Minaj, Grande deny competition

Singers Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande have laughed off speculations that the former has delayed the release of her new studio album "Queen" to compete with the latter's "Sweetener" on the same date.

Minaj announced that her fans would have to wait another week to listen to "Queen" -- her first studio album in four years -- and that it would release on August 17. It's the same date as Grande's "Sweetener" is to be launched.

Internet trolls were quick to speculate that the albums were being purposefully scheduled to compete for music chart's top position. However, the close friends and frequent collaborators, who reunited earlier this year for hit songs "Bed" and "The Light Is Coming," disregarded any such assumptions, reports eonline.com.

Grande tweeted: "Me and Nicki laughed at that."

In response to Grande's tweet, Minaj wrote: "I love this woman. Can't wait for the fans to benefit from all the hard work on both ends. We love your passion. You guys will be very happy. Trust. That's all I'll say."

--IANS

smriti/rb