There was a time when Nicki Minaj was defined as much by her image as by her bars — by her many alter-egos, her outlandish costumes and hairstyles, and her tendency to break into a British accent (or, on occasion, into tongues).

But that's all over now.

Wearing a classic black number courtesy of Alexander McQueen on Monday, the Cash Money MC told MTV News that she's getting back to her roots — both literally and figuratively.

"I went so far to the other side that there's only one place to go from there," Minaj told us while promoting "The Other Woman." "You can either continue doing costumes or you can just say, 'Hey guess what? This will shock them even more. Doing nothing will shock them even more.'"

The first sign of her transformation came at the start of 2013. After parting ways with her longtime hairstylist Terrence Davidson — the man behind that leopard-print wig in "Fly" and her candy-colored beehive bun — Nicki covered Elle in a more natural look — her face nearly bare of makeup and her natural hair color peeking through the platinum blonde.

Fast-forward one year, and she showed up to the MTV Movie Awards in another black McQueen dress — undoubtedly a deliberate departure from this.

It's all an effort, Nicki says, of "coming full circle," and the transformation isn't just a physical one -- as showcased on its aggressive lead singles like and "Chi-Raq," The Pink Print finds Nicki returning to her rap roots. In the two years since ...

This is probably one time when Lorde doesn't think her parents are being totally annoying for telling her what to do. The 17-year-old singer revealed on Monday night that she has been forced to postpone a planned tour of Australia that was slated to kick off on Thursday due to concerns over her health.

"In case you missed the announcement earlier, I have had to postpone my Australian shows because of a nasty chest infection," she told fans.

In a statement, her Melbourne-based promoter Frontier Touring explained, "It is with much regret that Frontier Touring announce that Lorde has had to postpone her upcoming Australian tour ... Under doctor's advice, Ella Yelich-O'Connor will return o New Zealand for immediate rest and recuperation in order to regain complete health and continue touring for the rest of the year."

Lorde performed at the Coachella Festival over the past two weekends on a bill that also included the return of hip-hop duo OutKast
. In another tweet she said she's been going "non-stop" since the Grammys in January and promised that she will "100% be back for this tour," likely in the fall.

In the Frontier statement, Lorde said it "breaks my heart" to postpone the shows. "The band and I absolutely love playing to Australian crowds," the New Zealand native said. "And it was not a decision we made lightly. I know I need to focus on getting better in order to perform at my best."

The Australian tour was to include two kick-off shows in Melbourne at Festival Hall, as well as ...

Warning: Spoilers for the latest "Game of Thrones" episode are ahead.

"Game of Thrones" suffers from "the butterfly effect." (Not to be confused with the film, "The Butterfly Effect," though perhaps there's a think-piece lurking there, too.) Author George R.R. Martin, writer of the novels that "Thrones" is based on, has discussed this phenomenon from time to time — that when the show deviates from the source material, even the tiniest change can cause a great ripple effect.

Case in point: "Breaker of Chains," the latest episode of "Thrones," and its depiction of Jaime raping Cersei in front of the corpse of their oldest son. Not even two full days since the episode aired, this scene stands out as one of the show's most debated and controversial changes from the books, with questions arising over the director's view of the scene, how it damages Jaime's supposed redemption arc (bearing in mind that this is a man who crippled a nine-year-old boy in the series premiere; there's only so much redemption to go around), and more.

It's also an instance of the Martin-labeled "butterfly effect." In a blog post, the writer explained:

"In the novels, Jaime is not present at Joffrey's death, and indeed, Cersei has been fearful that he is dead himself, that she has lost both the son and the father/lover/brother. And then suddenly Jaime is there before her. Maimed and changed, but Jaime nonetheless. Though the time and place is wildly inappropriate and Cersei is fearful of discovery, she is as hungry for him as ...