Rihanna was among the performers at the 95th Oscars on Sunday night. The global star performed her Oscar-nominated song “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
Donning a black silk tulle embroidered top and dark silver and blue silk brocade trousers, a pregnant Rihanna belted the emotional ballad with conviction. Her boyfriend, A$AP Rocky, proudly supported from the audience.
This makes Rihanna’s second high-profile performance this year. She previously headlined the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show presented by Apple Music. At that performance, she announced she was pregnant with her second child with A$AP Rocky.
Back to “Lift Me Up.” Rihanna co-wrote the touching tune with Tems, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Göransson. Göransson also produced the track.
“Lift Me Up,” nominated for Best Original Song at the 95th Oscars, was penned as a tribute to the life and legacy of Chadwick Boseman, who starred as King T’Challa/Black Panther in the 2018 film. He passed away in 2020.
Of the inspiration for the song, Tems said, “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.”
She added, “Rihanna has been an inspiration to me so hearing her convey this song is a great honor.”
“Lift Me Up” marked Rihanna’s first Oscar nomination. The award ultimately went to “Naatu Naatu” by M. M. Keeravani. The latter track also won Best Original Song at the 80th Golden Globes, a category in which Rihanna was also nominated.
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On Billboard, “Lift Me Up” stormed upon its release. It debuted at No. 1 across the following charts: Hot R&B Songs, R&B Streaming Songs, R&B Digital Song Sales, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs.
“Lift Me Up” also entered at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it her 32nd top 10 hit on the main singles chart.
Moreover, “Lift Me Up” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart in December 2022. It earned Rihanna her first leader on that list.
Rihanna hasn’t gone home without at least one award for “Lift Me Up.” Its official video won Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album at the 54th NAACP Image Awards.
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Since scoring an Oscar nod, Rihanna has collected multiple accolades from the RIAA, including her most recent for “Needed Me.” The DJ Mustard-produced track is now 9x multi-platinum with more than nine million equivalent units sold.
Watch Rihanna perform “Lift Me Up” below.
