Girls just wanna have fun, so Cyndi Lauper pulled up for a visit to Gag City. Nicki Minaj surprised fans at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on her Pink Friday 2 World Tour with a plethora of special guests, none bigger than Lauper on Wednesday night (May 1).
Lauper and Minaj performed “Pink Friday Girls” for the first time together, which heavily samples the former’s 1983 anthem “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.”
Minaj rocked denim jeans and a leopard-print top while the crowd went into a frenzy when Lauper appeared on the stage in a colorful blazer and lacy pants. They held hands and shared a warm embrace following the performance as Minaj showed love to the 70-year-old pop icon.
“I have been speaking about this woman in my interviews since I first began rapping,” Nicki told the crowd after bowing in front of Lauper.
“Pink Friday Girls” served as a standout on Pink Friday 2, and Minaj previously said that this was the first instance in history that Lauper cleared the “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” sample for another artist. “I’m told she’s never cleared a master recording. I am so grateful,” Nicki wrote on X in December. “I’ve always loved her as you guys know.”
“Pink Friday Girls” is produced by J. Reid and the track spent one week on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 82.
Lauper wasn’t the only surprise guest for Gag City in Brooklyn, as streamer Kai Cenat and Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa pulled up as well.
Minaj will take some well-deserved time away from the stage, as she’s been on tour since the beginning of March. She hasabout a weeklong break on the Pink Friday 2 World Tour before heading to New Orleans on May 8, then Texas for three shows starting on May 9.
Watch some highlights of Nicki Minaj and Cyndi Lauper’s “Pink Friday Girls” performance below.
