Rihanna fans erupt as she drops surprise new music video after pregnancy announcement
Rihanna officially dropped the music video for her new track Friend Of Mine on Thursday for the Smurfs movie soundtrack - three years after releasing her last single.
The songstress, 37, first announced her music comeback this week - but left some fans disappointed upon learning that it had nothing to do with her next album.
The Grammy winner notably voiced the role of Smurfette in the upcoming animated musical comedy, which is set to hit theaters this summer on July 18.
The video kicked off with the star inside a magical forest while surrounded by flowers and mushrooms as a stream of sunlight shone down on her.
As she began making her way through the forest while holding a flower umbrella, the upbeat tune for the track played in the background.
Rihanna - whose last single was Lift Me Up for the 2022 film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - strutted in a black leather jacket as well as matching, cutout bottoms.
She then entered a door that led to Smurfs dancing to the song - including Smurfette who grooved and sang the lyrics.
'Oh I think the word here is déjà vu/ Just met you tonight but you feel like a friend of mine/ You feel like a friend of mine,' Rihanna belted out.
The star repeats those lyrics throughout the entirety of the three-minute track as snippets from the animated movie also were shown.
Fans jumped to the comment section of the music video to share their thoughts, with one penning, 'At this point, I'll take it.'
Another wrote, 'I was NOT expecting this song to sound like that,' while one shared, 'Well there's not so much Rihanna in this track.'
'Don't know if I can call this a "song" but I'll take whatever I can get,' a fan typed out, and one commented, 'RIHANNA SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL.'
One typed out, 'She got in that studio and recorded one line and said SUBMIT. And still gagged us.'
Another added, 'It's giving "And here we go! I hope you're hungry... for nothing" but I'll take it at this point.'
Fans jumped to the comment section of the music video to share their thoughts, with one penning, 'At this point, I'll take it'
'Don't know if I can call this a "song" but I'll take whatever I can get,' a fan typed out, and one commented, 'RIHANNA SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL'
One typed out, 'She got in that studio and recorded one line and said SUBMIT. And still gagged us'
'Even though the song was a loop I enjoyed it, I mean it's only for the soundtrack so we can't expect too much, because I mean this isn't the rollout for her new albums so,' a fan expressed.
One added, 'Same sentence 10x, what a shame. I'll pretend this never happened and keep waiting for good music, cause I know she can. R9 we STILL waiting for u.'
Earlier this week on Wednesday, the songstress announced that she would be finally making her return to music with a brand new single.
The star - who released her last studio album Anti back in 2016 - initially excited fans when she confirmed the release of her new tune Friend of Mine.
However, their joy soon turned to disappointment when people realized that the song was for the Smurfs soundtrack and not actually the lead offering from her next album.
'People saw this and got excited. Then saw Smurfs,' wrote one.
'[I don't give a f**k] about a song in the movie! Where [the f**k] is R9! I'm getting sick of this ish!' commented a second.
'Bruh this better not be having me crying like Life Me Up did,' said another, referring to Rihanna's Black Panther single.
'Rihanna, you can keep this like you should have kept that Black Panther song,' added a fourth.
According to Billboard, Friend of Mine is described as an 'afrobeats-inspired dance track.'
The new Smurfs film stars Rihanna as the voice of Smurfette and John Goodman as Papa Smurf. Other stars include Sandra Oh, James Corden, and Nick Offerman.
The Fenty designer - who is expecting her third child with her partner A$AP Rocky - recently confirmed that her pregnancy won't delay her return to music.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the Umbrella hitmaker was asked if the album - which has been dubbed 'R9' by fans - will be 'put on pause even longer' due to her pregnancy.
'No, maybe a couple of videos. I can still sing!' she responded. In the meantime, fans are still waiting for the follow-up to 2016's Anti.
While details are few and far between, in February she offered a tease of what fans can expect from the album.
She told Harper's Bazaar: 'I've been in the studio the whole eight years. But it didn't hit me. I was searching for it.
'I went through phases of what I wanted to do. "This kind of album, not that album." I know it's not going to be anything that anybody expects.
'And it's not going to be commercial or radio, digestible. It's going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now. I feel like I've finally cracked it, girl!'
Rihanna insisted there was 'no genre' for the album, and she has been determined to make the next batch of songs something 'matching [her] evolution.'
She added: 'After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, this much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears.
'It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait.
'I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more.'
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