From Super Bowl LVII to the Academy Awards, Rihanna is booking some huge live performances this year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has announced that the Grammy-winning artist will take the stage at this year’s 95th Academy Awards ceremony to perform the original song “Lift Me Up” from the Marvel Studios film, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
.@rihanna will take the stage at the 95th Academy Awards to perform her Oscar-nominated original song "Lift Me Up" from 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.' #Oscars95 https://t.co/FbrUO0PKeL
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) February 23, 2023
Rihanna Will Perform ‘Lift Me Up’ At The Oscars
The song “Lift Me Up” is also up for an Oscar at the ceremony, as it’s been nominated for Best Original Song. Rihanna shares the nomination with Tems, writer and director Ryan Coogler, and composer Ludwig Göransson. “Wakanda Forever” has earned four other nominations, including Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Visual Effects, and Best Supporting Actress for Angela Bassett.
This will not only mark Rihanna’s first Oscar nomination, but it will also be her first time performing at the Oscars. It will also be Rihanna’s first performance at an award show at the 2018 Grammys. That year she took home the award for Best Rap/Sung Performance for “LOYALTY.” along with Kendrick Lamar.
The other original songs up for the category include “Applause” from “Tell It Like a Woman” by Diane Warren, “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick” by Lady Gaga and BloodPop, “Naatu Naatu” from “RRR” by M.M. Keeravani and Chandrabose, and “This Is A Life” from “Everything Everywhere All At Once” by Ryan Lott and David Byrne. So, there is some stiff competition in the field this year for the golden statue for Best Original Song.
As reported by The Blast, the singer is coming off a major performance at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Her much-talked-about set revealed that she is pregnant with her and her longtime partner A$AP Rocky’s second child. The couple welcomed their first child, a son, in May 2022.
Speaking to British Vogue, Rihanna revealed motherhood was a major reason she opted to perform at the Super Bowl this year as she was thinking about her legacy to her children. She also noted how motherhood helped give her the strength to overcome any challenge. She told the outlet, “It was almost like an out-of-body experience. I have not been on stage in seven years. Seven years! From zero to Super Bowl? That’s mental.”
It’s exciting to see after Rihanna taking off several years from live performances that she is putting multiple ones back-to-back between the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards. Also, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal recently came out hard against critics of her recent Super Bowl performance. He said on the singer during his podcast, “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” “All you people disrespecting my Rihanna, shut your face. Shut it up. We living in a world where people got too much freedom. Keep your f**king thoughts to yourself.”
The 95th Annual Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 12 at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC in more than 200 territories across the globe.
