Breaking: The Oscars Won’t Be Boring Because Rihanna Is Performing
Rihanna is celebrating her first Oscar nomination by gracing the ceremony with her presence.
On February 23, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Rihanna will be performing “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at the 95th Oscars ceremony, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on March 12. “Lift Me Up” is nominated for best original song, up against Diane Warren’s “Applause” from Tell It Like a Woman; Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick; NTR and Ram Charan’s “Naatu Naatu” from RRR; and Son Lux, Mitski, and David Byrne’s “This Is a Life” from Everything Everywhere All at Once.
While “Lift Me Up” lost its Golden Globe to “Naatu Naatu,” Rihanna was still the most popular person in the room on January 10. Oscar victory or not, we’re sure the same will hold true at the Academy Awards. In general, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set up for a big night with five nominations, including Rihanna’s first Oscars nod and Angela Bassett’s history-making nomination for best supporting actress. (Do you think Bassett knows she did the thing? I think she does.)
Meanwhile, Rihanna is fresh off her jaw-dropping Super Bowl halftime show performance, marking yet another career milestone for the 35-year-old superstar. So, can we expect her ninth studio album anytime soon? “I want it to be this year,” she recently told British Vogue. “Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.” Sounds good to us.
Originally Appeared on Glamour