Nicki Minaj confirmed the re-release of '' Pink Friday : Roman Reloaded '' and its lead single in September 2012 at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards , telling E! News , " I 'm actually going to drop my new single like next week . " On September 10 , 2012 , Minaj revealed through Twitter that the song 's title was " The Boys " and that a " real pretty " female would be collaborating with her on it , along with a music video being planned for the track . A day later , Minaj tweeted " Thursday " which was believed to be the release date of the single . The song was released on September 13 , 2012 , being made available for digital download via the iTunes Store . It premiered on American radio platform iHeartRadio that same day
2012 MTV Video Music Awards
2012 MTV Video Music Awards
The Boys (Nicki Minaj and Cassie song)