One
of my absolute pet peeves is when a celebrity or up in coming artist, who has
generated quite a buzz for themselves, gets their first opportunity to
introduce themselves to the world during an interview, and completely bombs!
I
have often watched an interview of an artist and wondered if they have ever
spoken in public before. When artists are able to have a positive
relationship with the media and carry themselves in a way that is marketable to
multiple demographics, you get the Michael Jordan, Justin Timberlake and
Beyonce(s) of their industry. In other words, their popularity can go beyond
their niche market.
I’d
like to take a look at the evolution of an artist that has made quite an impact
in the last four years: Nicki Minaj. Personally, I’m not a fan of hers but I
can appreciate her growth as a personality in the entertainment industry. She’s
a prime example of why it is important to take the time to train and develop an
artist before they are presented to the world.
Let’s
pretend that this interview
was the only introduction to Nicki Minaj that we, the public received.
Like
most female rappers, Nicki was partnered up with an already established male
rapper in Lil Wayne. He presented her as one of the artists on his Young Money
label. This tactic is often done when a label is not comfortable with the
artist being his or her own mouthpiece. Nicki’s nonverbal communication spoke
volumes in this interview with Monique. Her arms are crossed and close to
her body. When someone is not directly speaking to her, she has a straight
face, with little expression to what is being said by her male counterparts.
When it was time for her to speak, she speaks in a very low tone and with not
much confidence. For those who were familiar with her music at the time, this
was very confusing, because is she marketed as a strong, very outspoken and
confident woman! In my opinion, I think Nicki would have been somewhat
successful, based on her talent and affiliation with Lil Wayne and Young Money
with this demeanor but not much passed that! Let’s fast-forward one year, an
entire album, and multiple features later. Nicki seems to have gone through an
entire attitude make over and is a new woman during her appearance on Ellen in 2011.
Now
we see a more confident Nicki Minaj! Before her interview even starts, she’s smiling
and engaging with the crowd. During her conversation with Ellen, she has one
hand on the armrest and the other on her lap, more inviting than having her
arms crossed. She has voice inflection when she speaks and is smiling
almost the entire time. I’m sure she gained fans that watch Ellen but may not
have known who she was but just liked her personality. It’s so important for an
artist to show personality and to perform during interviews almost as much as
they do on stage when they’re singing/rapping etc.
Let’s
look at one more.
In
my opinion, Nicki has no doubt graduated from Public Relations training 101!
She is now comfortable in her skin and was able to handle some tough questions
about some of her issues with Mariah Carey on American Idol. Although, this
interview lacks some of the outward energy we're now used to with her, she is
still confident and engaging during the interview.
Love
her or hate her, Nicki Minaj shows that communications training and interview
skills are a huge part of an artist’s development. Without making those
critical changes, she may not be the crossover success that she is today!
