It’s been six years since the pop star and now fashion and makeup mogul Rihanna released new music. That changed tonight with the release of “Lift Me Up,” a ballad featured in Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” And, sorry Gaga fans, once you hear it you’ll realize why it’s now the presumptive favorite to take the Best Original Song Oscar.
READ MORE: Is “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” a Best Picture player?
Co-written by Tems, Oscar winner Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, and Coogler, the song is technically an “end credits song,” but it really isn’t. Without providing spoilers, it occurs in the middle of one larger scene cut in two and is an emotional spark for what is the final scene in the movie. According to a statement from Walt Disney Studios, the track was recorded in five countries and is intended as a “tribute to the extraordinary life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman.”
Boseman, the title star of the original “Black Panther,” passed away from a long and private battle with cancer on August 28, 2020. Production on the sequel had been expected to begin only a few weeks later. His death prompted the filmmakers to take a break and reconceive the second installment of the Best Picture-nominated franchise.
You can listen to the new song on Spotify or in the embedded YouTube visualizer below.
Rihanna and Göransson, who won his Academy Award for the first “Black Panther’s” score, enter what is seemingly a star-filled but wide-open Best Original Song race. Gaga’s “Hold My Hand,” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” is likely in by default. Other potential nominees include “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR,” “Nobody Likes U” from “Turning Red” (by last year’s winners Billie Eilish and Finneas), “Carolina” from “Where The Crawdads Sing” (Taylor Swift), “New Body Rhumba” from “White Noise” (LCD Soundsystem), “This Is A Life” from “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (David Byrne), “Not Alone” from “Devotion” (Joe Jonas), “Carried Away” from “Lyle Lyle Crocodile” (Pasek and Paul), “My Mind and Me” from “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me” (Selina Gomez) and, of course, the resident Diane Warren entry, “Applause” from “Tell It Like A Woman.”
Kendrick Lamar, SZA, and a number of other songwriters, the artists behind “All The Stars” from “Black Panther,” lost the Original Song Oscar in 2019 to Gaga’s “Shallow” track from “A Star is Born.” An award Boseman presented to Gaga and her collaborators during that specific ceremony. “All The Stars” was also nominated for four Grammy Awards including Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” opens nationwide on Nov. 11