Rihanna fans eager for new music can look forward to the release of her latest track, “Friend of Mine,” set to debut Friday. The song, recorded for the soundtrack of the upcoming Smurfs movie, was announced Wednesday with the release of the film’s new trailer.
The trailer includes snippets of the track, which features Rihanna singing over a dreamy Afrobeats-inspired dance beat. The lyrics include the line, “You’re looking like a friend of mine.”
Rihanna stars as the voice of Smurfette in the film, alongside a cast that includes John Goodman, James Corden, Nick Offerman, and Sandra Oh. The movie is scheduled to premiere in theaters on July 18. In addition to Rihanna’s contribution, the soundtrack will feature a song by Tyla and “Higher Love” by DJ Khaled, Cardi B, and DESI TRILL, which was released in February.
The trailer opens with Rihanna in a blue jacket and blue beads in her hair, dancing in the studio while recording Smurfette’s lines. It then provides a glimpse into the movie’s plot, where the Smurfs venture into the real world to rescue Papa Smurf, voiced by Goodman, from the clutches of the villainous Gargamel, played by J.P. Karliak.
Rihanna also served as an executive producer for the film. She announced the project at CinemaCon in 2023 alongside Paramount and Nickelodeon, while she was pregnant with her second son, Riot Rose. “I get to show up in my PJs in my third trimester,” she said at the time. “I hope this gives me cool points with my kids one day.”
“Friend of Mine” will be Rihanna’s first release since “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack in 2022. Her last album, Anti, was released in 2016 and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
The trailer’s release follows Rihanna’s appearance at the Met Gala with partner A$AP Rocky, who co-chaired the event. On the red carpet, she revealed her pregnancy with their third child.
Despite the anticipation for a new album, Rihanna assured fans that her pregnancy would not impede her work on the follow-up to Anti. “Noooooo!” she told Entertainment Tonight at the Met Gala on May 5 when asked if it would cause delays. “Maybe a couple videos! I can still sing!”