If you’re feeling a little perplexed as to why Rihanna is putting so much energy into promoting her new movie Smurfs, we’ve got one major reason for us all to get on board.
As well as voicing Smurfette in the new family adventure comedy, Rih has also recorded new music for the project.
On Thursday, the first trailer for Smurfs debuted online, with the Love On The Brain singer going big on pushing the project on her social media channels.
And when the teaser began doing the rounds on social media, there was one aspect that got people particularly excited…
The trailer already teases one new recording from the Grammy-winning star, who appears to have covered the Belinda Carlisle classic Heaven Is A Place On Earth for the accompanying soundtrack.
In the years since her 2016 album Anti was released, Rihanna has released only a handful of new songs, instead focussing her attention on her Fenty lines of beauty and lingerie.
A year after Anti came out, she collaborated with N.E.R.D. on their song Lemon, and released the hit Wild Thoughts with DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller.
More recently, she worked with PartyNextDoor on the 2020 single Believe It, and contributed the Oscar-nominated ballad Lift Me Up to the soundtrack of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022.
In 2023, Rihanna headlined the Super Bowl Half-Time Show, which led to rumours that she could be about to head out on tour.
However, she later insisted that this would not be the case until she had “new music” and… well… we’re still waiting.
Smurfs is due to hit cinemas in July, boasting an all-star cast that also includes Hannah Waddingham, Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, Natasha Lyonne, James Corden, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris and Nick Offerman.
The iconic blue characters last hit the big screen over a decade ago, when Rihanna’s friend and fellow popstar Katy Perry lent her voice to Smurfette.
Watch the Smurfs trailer for yourself below: