Nicki Minaj Skips The Grammys, But Why?!

Of all of the people missing during the 2016 Grammys — Hello? Zayn? Where are you? — perhaps the most surprising was Nicki Minaj. The rapper is an award show staple at this point, so Nicki Minaj skipping the Grammys was pretty shocking. On top of that, many fans thought the rapper was going to perform as she was featured in promotional materials for the show, so not only did fans have to feel the pain of having their expectation of a performance dashed, they didn't even get to see whatever badass dress she wore on the red carpet or watch her take the stage to present an award.

Minaj Instagrammed a photo of herself and the list of awards she's nominated for this year two days before the show along with the following caption:

I know I'm in the commercial but I actually won't be performing. I want to thank the Grammys for being super sweet & supportive & for recognizing The Pinkprint. Maybe next year will make more sense in terms of timing and I'll create a very special performance for you guys. In the mean time, enjoy the show!

Minaj is nominated for three awards this year: Best Rap Performance, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, and Best Rap Album, which would make you think she'd be there, so where is she?

The rapper hasn't posted on Instagram since her note about not performing, nor have any paparazzi pics seem to have surfaced of her in the past couple of days. Perhaps she is just busy or needs a break. She toured for a good portion of last year and has a show coming up on Feb. 28. Other than that, the only other explanation is that she's skipping as she was snubbed in a couple of the major categories. While she is up for three awards, none of them are top, genre-spanning awards like Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year.

It's hard to say for sure why she really didn't go — hopefully, she'll speak out soon! Fans wanna know what's up, Nicki! — but for now, let's just hope she goes through with that idea of putting on a "very special performance" next year!