Recommendations of the editorial team
Rihanna just made headlines at the Met Gala 2025 with the announcement of her third pregnancy, but that was not everything: Rihanna brings out a song. He is part of the new “Schlumpfe” film.
Even if “Friend of Mine” was “only” written for a film, he still has Rihanna’s first publication in three years. Her last title, “Lift Me Up”, was also a soundtrack-for the Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”.
The R&B ballad also brought in some nominations to the “Umbrella” singer, including one for the Oscar 2023 in the “Best Song” category.
On May 14th, Rihanna divided the trailer on Instagram for “The Smurfs: The Big Cinema”. There is already a short section of the new song. The complete single will be released on Friday (May 16).
But Rihanna is not only musically part of the film, she also takes on a central speaking role. In the animated comedy, she lends her voice to the main character Schlurfine. The film starts on July 17th in German cinemas.
The long waiting for a new Rihanna album
It has been nine years ago that Rihanna has published her last studio album Anti. However, it was not very quiet during this time about the artist from Barbados: she published some features and appeared in 2023 at the Super Bowl half-time show. In addition, she set up several successful brands in parallel, including the cosmetic line “Fenty Beauty”, the Lingerie label “Savage X Fenty” and the fashion house “Fenty”.
But the album rumors are no coincidence. It was only in February 2025 that she assured “Harper’s Bazaar” that a new record was on the way and at the same time denied the rumors that it would have reggae influences:
“There is no more genre now. That’s why I waited. […] So much time far from music – the next thing people hear, has to count. It must have meaning. I have to show you that the wait was worth it. I can’t deliver anything mediocre. After eight years of waiting you can wait a little longer. “