Nicki Minaj Late to American Idol 'Top Ten' Live Performance [VIDEO]: Ryan Seacrest Covers for 13 Minutes, Songstress Tweets about Traffic

On Thursday evening's first "Top Ten" live performance of "American Idol," rap diva Nicki Minaj arrived late to the judge's table, leaving host Ryan Seacrest to cover for her approximately 13 minutes into the show. Minaj eventually showed up after the first act (Curtis Finch Jr) dressed down in a black hoodie and sunglasses, and nobody mentioned her tardiness again throughout the live taping. Minaj hit up Twitter Thursday evening (March 13), blaming her casual lateness on Hollywood's congested traffic.

Seacrest kicked off the first live season 12 "Top Ten" show by announcing, "We are coming to you live and on time. Say hello to three of your four judges who have made it here on time."

He then takes a seat at Minaj's empty chair and continues, "So this is where Nicki [is]...I hear she is seven minutes out and there is some congestion on the 405 [Freeway], she should be here momentarily. Well the show must go on so let's get the party started."

During Seacrest's little impromptu spiel, Minaj tweeted:

@NICKIMINAJ: "Stuck in traffic *sighs*."

And:

@NICKIMINAJ: "Fu## u Malibu!!!!!!!!!!!! *moves to Beverly Hills*."

Minaj eventually showed up about 20 minutes into the show, following Curtis Finch Jr.'s performance of "I Believe"

But apparently Minaj arrived just in time to listen to Finch's act from backstage:

"During the performance, she was backstage," the "AI" hopeful told E! "It was literally like, step, step, step, curtain, Nicki, and she was like, 'Good job today.' To see her backstage, was comforting."

The "Superbass" songstress' tardiness didn't come as a shock to most contestants, who claim that she's been late on several occasions:

"It's not the first [time]and probably not the last," singer Paul Jolley said with a chuckle. "But I'm OK with it. I love Nicki."

But several other fans weren't so impressed... including several of Minaj's Twitter followers and even fellow judge, Mariah Carey. So what do Mstars readers think - was Minaj's tardiness to the first live "Top Ten" episode totally annoying and uncalled for?