Rihanna announces Lift Me Up: New music for Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack release date revealed

As if we didn't have enough to be getting on with this week, what with the small matter of a Taylor Swift and Artic Monkeys chart race consuming our every thought, Rihanna's only gone and announced a brand-new music release this Friday, October 28.

Following the announcement of his big NFL Super Bowl halftime show headline performance next February, and alongside her work on brands Savage X Fenty and Fenty Beauty, Rihanna will release new song Lift Me Up this week.

The track will be taken from the soundtrack to Marvel's upcoming movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with the star announcing the track on social media after much speculation.

lift me up
10.28.22 pic.twitter.com/hIvhUQP8Bj

— Rihanna (@rihanna) October 26, 2022

MORE: Rihanna's Official Top 40 biggest songs so far revealed

This comes after it was alleged last week that RiRi has recorded a song for the movie's end credits. In 2018, Kendrick Lamar and SZA released the closing credits soundtrack for the first Black Panther movie; the Top 5 single All The Stars.

New York Times journalist Kyle Buchanan wrote: "Rumours are flying and I can add to them: I’ve been hearing for weeks that Rihanna is recording the end-credits song for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. How do you follow up a classic like All the Stars? By snagging Rihanna’s first big song in years."

Watch the initial Rihanna teaser for Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever below:

👀 #WakandaForever pic.twitter.com/i5xsJTGwzg

— Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (@theblackpanther) October 26, 2022

Lift Me Up will be Rihanna's first solo release since 2016 album ANTI, which included singles such as Work, Needed Me and Kiss It Better.

While she did appear as a guest artist on Canadian singer-songwriter PARTYNEXTDOOR's Top 20 single Believe It in 2020, Rihanna's last solo UK Top 40 single was Needed Me, which reached Number 38 back in April 2016.

NOW check out Rihanna's entire discography artwork (and where each track charted):