Rihanna will be gracing the stage at the Oscars next month, performing her Original Song nominee ‘Lift Me Up’. The track was written and performed by Rihanna alongside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler, Tems, and Ludgwig Goransson, the film’s composer.
Last October, Coogler discussed how he managed to convince Rihanna to join the Marvel project, after not releasing new music since her 2016 album ‘Anti’. He said, “The movie was a major factor, big thanks to Jay Brown, Roc Nation and Jay Z who’s a friend and made the connection.”
He continued, “Look, Rihanna has given us a whole career, a whole catalogue of music and now she’s given us make-up and clothing and I think the world would understand if she hung up her mic, and I completely understand because I love her music and I feel that she’s given all that [we] could ask for. But the truth is we were looking for a great artist who could tell the story of the film, embrace the themes of the film and present them to the audience in a different packaging.”
Rihanna recently spoke about her ninth album, saying it will be “ridiculous” if it doesn’t get released this year. “I want it to be this year. Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.”