Rihanna will drop a new single, titled “Friend of Mine,” on Friday, as part of the upcoming Smurfs movie: Smurfs 2.
Rihanna shared the news earlier today, and footage of her in the studio and a clip of the high-octane song. As well as laying down tracks for the soundtrack, Rihanna is starring in the film itself, alongside John Goodman, James Corden, Nick Offerman, and Sandra Oh. As is often the case with big stars in the movie world atm, she’ll also have a production credit.
And it’s not the first time Riri has recorded music for cinema: in 2022, she released "Lift Me Up" for the "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" soundtrack. But she hasn’t released any non-film-related songs since 2016. Tbf, music made for movies can slap. Just look at Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" from "Dangerous Minds" and Billie Eilish's "What was I Made For" from the "Barbie" soundtrack.
It seems like Rihanna is making music exclusively for music scores now. Directors, take note.
