Nicki Minaj 'Raises The Bar' On Britney Spears Tour

Nicki Minaj is known for her brightly colored persona, music and wardrobe, so it's no surprise that the New York rapper has managed to win over pop audiences night after night on the Femme Fatale Tour, during which she fiercely graces the stage before Britney Spears.

Minaj's high-octane energy and ability to put a pop spin on her hip-hop tracks shines through in her warm-up show. Her theater-kid side also comes out in the multi-media set, complete with dance routines, videos and Minaj's many alter egos.

The ability for a pop audience to identify with Minaj's sometimes NSFW themes is even a shock to the head Barbie herself. "Yeah, I'm always surprised," she told. "I don't really expect them to know all the records, but I guess it just kind of transcends all genres of music at this point."

Minaj set out to give her fans, both old and new, a spectacle. "I wanted my set to be more than an opening act, 'cause, you know, I did that already," she said, referring to her opening gig alongside mentor Lil Wayne on the I Am Still Music Tour. "I always like to raise the bar for myself, and that's what I did. I think it's important to give people what they paid for."

In addition to a set full of fan favorites that are earning her more and more Barbies each and every night, Minaj also has multiple costume changes that are sexy, cool and tough all at the same time.

"I didn't want to do a lot of color. I sort of wanted to tone it down and sort of bring the color back from my own tour, so I wanted it to be very sophisticated and sort of, you know, futuristic and all over the place," she said. "But sort of cagey and sort of epic."

Have you seen Nicki Minaj's opening set for Britney? Share your reviews in the comments!