Nicki Minaj May Bring Her Swag To X-Factor

Posted on March 21st, 2011

Hey. It is Kathleen from the New.Music.Live. team. The days when reality television was the place where has been celebrities went to get back on the pop culture radar may be over. With news that Nicki Minaj might join the X-Factor judges table, I think we’re all re-evaluating what it means for an artist to attach themselves to televised talent competitions.

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Christina Aguilera will join Adam Levine and Cee-Lo for The Voice, another American Idol-esque reality show. Some would argue that Christina needs the show to salvage her fast floundering career so it makes sense for her to look to TV to put her back on top. It worked for Jennifer Lopez right? She defied the odds and is back on the top of the charts after her stint on Idol. But, Christina and J-Lo are still huge stars with extensive recording catalogues. Their music careers had pretty much reached their peaks before they signed on to find fresh talent on the small screen.

So, for someone like Nicki Minaj, who, despite massive success thus far, is still at the beginning of her career, it doesn’t seem like the best idea. I would rather see Nicki focus on avoiding the sophomore slump with her second album than hamming it up for TV audiences. X-Factor does sound like it has potential to be a cool show, especially with former Def Jam chairman LA Reid officially signed on to judge alongside Idol alum Simon Cowell. But, it’s still a risky move for Minaj. If she does do X-Factor, I just hope she stays the same Nicki, slaying it on the mic as much as possible.

What do you think? Tune in to New.Music.Live at 5pm to hear me chat with Phoebe about the possibility of Nicki on X-Factor.

- Kathleen
New.Music.Live. Team
@nml