Good news, bad news: Rihanna decided to gift us with a banger (yay!), but she did it to promote the Smurfs movie she’s starring in this summer, so we’re no closer to R9 (boo). “Friend of Mine,” Rihanna’s first time singing lead for a dance track in eight years — the last time being her DJ Khaled collaboration “Wild Thoughts” — came out on May 16. It’s a Rihanna club track, à la “We Found Love,” in the classical sense: There’s thumping electronic beats, Rihanna sings a total of 29 words, and it’s designed to go well with grinding on a stranger. “Ooh, I think the word here is déjà vu,” Rihanna sings. “Just met you tonight, but you feel like a friend of mine.” So these Smurfs are out here partying? Dancing up on hot, unknown Smurfs on the dance floor? Papa gets down like that? The song is Rihanna’s first release since her two ballads off the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack in 2022, “Lift Me Up” and “Born Again.”
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In the music video, Rihanna waltzes through a field of fake flora with a large flower, then arrives at a door, where she kicks the rest of the music video over to the Smurfs, most importantly, her character Smurfette. The Smurfs dance around, including a little voguing, then go through a series of psychedelic settings, like an aurora-borealis-filled sky, a river with water turbines, and a neon-rainbow-backed screen. Then, it’s back to Rihanna, who struts one more time. It’s nice to have her back, singing songs that could soundtrack a messy hookup in the club like she used to. Sorry, kids.
