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Rihanna made her fans hanging musically for three years, now there is finally a new song. On Thursday (May 15th), the singer announced the publication of “Friend of Mine” on Instagram. The fan hearts beat higher – with hope for a new album. But it quickly became clear that the song is not a harbinger of a new record, but part of the soundtrack to the new “Smurf” film.
A fan says: “A crumb is a crumb”
The music video appeared a day after the announcement. In it, Rihanna wanders through a colorful smurf world and a little later her character sings the song. Because Rihanna is not only musically part of the film, but also takes on the speech role of the smurfine.
Musically, “Friend of Mine” is more of a minimalist approach. After a one-minute intro, Rihanna’s voice can be heard and after a short stanza then a repeated line dominates: “Feel Like a Friend of Mine / Feel Like a Friend of Mine”, underlaid with a driving dance beat.
In the comments under the YouTube video, the mixture of frustration and love love is reflected: “It feels like: ‘And off you go! Hopefully you are hungry …” But at this point I take what I can get. “
Another comment sums it up: “She went to the studio, recorded a single line and then said: Submit. And yet she blew us away.”
Rihanna and her music: is there more?
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:
“The next thing the people hears has to sit. It has to have meaning. I have to show them that the wait was worth it. I can’t deliver anything mediocre. After eight years, you can wait a little longer.” Until then, their fans will probably only remain: crumbs.