Nicki Minaj launched her Pink Friday 2 World Tour on Friday (March 1) in Oakland, CA. The show trek marks her first time as a headliner in eight years, and fans were quick to snap up tickets to the venture. As she continues to play to massive, sold-out crowds, the rapper released something (sort of) new, and her followers are waking up to support the superstar once again.
On Sunday (March 3), Minaj released a new take on her song “Let Me Calm Down,” a collaboration with fellow hip-hop powerhouse J. Cole. The tune is labeled an extended version, which differentiates it from the original, which was included on her latest album Pink Friday 2.
After only a few hours, “Let Me Calm Down” has become a quick sales success in the U.S. The title shot right into the top 10 on the iTunes chart in America. At the time of writing, the song appears at No. 4 on the purchase-only list.
Two versions of the newly-updated “Let Me Calm Down” appear on the U.S. iTunes chart. The second, less popular edition sits down at No. 13. It’s still early in the day on Sunday, and many of Minaj’s fans might not have seen that the track was re-released, so “Let Me Calm Down” could climb in the coming hours and days.
While it may now bear the title “Extended Version,” the just-released “Let Me Calm Down” isn’t too different from the original. In fact, if it’s “extended,” it’s not much longer. The latest edition only runs 16 seconds more than the first, which already clocks in at more than four minutes long.
Minaj’s fans have demonstrated many times throughout the years that they are happy to buy as many copies of a song as they can in order to give the singer and rapper more chart hits. She has scored quite a few big sales wins lately, including less than a week ago when “Pink Friday Girls” soared to No. 1 on iTunes, pushed by her followers who band together to collectively purchase a title into the highest reaches of both the iTunes and Billboard rankings.
If “Let Me Calm Down” can continue to sell well, the track may reach the Billboard charts again in a week or so. The tune peaked at No. 63 on the Hot 100 the week that Pink Friday 2 rolled in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and its tracklist found its way to a number of tallies. With new vigor behind it–and two new copies for people to buy–the title could rise higher on the Hot 100 in a few days, and may certainly become a Digital Song Sales chart winner as well.
ForbesNicki Minaj Collects Two New No. 1 HitsBy
I am a music journalist based in New York City. My byline has appeared in The Huffington Post, Billboard, Mashable, Noisey, The Hollywood Reporter, MTV,
