Obviously I have come to love Nicki Minaj, my darling little ladybug. You all know I watch American Idol, and come to adore the judges who reveal themselves to us as human and flawed and funny and kind. Mostly. And Nicki is of course the funniest of all. Although she doesn't mean to or have Keith's way with a cheesy pun. And so I love her. And this new US Elle cover story with her, just grows my love for her exponentially.

All stripped back with minimal make-up, no hair pieces, no dress up box of characters to hide behind, no accents to throw you off, no pretense and minimal artifice. The opposite of the Nicki Minaj character that she herself has presented to us. And isn't she just so very lovely and pretty?

All togged up in Tom Ford jacket and American Apparel leggings, she is revealed to us in a way we have not seen before. But we certainly hope we will again, because it is lovely.

Hopefully Nicki is brave enough to share this more real version of herself with us over time. I understand that she comes from a complicated emotional place, filled with years of feeling she needs to hide behind things. But hopefully this is the start of realising that she is pretty cool all on her own. Which is nothing less than she wishes for all of us. Awesome.