Rihanna delivered a career-defining performance at the 95th annual Academy Awards.
The superstar performed her Oscar-nominated song "Lift Me Up" from the blockbuster film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The stunning ballad, created alongside the film's director Ryan Coogler and Nigerian musician and songwriter Tems, is a tribute record to the film's late original star, Chadwick Boseman. For the performance, Rihanna wore a sheer, black babydoll style top encrusted with shimmering crystals, matching lace trousers, and sleek leather gloves by Maison Margiela.
The performance is Rihanna's first return to the stage since her globally celebrated halftime performance for the Super Bowl last month, and also since announcing she's pregnant with her second child. You can re-watch the performance in full, below.
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While the icon has yet to fully confirm if new music is indeed on the way (amid her very successful fashion and beauty ventures she's also oversees) fans have been thankful to see the singer on stage once again. Rihanna also previously stated that her son, whom she shares with boyfriend ASAP Rocky, inspired her to embrace that side of her career again, especially after becoming a mother.
"As scary as [preparing for the Super Bowl] was, because I haven't been onstage in seven years, there's something exhilarating about the challenge of it all," Rihanna said in an interview with Apple Music last month. "And it's important for me to do this this year. It's important for representation, it's important for my son to see that."
Bianca Betancourt is the culture editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where she covers all things film, TV, music, and more. When she's not writing, she loves impulsively baking a batch of cookies, re-listening to the same early-2000s pop playlist, and stalking Mariah Carey's Twitter feed.
