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Nicki Minaj Speaks on Grammy Performance, Religious Theme & Madonna

On walking the red carpet with a Pope look-alike: “The religious figure is there because he was called on by Roman’s mom to rehabilitate him.”

On her performance of “Roman Holiday”: “I had this vision for him to be sort of exorcised — or actually he never gets exorcised—but people around him tell him he’s not good enough because he’s not normal, he’s not blending in with the average Joe. And so his mother is scared and the people around him are afraid because they’ve never seen anything like him. He wanted to show that not only is he amazing and he’s sure of himself and confident, but he’s never gonna change, he’s never gonna be exorcised. Even when they throw the holy water on him, he still rises above.”

On creating the Roman mini-movie with Hype Williams: “I wanted to create a movie. I reached out to a great friend of mine, Hype Williams, to create the movie. I just wanted him to be in this monastery and I wanted to see him in his comfort zone. It’s funny because it’s the most comfortable I’ve been on stage in my entire life.”

On why she chose “Roman Holiday” for the Grammys: “The Grammys chose ‘Roman Holiday.’ The producers of the Grammys came to the studio and I played them ‘Roman Holiday,’ and I could not play them another record after they heard that. They went crazy. I could have chosen to do a no-brainer pop song, but I can’t do it anymore. I have to stay true to what I’m doing.”