It was just a few years ago when Young Money honey Nicki Minaj would gather ’round the TV at home with her family and settle in to watch the MTV Video Music Awards. But with her first nomination locked down in the hotly contested Best New Artist category at the 2010 VMAs, Minaj said on Tuesday (August 3) that she can hardly believe she’s going to the big game this year.

“I feel like I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Minaj said from her Los Angeles home about her debut VMA nom. “I definitely thought I’d get one some day, but not before I put the album out. I never thought I’d get a nomination [this year]. … I didn’t even think I’d get invited!”

Not only does Minaj have her golden ticket, she’s going head-to-head with fellow newbies Ke$ha, Jason Derulo, Justin Bieber and indie rock supergroup Broken Bells. Minaj said she was at home on Tuesday morning when she heard the news and didn’t believe it at first.

“Someone sent me an email saying congratulations and I was like, ‘For what?’ And they said, ‘For the VMA.’ And I was like, ‘What was I nominated for?’ And when they said, ‘Best New Artist,’ I just started screaming.”

So far, she said she’s gotten text-message congratulations from some of her Cash Money and Young Money crew, but she was still waiting to hear from incarcerated capo Lil Wayne. As for her chances in the category, Minaj, whose nod is for her “Massive Attack” video, said she definitely considers herself the “underdog,” but isn’t too worried about that right now. “I’m mostly just thinking about what hair I’m gonna do,” she said when asked if she’d started putting an outfit together. “I haven’t given much thought about what I’m going to wear. It’s always a freakin’ magical movie!”

Source: MTV