Nicki Minaj arrived late to the first live show of American Idol on Wednesday, March 13. The Super Bass rapper arrived 13 minutes after the show began so Idol's host, Ryan Seacrest, had to cover for her and sat in her judge's chair until she arrived.

Seacrest provided an explanation from the judges' table: "I hear she's seven minutes out and there's some congestion on the 405 [highway]."

When Minaj finally arrived, Seacrest immediately whispered in her ear and fellow judge Keith Urban cracked a few jokes while Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson ignored her.

On Thursday, ELLE magazine released a sneak peek of their next issue featuring Minaj on the cover.

The Queen rapper wore a black Tom Ford jacket with American Apparel leggings for the cover shot by Thomas Whiteside. In the interview Minaj, opened up about her new makeover.

Minaj recently revamped her image. She stopped wearing from the bold, bright pink lipstick and bright eye shadows with colorful hair she use to wear and now sports simple, straight platinum blonde locks with understated makeup. She gave her opinion on her "makeunder" in ELLE.

"When I saw myself with barely any makeup at, it was such a... like, I'm so, so attached to my pink lipstick, and it's hard. I feel that it's become a part of me," Minaj told ELLE. "To go in front of the camera, without pink lips or big ol' crazy lashes- you know, nothing - I felt naked. It was scary! So this photo shoot was a real accomplishment in my eyes."

Minaj offered advice for women on how to command respect from other people.

"My advice to women in general: Even if you're doing a nine-to-five job, treat yourself like a boss. Not arrogant, but be sure of what you want- and don't allow people to run anything for you without your knowledge. You want everyone to know, Okay, I can't play games with her. I have to do right by this woman. That's what it's all about."

ELLE Magazine's April 2013 issue featuring Nicki Minaj on the cover arrives on newsstand on March 26.

Watch Nicki Mianj arrive late to the first live show of Amercian Idol

Tags
American Idol 2013, Nicki Minaj, ELLE magazine, Celebrity interview