Organisers of the Jeddah Season Cultural Festival announced today, as the Conservative Kingdom tries to shed decades of restrictions on entertainment. Rapper, singer and model Nicki Minaj would be headlining the July 18 festival, along with UK- pop star Liam Payne and American DJ Steve Aoki. Local media reported the headline act that is to be televised on MTV, will also feature British musician Liam Payne and American DJ Steve Aoki.
While the announcements for Payne and Aoki posted on the Jeddah Season Twitter account featured photos of the artists, Minaj’s announcement ran with only an animated image of her name.
The announcement of her performance has been met with a mixed reaction, ranging from joy with one fan posting a video of a Minaj performance on twitter with the caption “Am I dreaming or is this really happening?”, while others have posted doctored photos of Minaj wearing traditional Saudi dress.
This won’t be her first performance in the Middle East, previously performing in the Middle East, having previously performed in the UAE in 2013.
This comes as the kingdom is trying to loosen some restrictions on entertainment under Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s headline-making social reforms. The past months have seen performances in the Kingdom from artists such as Mariah Carey, The Black Eyed Peas and DJs such as David Guetta and Tiesto. Even Ridyah, the Kingdom’s capital, is opening its first cinema in 35 years because of the ban in April of last year.
