Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded[a] is the second studio album by rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on April 2, 2012 by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. Looking to transition from her debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010), Minaj wanted to make a follow-up record about "just having fun". Stylistically, the album is divided by a first half of hip hop tracks and a second half of dance-pop songs. As executive producer, Minaj enlisted a variety of collaborators.
Not to be confused with Pink Friday 2 (2023 album). "Roman Reloaded" redirects here. For the song, see Roman Reloaded (song).Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
April 2, 2012
2011–2012
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- Alex da Kid
- Alex P
- Pop & Oak
- Benny Blanco
- BlackOut Movement
- Carl Falk
- Cirkut
- David Guetta
- DJ Diamond Kuts
- Dreamlab
- Dr. Luke
- Flip
- Hit-Boy
- Nikhil S.
- RedOne
- T-Minus
- Jimmy Joker
- Kool Kojak
Upon its release, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded received generally mixed reviews from critics, who were ambivalent towards Minaj's exploration of dance-pop. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 selling 253,000 copies in its first week, making it Minaj's second number-one album in the country, and her first to debut at the top of the chart. In March 2016, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined album sales, track sales, on-demand audio and video streams equivalent of two million album-sale units. Internationally, the album peaked at number one in Canada and the United Kingdom, and reached the top five in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
The album was promoted with six singles. Its lead single "Starships" peaked at number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. Follow-up singles "Right by My Side" and "Beez in the Trap" experienced moderate success on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Pound the Alarm" and "Va Va Voom" peaked at numbers fifteen and twenty-two on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. "Automatic" was released as a single only in France, where it peaked at number 102 on the SNEP chart. The album was additionally promoted through the Pink Friday Tour and the Pink Friday: Reloaded Tour, which visited North America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania throughout 2012 following the album's release.
The album was reissued in November 2012, as Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up. In addition to the original album, the reissue includes seven new songs and an additional DVD, which was filmed during the Pink Friday Tour.
Composition[edit]
Stylistically, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded is divided into two parts, the first of which focuses mainly on hip hop tracks while the second contains dance-pop songs.[8] Minaj raps in her unhinged alter ego "Roman Zolanski" over the former tracks' hard-edged beats and mostly sings on the latter half;[9] she returns to rapping on the album's final track "Stupid Hoe".[10] Music journalist Jody Rosen delineates the album's music as comprising "'Side One' for the hip-hop headz, 'Side Two' for teenyboppers."[11] Slant Magazine's Matthew Cole comments that the album is "partitioned almost exactly between a rap half and a pop half".[12] Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal denotes the second half as tracks following "Roman Reloaded" and writes that they "range from brittle Euro-trance to milquetoast R&B to washed-out balladry."[13] Music critic Kitty Empire cites the song "Pound the Alarm" as a "compromise" between the album's two stylistic halves.[14]
Promotion[edit]
Singles[edit]
"Starships" was released as the lead single from the album on February 14, 2012.[15] The song was an international hit, peaking inside the top ten in over fifteen countries. In the United States, the song charted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is also Minaj's second most certified single to date. "Right by My Side" was sent to US rhythmic radio and US urban radio on March 27, 2012,[16][17][18] as the album's second single. The song, which features additional vocals from Chris Brown, has since peaked at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Beez in the Trap", which features 2 Chainz, was sent to US rhythmic radio on May 29, 2012,[19] as the third single from the album. The song peaked at number 48 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Pound the Alarm" was released as the fourth single from the album.[20] It was sent to US Top 40/Mainstream radio on July 17, 2012.[21] The song peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as in the top ten in other countries including Australia, Canada and the UK. "Va Va Voom" was released as the fifth single from the album. It was sent to BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2012,[22] and to US Top 40/Mainstream radio on October 23, 2012.[23] The song peaked at number 22 on Billboard Hot 100 and in the top 20 in Canada and the UK. "Automatic" impacted French contemporary hit radio on October 18, 2012 as the sixth and final single from the album. It peaked at number 102 on France's SNEP chart. [24]
Commercial performance[edit]
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 253,000 copies in its first week, ending April 10, 2012.[54] This marked Minaj's second number-one album in that country following her previous studio album, Pink Friday (2010), which peaked at number one in February 2011. On June 22, 2012, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of one million copies in the U.S.[55] The album sold 785,000 copies throughout 2012 in the US.[56] Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was the best selling rap album released in 2012 in the US, and overall the album was the third highest-selling R&B/Hip-Hop album of 2012 in the US.[57][58] According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded was the 25th best-selling album globally of 2012, with sales of 1.4 million copies worldwide during that year.[59] As of February 2015, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded has sold 905,000 copies in the US.[60] On March 22, 2016, the album was certified double platinum by the RIAA for combined album sales, track sales, on-demand audio, and video streams equivalent of two million album-sale units.[55]
Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and the UK R&B Albums Chart, with first week sales of 47,000 copies.[61][62] In doing so, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded became the first album by a female rap artist to chart at number one in the United Kingdom. Additionally, the album sold 242,000 copies in the UK throughout 2012, making it the thirty-seventh best selling album of that year.[63] Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart,[64] and debuted at number five on the Australian Albums Chart.[65] In Mexico, the album reached the top 40 in its first week of release.[66]
Notes