Nicki Minaj joined James Corden for the first “Carpool Karaoke” segment in two years, and the celebrated rapper proved to be one of the funniest, most exciting guests to date.
The lengthy segment saw the duo belt out some of Minaj’s biggest hits, while also getting personal and deep along the way.
In one particularly candid moment, the 39-year-old “Anaconda” artist reflected on her own struggles with anxiety, and putting up a wall of confidence while in the center of the media spotlight.
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“I think when I was younger, my more natural state was to be more confident. But I think when you’re a woman and you’re in the public eye all the time, if you’re not careful you can become less confident because you’re being constantly scrutinized,” Minaj shared. “I just don’t think it’s natural. It’s not natural for a human being to feel like everyone’s critiquing them.”
#NICKICARPOOL was everything i have wanted & more. @NICKIMINAJ & @JKCorden made it so very worth the wait. their chemistry was absolutely everything. enjoyed that so much. shoutout @latelateshow, @CBS, & James! #CarpoolKaraoke🥺🦄‼️👏
EXTENDED VERSION: https://t.co/WWpTvIMqXX pic.twitter.com/lKAEo5jgcW
— nicholas liddle (@NLiddle16) April 7, 2022
Minaj explained that when she first became an artist in the music industry, “I had this amazing sense of freedom because nobody gave a s**t about what I was doing. Like, I could get away with anything.”
“And then it goes from that to the complete, complete opposite. If I blink my eye wrong, they’ll have a story made up about why I blinked my eye that way,” she added. “Whenever I am off of social media and I take that s**t off my phone, I have just this enormous sense of peace. And then you realize what really matters.”
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For Minaj, what really matters is her 1-year-old son, whom she shares with husband Kenneth Petty.
“[Motherhood] plays a huge part [in feeling peace],” Minaj said. “It doesn’t matter what is going on… when I look at my son, I’m just magically in love. He just makes me laugh, makes me smile, makes me happy. He’s just so cute and cuddly.”
“I rap and sing to him all the time,” She added with a smile. “I just make up melodies all day.”
During the drive, Minaj also busted out her Adele impression, and weighed in on the English songstress’ cover of her “Monster” rap that Adele delivered in an installment of “Carpool Karaoke” back in 2016.
“She made me so, so happy. She embodied Nicki Minaj,” the rapper said, affecting a faux English accent, before performing her verse from “Monster” in split-screen with Adele’s performance years ago.
Truly, this was the “Carpool Karaoke” that fans of the segment have been waiting for and it delivered.
THE @NICKIMINAJ X @ADELE MONSTER DUET THE WORLD DESERVES #NICKICARPOOL pic.twitter.com/r2aek32nH4
— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) April 7, 2022
Corden spoke with reporters at a press panel Wednesday morning while promoting the new installment of “Carpool Karaoke,” and said that as soon as the show got the “go-ahead” by the network, with safety precautions in mind, he turned right to Minaj to be his first guest.
READ MORE: Nicki Minaj Shares Sweet Videos of Her 'Comedian' Son
“I couldn’t have wished for a better artist to bring this segment back than her,” Corden said, adding that he was “blown away by Nicki the entire afternoon.”
“[The segment] was far beyond my wildest dreams,” Corden said, reflecting on how Minaj “was so open” during the segment, and how she was “probably the most vulnerable” she has been in “a filmed environment.”
“It was very difficult to cut this down,” Corden admitted, “There’s probably a 45-minute cut that’s really interesting.”
“The Late Late Show” airs weekdays at 12:30 a.m. ET/PT on CBS.
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