Madonna performs during the halftime show with Nicki Minaj (L) and M.I.A. in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 5, 2012.
Photo Credit: Reuters. Madonna performs during the halftime show with Nicki Minaj (L) and M.I.A. in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 5, 2012.

Nicki Minaj joined Madonna on stage at the Super bowl halftime show Sunday night, generating about as much acclaim for her raucous performance as M.I.A. generated ire for her flip-fest. Perhaps no one was as excited about the as Nicki Minaj herself. She's a professed super fan of the material girl, and not afraid to Tweet about it (most recent first):

@NickiMinaj: NEW YORK GIANTS BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Proud New Yawka) God bless Madonna, & God bless the barbzzz!!!!! *kisses all 9 million of u* ;)

@NickiMinaj: SuperBowl rehearsals w/the Queen.

@NickiMinaj: Omfg. Madonna's show is about to murdaaaa everything movinggg. Wow. Such a surreal moment.

@NickiMinaj: Let's kiss! Lol > RT @britneyspears: And I'll obviously b tuning in2 watch Madonna and @NickiMinaj tear it up during halftime. Super excited

@NickiMinaj: I was shocked but kissed back!!!ahhh! > RT @MzBellaBarbie: @NICKIMINAJ how did u react when she kissed you? Shocked? Spazzed? Kissed back?

@NickiMinaj: No barbz...like...seriously...it felt soooooooooo good!!!!!!! Sooooo soft! Like what?!?!?! bwahahahhahahahahahaha!!!!

@NickiMinaj: *kisses each one of my barbz so they too can taste queen madonna* I love u guys sooo much!!!! This video is of epic proportion! Love uuuu!!!

@NickiMinaj: OH MY f'ingggg Gahhhh!!!!! MADONNA jus kissed me!!!!! On the lips!!!!!!! It felt sooooo good. Soooo soft!!!! *passes out* aaahhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Minaj has a right to be excited. Most likely her entire plush-life persona would be impossible without the forge-forward attitude of the original Material Girl. Some fans weighed in on Twitter, too, and MTV's Rap Fix rounded up some of the more interesting comments. Even if The New Yorker named the entire spectacle as commerical, including the Madonna/M.I.A./Minaj music video that dropped a few days before, Minaj is warranted to her share of spotlight (I no longer believe that this performance contains any live singing, nor do I care, writes Sasha Frere-Jones). She's skyrocketed to the top of iTunes and video charts over the past couple years, becoming the fastest-selling female rap artist in history while somehow simultaneously being equally coveted and reviled for her unmistakable voice. Last night's Super Bowl pairing only cements her in a new canon of empowered and empowering female artists. View the entire segment below:

Twitter New York Super Bowl Twitter