Rihanna's New ‘SMURFS' Song 'Friend of Mine' Has Me Totally Confused
As a song, 'Friend of Mine' relies less on Rihanna's vocals and more on a dance beat. In fact, she barely sings more than a couple lines that simply repeat throughout the song. It's a far cry from her last musical release, 'Lift Me Up,' the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever track which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. But Rihanna fans know that beggars can't be choosers, and if this is what Rihanna is willing to give us, then we'll take it!
Fans have been waiting for a new Rihanna album—affectionately known as R9—ever since she dropped her last full-length album, Anti, in 2016. Since then, she's taken over the beauty world with her brand Fenty Beauty, welcomed two kids, and headlined the Super Bowl Halftime show. New music, however, has been few and far between, which is why fans held high hopes for this new single—even if it is coming courtesy of this summer's animated SMURFS movie.
Needless to say, the reaction to 'Friend of Mine' has been mixed. Some are just grateful for the crumbs while others are joking that maybe they're fine with Rihanna sticking to her makeup brand. 'yk what we'll let u sell the makeup it's okay girl,' wrote one fan on Twitter. Another wrote, 'girl at this point we'll take what we can get i guess.'
yk what we'll let u sell the makeup it's okay girl 😭 https://t.co/p7QvakoEMG
— ISLAND BOY 🏝🍒 (@ISLANDBOYY11) May 16, 2025
She's a comedian https://t.co/Ohd7TUmMOm
— Bolu Babalola (@BeeBabs) May 16, 2025
Writer Nicolas-Tyrell Scott theorized that Rihanna was trolling all of us with this new track, tweeting, 'Barely saying more than 'you feel like a friend of mine' across the song is k*lling me. She's such a troll and I find it so hilarious as someone who is content with her ending her music career here if she wishes.' And author Bolu Babalola added, 'She's a comedian.'
She's a comedian https://t.co/Ohd7TUmMOm
— Bolu Babalola (@BeeBabs) May 16, 2025
At this point in her career, it's clear that Rihanna is just going to do what she wants, when she wants it. And if right now what she wants is to voice Smurfette and singe an original song for the film, then that's what she'll do.
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