jumping back into radio-friendly hits like "Bedrock" and "Super Bass."