Rihanna to perform ‘Lift Me Up’ at 2023 Oscars
The powerful ballad earned the pop sensation her first ever Oscar nomination
Rihanna will perform her Oscar-nominated song ‘Lift Me Up’ from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at this year’s Academy Awards.
The annual ceremony is due to take place on March 12, 2023 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Nearly seven years after releasing her album Anti, Rihanna returned in October with the release of ‘Lift Me Up,’ serving as a powerful tribute to late Chadwick Boseman.
The pop sensation then returned to the stage this month to headline the Super Bowl halftime show – marking her first live performance in more than five years – where she delivered a career-spanning set and revealed she was pregnant with her second child.
Rihanna is now set to take to the stage again for a live rendition of her new track – which is nominated in the Best Original Song category – co-written with Tems, Ludwig Göransson, and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler.
“It was an honor to work with these incredible musicians in crafting a song for our film and for our friend,” said Coogler of the song’s nomination in a statement. “It was meant to be a tribute to love and the specter of loss, and I couldn’t be happier that it is being recognized.”
Also nominated is Lady Gaga for her song ‘Hold My Hand’ from Top Gun: Maverick.
Upon the release of ‘Lift Me Up’, Tems explained how the track came about. “After speaking with Ryan and hearing his direction for the film and the song, I wanted to write something that portrays a warm embrace from all the people that I’ve lost in my life.
“I tried to imagine what it would feel like if I could sing to them now and express how much I miss them.”
“Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor,” Tems added.
Rihanna has also opened up about the possibility of new music soon in a new interview. I want it to be this year,” she told British Vogue of a potential new album. “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.” The interview, however, took place before the singer knew she was pregnant.
Ahead of her Super Bowl performance Rihanna also shared that she was open to exploring “different” and “weird” new music.
Speaking at the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show press conference ahead of the performance, she explained: “I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating things that are new, things that are different, things that are off, weird, might never make sense to my fans. I just want to play, I want to have fun with music.”
The singer also described the challenging process of preparing the perfect performance for the Super Bowl, revealing that there were “39 versions” of the 13-minute set.