Rihanna returns with ‘Lift Me Up’ for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’
After six years without releasing a new solo song, megastar Rihanna is making a highly anticipated return to music this week.
The singer herself teased that her first single, Lift Me Up, will go out this Friday as part of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
The first tweet that tipped her fans off included the looking-eyes emoji and an R with “October 28, 2022.”
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The singer behind the hits Diamonds and Umbrella then posted a brief preview of the new track, which featured humming over strings.
lift me up
10.28.22 pic.twitter.com/hIvhUQP8Bj— Rihanna (@rihanna) October 26, 2022
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The track is a tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, her first solo single since 2016’s Love on the Brain.
Boseman, who played King T’Challa in the original “Black Panther,” died of colon cancer in 2020 at 43.
The follow-up film centres on Wakanda’s leaders as they contend with the death of their ruler and fight to protect their nation from intervening world powers. Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke co-star in the film.
Like the original, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is expected to be another box office smash.
The news comes only weeks after the NFL announced Rihanna would be headlining the coveted Super Bowl halftime show in February, a long-awaited return to the stage for the pop phenom.
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@rihannatoday
Rihanna’s fierce fan base has been clamouring for her ninth album, which she has said will be “reggae-infused” and has hinted since 2019 is nearly finished.
But the Barbadian-born artist has focused on other ventures, including becoming the first Black woman to head a fashion house for the French powerhouse LVMH, which owns legacy brands including Fendi and Givenchy.
Rihanna is currently prepping for her fourth annual Savage X Fenty fashion show, featuring Anitta, Burna Boy, Don Toliver, and Maxwell as performing artists.
The event will be premiering exclusively via Prime Video with other bold-faced names such as Ángela Aguilar, Avani Gregg, Bella Poarch, Cara Delevingne and more to make appearances.
She welcomed her first child with rapper A$AP Rocky in May.
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