wakanda on the brain
Rihanna is returning to music with new Black Panther song
These diamonds are made of Vibranium.
Rihanna looks set to return to music this Friday with a new song from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. The official Twitter account for the film dropped a teaser that highlights the letter "R" in its logo, seemingly referring to Rihanna, and it ends with Friday's date.
While nothing has been confirmed, there had already been rumors that Rihanna recorded new music for the highly-anticipated Marvel sequel's soundtrack The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan tweeted that he's "been hearing for weeks that Rihanna is recording the end-credits song" for the film, which hits theaters on Nov. 11.
That would make the song Rihanna's first solo release since 2016, when she debuted her album Anti. But the timing would make sense, considering Rihanna has been confirmed to be performing at the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
It would also give the Black Panther sequel another potentially big song after the original featured "All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, which was nominated for an Academy Award. The Rihanna song too, could potentially make its way into this year's Best Original Song Oscar category, which may put her in competition with songs from artists like Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.
Update 12:38 p.m. ET: Rihanna has confirmed her new single for the Black Panther soundtrack, "Lift Me Up," will be released on Friday. According to Variety, the song was "written as a tribute to the life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman."