[5][6][7] Nicki Minaj co-wrote "Starships" with its producers Nadir "RedOne" Khayat, Carl Falk, and Rami Yacoub, with additional writing from Wayne Hector and Bilal "The Chef" Hajji.

In 2011, a demo version of "Starships", sung by Mohombi, was given to Minaj who personalized the verses to make it sound "more her style", while keeping the chorus.

I did not want to assume that how he was recording her wasn't working, so I asked him what he had set up, and he told me that there were two vocal signal chains, one being a Telefunken ELAM 251 going into a Chandler TG2 mic pre and then through an Urei 1176 [compressor].

"[18] Billboard compared "Starships" to the work of Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez, other artists produced by RedOne.

[8] The Los Angeles Times wrote that "The new single will undoubtedly divide Minaj's fan base.

Longtime fans may want the cypher queen they fell in love with when she was young and hungry on the mixtape circuit, while her newer, sugar pop-loving delegation will likely crave the quirkier verses – and cotton candy-colored wigs – of today's Minaj.

It's hard not to see Britney Spears' influence on the rapper/singer when listening to the song, and given that the two toured together last year, Minaj may be trying to remind her pop fans that she has an ear for what they want.

"[18] Entertainment Weekly gave a negative review, stating the song is, "super clubby and contains almost no rapping, which continues Minaj's push into the complete opposite direction she should be heading.

"[22] Bill Lamb from About.com gave a mixed review, stating: "'Starships' is a solid outing for Nicki Minaj.

However, the day-glo pop-rap success of 'Super Bass', emotional power of 'Fly', and experimentation of her Grammy Awards performance has left us expecting Nicki Minaj to push boundaries.

'Starships' feels a little bit like retreating into a musical pocket and trying a little too hard to insure another pop chart hit.

"[23] Bloggers for Billboard magazine, Andrew Hampp and Erika Ramirez, criticized the track for "...monstrous pop hooks that overshadow its throwaway lyrics", while stating that it is "the most polarizing single in Minaj's career to date".

[19] Slant stated that "Starships (along with 'Pound the Alarm', 'Whip It', and 'Automatic') are "retro-techno-pop earsores comprised of indiscriminately arranged bits of LMFAO's 'Sexy and I Know It', Rihanna's 'We Found Love', and pretty much any recent Britney Spears or Katy Perry song you can name" adding that "For the chorus to her self-affirmation anthem, Minaj shouts 'Starships were meant to fly!

The song eventually peaked at number two in the country, the top spot being Gotye's "Somebody That I Used to Know", outselling Minaj by 20,000 copies.

The song resulted in being Minaj's second highest-peaking and longest-charting single in that country and was certified 2× platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) with sales exceeding 30,000.

The video was directed by Anthony Mandler with extensive post-VFX produced by Leah Harmony and executed by a team of artists at Culver City-based post production company KILT.

[35] In an interview with Capital FM, Minaj briefly commented on the video for "Starships", calling it "very, very saucy" and her "best one yet".

She is presumably being worshiped as a goddess as she is carried away through the jungle by the island locals wearing a pale pink bikini with strands hanging off the bottom and short green hair, which is also worn during some kaleidoscope effects and in one scene of her on the beach singing.

Minaj is then seen dancing in the mountains wearing a white, pink and black bodysuit behind a glass box while some of the male islanders run up to her.

In the final scene, a blonde-haired Minaj, wearing a white fringed strapless bikini splattered with paint, is partying with the islanders.

On February 26, 2012, Minaj performed the single live for the first time along with "Moment 4 Life", "Turn Me On" and "Super Bass" at the 2012 NBA All-Star Game.

Minaj also performed the single on the eleventh season of American Idol results show on March 29, 2012, and on Today on April 6.

On May 30, 2015, Minaj also performed the song on the iHeartRadio Summer Pool Party 2015 in Las Vegas, along with other singles, such as "Super Bass" and "The Night Is Still Young".