Nicki Minaj defies doctor's orders to perform live TV concert

Nicki Minaj defied doctor's orders to rest her voice and staged an early morning concert for live TV on Tuesday (14Aug12).

The hip-hop hitmaker revealed on Twitter.com on Monday night (13Aug12) that she had been struggling with vocal issues and admitted her physician had advised her to take two weeks off to recover after wrapping up her North American tour on Sunday (12Aug12).

But Minaj refused to scrap her concert commitments in New York and she hit the stage at Manhattan's Rockefeller Plaza on Tuesday for a televised gig for breakfast show Today.

It was clear her voice was a little strained as she performed, but she soldiered on and ran through her smash hit Starships, in addition to I Am Your Leader and Pound the Alarm.

Another Today show guest, singer/actress Jordin Sparks, was spotted cheering Minaj on from the side of the stage and the two stars bonded backstage after the gig over the same vocal injury.

In a Twitter.com post after the set, Minaj wrote, "Jodin (sic) Sparks was praying for me backstage cuz (sic) she had a bruised vocal chord (sic) too! Haha! We were so dramatic!"

The rapper also revealed she was seeking further medical treatment for the bruised vocal cord and would undergo another X-ray to check on the damage.

However, Minaj won't have much time to rest - she is due to play a free show for fans at the Roseland Ballroom in the Big Apple on Tuesday night and is still booked to perform at Britain's V Festival this weekend (18-19Aug12) and in Dublin, Ireland on 21 August (12).