Nicki Minaj threatens to quit American Idol

Nicki Minaj has threatened to quit American Idol on live TV during Thursday’s edition.

Nicki Minaj was furious to learn that her favorite contestant Curtis Finch Jr. – who at one point was being tipped as a possible winner – had landed in the bottom two of the Top 10.

Curtis Finch Jr. and Devin Velez received the fewest votes from viewers.

And when she discovered that the 24-year-old from St Louis, Missouri might be out, Nicki Minaj said she would quit the show.

“I definitely think Curtis should not be in the bottom two. I mean, I love Devin but I think that Curtis, if you look at every one of his performances, I mean – come on, America, are you kidding me?” she said.

“I didn’t think that your performance last night was your best, I think it was your worst.”

“Curtis, if you go home, I go home,” the singer said.

Fellow judge Keith Urban agreed in part, saying he was “a little shocked”.

But Nicki Minaj’s fears were realized after it was revealed that Curtis Finch Jr. actually got the fewest votes of all the contestants.

The revelation caused Nicki Minaj to jump out of her seat and approach the stage, only to seemingly be advised to return to the judge’s panel by Randy Jackson, who could be seen shaking his head, and beckoning her back.

Curtis Finch Jr. was then able to sing one last time to save himself – but only if all four judges agreed unanimously to keep him on.They didn’t – and he was kicked off the Fox show.

Curtis Finch Jr. gave a heartfelt and emotional performance of R Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly, showing off his impressive vocal range.

He previously sang the song on the show to get him into the top 10.

Nicki Minaj looked like she was sulking as Randy Jackson and Keith Urban had an intense discussion on either side of her, while Mariah Carey concentrated on his make or break performance, that saw the audience go wild.

“The judges have got to be unanimous,” said Ryan Seacrest, who explained that they can “save” only one contestant once throughout the season.

“Save, save, save,” chanted the crowd.

“I’m completely shocked that this is where we’re at,” said Mariah Carey.

“This entire situation has been about Curtis, in a lot of ways, for me. We have had a connection. We still do, no matter what happens.”

“We are not unanimous, unfortunately,” Randy Jackson revealed, as some of the audience members began to boo.

The previous night Nicki Minaj had missed Curtis Finch Jr.’s singing because she was late to the live show in Hollywood, blaming bad traffic.

The show claimed over 26 million votes had been cast. But producers changed up the usual format by first revealing who was in the top three, but not what order they came in.

It was good news for Candice, Kree and Angie.

In fourth place was Lazaro Arbos. Amber Holcomb came fifth, while Janelle Arthur came in sixth place.

Burnell Taylor came in seventh place, followed by Paul Jolley.