ALEXANDRA ALCALA / ASST. A&C EDITOR

On  Thursday  Sept. 26, Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, known to the world as Nicki Minaj, performed at the Viejas Arena at San Diego State University. The artist is half-way through her tour, “Pink Friday 2” and made a stop in San Diego  for  a  night. Even though the concert took place at SDSU, the proximity to USD made it possible for some Toreros to attend. 

For many students, Nicki Minaj was an influential part of their childhood, making this concert an exciting opportunity. Second-year student Briana Marinescu shared what drew her to buy a ticket for the show. 

“The reason I decided to attend the concert is because my friend wanted me to go with her,” Marinescu said. “I am a fan of [Nicki Minaj’s] older music for sure because I grew up with it.”

Students have had a wide range of options to choose from when it comes to going to concerts this past month as there’s been almost one every weekend, such as Danny Ocean, Hozier, Stephen Sanchez and even the Bayfest Festival.  

“I listen to her songs a bit, but I love concerts so I attended the concert as an experience,” USD junior Hana Fukumoto said.

Even though concerts are something Fukumoto is dedicated to, as she has seen Bruno Mars, Jonas Blue and Vance Joy,  she says she would probably not attend another Nicki Minaj concert. 

Other students had different takeaways from the concert. For example, both Marinescu and Fukomoto agreed that Minaj had some fun outfits. The artist has been keeping an average of about 5-10 outfit changes per concert. Students have mentioned that this is a highlight of the concert.

“I loved her outfits and outfit changes and, of course, listening to my favorite song live,” Marinescu said. 

Fukumoto doubled down on this, expressing her thoughts about Minaj’s  wardrobe.

“I loved the costumes she wore,” Fukumoto said. 

However, it seems that there were some aspects of the concert that were not so favorable. It’s not unusual for artists take a little more time than scheduled to come out on stage at concerts, but it seems Nicki Minaj took this a bit too far. 

“[Nicki Minaj] didn’t come on stage for three hours,” Fukumoto said.

In addition, USD sophomore Cordelia Essers did not  attend the concert even though she has been a casual fan of Minaj for a very long time.

“I was aware of the concert and debated buying tickets to it and ended up deciding not to,” Essers said. “I am a fan, I listen to the majority of her music on a regular basis. Some highlights about Nicki that I like is that she loves the color pink. I like the fact that the people who go to her concerts wear all pink and even one of her albums is named ‘The Pink Print.’”

Essers mentioned that she is a fan, but this was not enough to get her to go to the concert at SDSU. She would much rather save the opportunity for other concerts.

“I didn’t attend because I’m a fan but not a huge fan,” Essers said. “There are so many other concerts coming up that I’d rather go to because  I listen to  them more frequently. Also, her tickets were kind of expensive, and I didn’t feel like going all the way to SDSU.”

While Minaj attracted some USD students, Toreros seem to have mixed reactions toward her. Some enjoyed her music and aesthetics, while others couldn’t justify spending the time and money to attend her show. 

Nicki Minaj posing for her new album ‘Pink Friday 2.’ Photo courtesy of @onikamagazine/Twitter

Nicki Minaj on stage at her concert in the Viejas Arena. Photo courtesy of @nickiminaj/Instagram