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Just weeks removed from her 2023 Super Bowl performance, Rihanna’s ready to hit the stage again.
This time, it’ll be at the Oscars on March 12, where she’ll perform the somber “Lift Me Up” from Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
“Lift Me Up” was co-written by Rihanna, Tems, Ludwig Göransson, and the movie’s director Ryan Coogler and is nominated for best original song of the year. However, it’s even more meaningful for the singer, as it marks her first-ever Academy Award nomination.
The sequel was also nominated for best costume design thanks to Ruth E. Carter’s impeccable work, as well as best in visual effects and makeup and hairstyling. Wakanda Forever also earned Angela Bassett some new titles. Her Best Supporting Actress nomination makes her the first-ever woman, the first person of color, and the first Marvel Studios actor nominated for a comic book adaptation.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Ryan Coogler revealed he got Rihanna out of her musical hiatus to do “Lift Me Up” because she saw the trailer and wanted to be a part of it.
“It’s her experience with loss in there, and her being a mother. She’s a new person now. [Parenthood] changes you to your core. I hear it in her voice,” says Coogler. “It’s her, but it’s a new her.”
After her Super Bowl performance, Rihanna revealed why she decided to perform after previously turning it down, telling British Vogue, “There’s still a lot of mending to be done in my eyes, but it’s powerful to break those doors, and have representation at such a high, high level and a consistent level.”
The Oscars will be broadcast live on ABC from the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Sunday, March 12, at 8 pm EST.
Rihanna Set To Perform ‘Lift Me Up” At 2023 Oscars was originally published on cassiuslife.com
