You'll Be Waiting Another Week For This

If you got up early on Monday, July 28 in order to be the first person to download Nicki Minaj's new single "Anaconda", then you had better go back to sleep. People have been talking about Minaj's upcoming song ever since she released the "Anaconda" cover art which featured a risqué photo of Minaj's behind and the controversy swirled so loudly that Minaj felt the need to respond to it via Instagram. It was also via Instagram that Minaj announced the devastating news on Sunday that "Anaconda"s release date was being pushed back a week, though Minaj "[promises] you will understand why before the week is out".

That's all well and good, Nicki Minaj, but telling fans on Monday that they will understand before Sunday why you decided to deprive them of "Anaconda" for another week doesn't really help them get through the most notoriously difficult day of the week. Her message does add an element of mystery to the whole thing, though, especially since it was paired with a shot of Minaj in a workout room in a sports bra and matching underwear. Why has Nicki Minaj pushed back the release date for "Anaconda" and what does she have in store for us as a result? I've got some theories.

1. She doesn't want to take attention away from "Bang Bang".

On Tuesday, July 29, Minaj's collaboration with Ariana Grande and Jessie J is due to be released. The song will be called "Bang Bang" and both Minaj and Jessie J have released teasers of it that make it clear this is going to be one of the go-to songs of the summer. The best case scenario for Minaj's career would be for "Anaconda" to overshadow "Bang Bang", but the worst case scenario would be for "Bang Bang" to overshadow "Anaconda" — Ariana Grande is on the track, after all. In light of that, it's definitely smarter to put a few days between their release dates.

2. She has more to say about the cover art controversy.

Considering "Anaconda"s cover art involved a sexy photo that caused a bit of buzz and her announcement about the new release date was accompanied by another sexy photo, perhaps Minaj is trying to incorporate the cover art controversy in somehow. She could be changing the lyrics of "Anaconda" a bit to reference it or maybe changing the album art to incorporate one of the numerous memes that were made out of her cover art photo. It seems like exactly the kind of thing that Minaj would do.

3. She needs to do a little more promo first.

Unlike "Bang Bang", which has dropped two teaser snippets ahead of the song, the only promotion that "Anaconda" has gotten was the revelation of the cover art. There's no clue as to what the workout gear in Minaj's photo has to do with a song with a name like "Anaconda", but perhaps it has to do with some promotional event or video she plans to do later in the week to get everyone amped up for the song. Of course, there's no real need for her to do that. Fans will be clamoring to get their hands on "Anaconda" for sure now, even if it's just because they've been forced to wait an extra week.

Image: nickiminaj/Instagram