--- description: The rapper went pop with a dance-heavy number title: Billboard Music Awards 2015: Nicki Minaj 'The Night Is Still Young' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Nicki Minaj's Eye-Popping Billboard Music Awards Performance  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 18, 2015 2:28 AM CUT  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 18, 2015 2:28 AM CUT At tonight’s Billboard Music Awards, Nicki Minaj showed just how good she is at changing moods. After some promotion for her recent album _The Pinkprint_ with a performance of her melancholy single “The Night is Still Young,” Minaj went choreography-heavy with a performance of “Hey Mama,” her collaboration with DJ David Guetta. It may have been the star’s most dance-heavy TV performance ever, and—from vocals to choreography—was certainly her most well-rounded. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3882075/nicki-minaj-billboard-music-awards-night-is-still-young/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3882075/nicki-minaj-billboard-music-awards-night-is-still-young/"},"headline":"Watch Nicki Minaj's Eye-Popping Billboard Music Awards Performance","datePublished":"2015-05-18T02:28:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:24:08.396Z","description":"The rapper went pop with a dance-heavy number","url":"https://time.com/3882075/nicki-minaj-billboard-music-awards-night-is-still-young/","keywords":["Television","Nicki Minaj"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3882075/nicki-minaj-billboard-music-awards-night-is-still-young/","name":"Watch Nicki Minaj's Eye-Popping Billboard Music Awards Performance"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Taylor Swift Steals the Show at the Billboard Music Awards 2015","description":"Highlights from the Billboard Music Awards 2015 in Las Vegas.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/qLXVgKJ8/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-05-18T06:19:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qLXVgKJ8.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3882075/nicki-minaj-billboard-music-awards-night-is-still-young/","duration":"PT1M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3882075/nicki-minaj-billboard-music-awards-night-is-still-young/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```