Rihanna makes long-awaited music comeback as she drops first song in 3 years

Rihanna is finally back with new music. But it’s probably not what fans expected.

On Friday, May 16, the singer released Friend of Mine, her first song in three years, created for the upcoming Smurfs movie.

The upbeat Afrobeats-inspired track plays during the film, with Rihanna voicing Smurfette. A snippet was first teased earlier this week in a trailer showing her animated character dancing and singing in Smurf Village.

The song is part of the film’s soundtrack, which also features tracks by DJ Khaled, Cardi B, and DESI TRILL.

South African star Tyla is also contributing music, while the film itself — due out July 18 — includes voice roles from John Goodman, Sandra Oh, James Corden, and Nick Offerman.

Along with voicing Smurfette, Rihanna also served as a producer on the project.

When announcing the role at CinemaCon in 2023 while pregnant with her second child, she joked, “I get to show up in my PJs in my third trimester … I hope this gives me cool points with my kids one day.”

Now expecting her third baby with A$AP Rocky, the superstar recently debuted her bump at the 2025 Met Gala.

Her last release was 2022’s Lift Me Up for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, while her last full album, Anti, came out back in 2016.