Nicki Minaj Drops Fist-Pumping 'Starships' Single

Nicki Minaj channels her inner pop princess for her just-released single "Starships." The fist-pumping song dropped on Tuesday (February 14), and it's club-ready and poised for crossover success.

Thanks to its bouncy beat, Minaj's sing-songy chorus and producer RedOne's eye for Euro house-influenced pop music, Minaj may have a new "Super Bass." It's a blast of pop goodness in which Nicki raps and sings about partying and doing what feels good for you. The song is also full of signature Minaj sass and bravado.

"Starships were meant to fly/ Hands up and touch the sky/ Can't stop 'cause we're so high/ Let's do this one more time," she declares on the feel-good chorus, before it repeats and evolves to a smashing, dance-floor-busting grind of beats, shouts and noises that are certain to get her Barbz on the floor.

Minaj shines like a pop star the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Jennifer Lopez on the genre-busting track. But the song is also signature RedOne thanks to his keen ear for world music. That influence is felt on the song's breakdowns, which recall smashes he's made for J.Lo and Enrique Iglesias.

"There was so much love surrounding the making of the song, because RedOne is just so sweet to work with," Minaj told Ryan Seacrest. "He just sent me that one day and he said, 'Hey, I got something for you!' I was like 'You got to be kidding me, right?' I went to the studio and started writing ... scratch that ... I didn't even write the first verse! That was just me mumbling and just saying the first thing that came to my head, and we recorded it, because I just felt like, let's go to the beach ... let's go get away. It was just so good. It feels good!"

"Starship" is the latest track to get a preview before Nicki drops Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded on April 1. On Sunday she gave fans an over-the-top taste of "Roman Holiday" when she performed it during the Grammy Awards.

During the interview with Seacrest, Minaj shared that Reloaded will focus on the many sides of Nicki — and it's clear "Starships" shows her pop side. "I've never had this much fun recording music in my life. My first album, I was very guarded," she said. "I felt like I was making music to please everyone else. I had to be politically correct, but this album I am just creating music, and there's such a big difference. Literally, in the studio we were cracking up laughing, having fun and enjoying ourselves. The music itself, you're going to get every side that I've ever shown and then a little bit extra. I've tried to make it very, very balanced, because I don't ever want to be boxed in, and that's always what drives me. So I made a very diverse album."