Nicki Minaj

If Nicki Minaj has seemed almost unrecognizable in the past few weeks, well, that's the point. Minaj has been revamping her look to be more vamp and a lot less tramp, and she ditched the entire team that brought her technicolor nightmare to life in the first place.

So after Wednesday night's group round of 'American Idol' auditions, the guys had the opportunity to shine by themselves in tonight's solo round.

It was the first time ‘American Idol’ took auditions to Charlotte, and they did it in style by holding them at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Known for being the homestead of past ‘Idol’ winners Scotty McCreery and Fantasia, the judges were hoping to find another winner in the crowd.

Alicia Keys turns up the heat just a little bit with the Inferno Version of her video for 'Girl on Fire.' This version features a cameo by Nicki Minaj. There are two  added scenes of Minaj and that's about it. It's the same video, save for a double shot of the rapper.

Nigel Lythgoe, producer of 'American Idol' (and just about every other FOX reality show), insists that smackdown between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj was very real and wasn't conjured up by the publicity-hungry suits at the network. Not because they'd never do such a thing, but because the timing is way off.