Rihanna’s Comeback Single “Lift Me Up” Receives Backlash from Fans

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Pull Quote designed by Nico Krassner.

Singer-songwriter, model, actor, record producer, fashion designer, composer, serial entrepreneur, and self-made billionaire – truly an extraordinarily decorated and accomplished woman – the beloved Rihanna is back and better than ever with her new single “Lift Me Up”.  

Her last studio album, Anti, came out in 2016, and fans have been anticipating new music from the singer ever since. 

It took the fans by surprise when Rihanna announced she would be releasing her comeback single “Lift Me Up” that would be featured in the new Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.  

It has been over 2 ½ years since Rihanna last was featured on a song, and a whole 6 years since she released her own album.

 While many fans were very praising of the new single, there was also a lot of backlash and hate towards it too.

 “Lift me up” can be described as a more graceful and mellow tune than fans are used to hearing from Rihanna, which stirred up a lot of opinions.

Similar to how Drake fans reacted to his most recent album, Her Loss, the change in style from what listeners are normally used to hearing from the artist upset many fans.

 In the case of Drake, fans were not impressed, questioning why he’d opted for a creative change and released a house music album, which caused Drake to receive a lot of backlash and hate. 

Rihanna beautifully honors and remembers Chadwick Boseman’s life with her rich and soothing voice, and the slower pace allows listeners to listen closely and reflect upon each lyric. However, many fans express that their expectations were not met after 6 years of waiting and anticipation for Rihanna to release new music. 

The song itself was co-written by Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson, and “Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler. 

Some fans, however, are simply disappointed with the song for the reason that they don’t get to hear the Rihanna they know and love through her more high-energy music.  

The reactions to Rihanna’s Anti album six years ago were a lot more positive. 

Anti was RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America advocates for recorded music) certified Anti triple platinum, marking three million album-equivalent units based on sales and streaming. Anti topped the albums charts all over the world. 

So far,  Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” peaked No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has amassed over 53 million streams on Spotify and 25 million on Apple Music since its Oct. 28 release.

This single is also just the beginning of Rihanna’s return. She plans to release a new album and said,”I’m really experimenting and music is like fashion. You should be able to play..I should be able to wear whatever I want and I treat music the same way. She  is set to headline for the

Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show in February of 2023 which fans are also elated about. 

Fundamentally, while some fans may be disappointed by Rihanna’s return to music being a slow hymn, “Lift Me Up” ultimately plays an important role in establishing the tone of the upcoming “Black Panther” film and remembering the legacy of Chadwick Boseman. 

Students can stream this song on all music streaming platforms.