Rihanna teases first song in three years – and song release is just days away
Rihanna delighted fans after revealing she returned to the studio for her first new song after three years. The 37-year-old, who announced she's expecting her third child with A$AP Rocky after showcasing her bump at the Met Gala, is releasing Friends of Mine on Friday for the new Smurfs film.
Her last drop was on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with Lift Me Up. Rihanna stars as Smurfette in the upcoming Smurfs movie, which also stars John Goodman as Papa Smurf, Nick Offerman as Ken, Sandra Oh as Moxie, Nick Kroll as Brainy Smurf. Other stars in the movie include James Corden, Xolo Maridueña and Kurt Russell.
Riri shared the trailer on her social media page, and it showed a small snippet of the upbeat song, which is part of the movie's soundtrack.
The Bajan singer captioned the post: "New #SmurfsMovie trailer featuring Friend Of Mine from the Smurfs soundtrack out Friday. pre-save now."
Fans loved that she was releasing new music, but expressed their disappointment that it wasn't in the form of a new album. One user wrote: "When we said we wanted new music, this isn't what we meant. ig we'll take what we can get."
"Saw her in the recording studio and almost screamed, and then…" one person commented and another fan yearning for new music added: "I thought she was about to bless us with music—'cause lately, my soul's been out here starving like it's on a diet of broken headphones and bad vibes."
After Rihanna confirmed her pregnancy, the Umbrella singer was asked if the album, affectionately nicknamed 'R9', would be 'put on pause even longer'. Rihanna responded to Entertainment Tonight: "No, maybe a couple of videos."
Fans have been eagerly awaiting this album for nine years, but RiRi hinted that plans are still on track. She cheekily added: "I can sing!"
Rihanna, already mum to sons RZA, two, and Riot, 21 months, with Rocky, also shared that she isn't feeling 'too overwhelmed' by her pregnancy, despite an initial shock. She said: "I'm good! I'm shockingly feeling ok, and not too overwhelmed at the moment. At first it was kinda like, 'Ahhh!'"
Meanwhile, fans are still waiting for the successor to 2016's Anti. While the details about the album remain scarce, Rihanna gave a sneak peek into what fans might expect from the record in February.
Speaking to Harper's BAZAAR magazine, she revealed: "I've been in the studio the whole eight years. But it didn't hit me. I was searching for it. I went through phases of what I wanted to do. 'This kind of album, not that album'."
"I know it's not going to be anything that anybody expects. And it's not going to be commercial or radio, digestible. It's going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now. I feel like I've finally cracked it, girl!"
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