Rihanna drops new song 'Friend of Mine' along with the music video
It features in the upcoming Smurfs movie
Earlier this year, the Smurfs movie trailer teased some new music from none other than Rihanna, who also plays Smurfette. Now the singer has dropped the new song 'Friend of Mine', along with the music video which sees the singer enter the Smurf world.
Is there a music video?
Yes, there is a music video, it was released on the same day as the song (Friday 16th May). The video starts with Rihanna walking through the Smurf world, before she enters a house and becomes Smurfette, the character she voices.
How was the song announced?
Taking to Instagram a few days before the song's release, Rihanna wrote: 'new #SmurfsMovie trailer 🩵 featuring “Friend Of Mine” from the Smurfs soundtrack out friday. pre-save now. 🪩🎵'. (sic)
The video starts with footage of Rihanna in a studio, recording her voice parts for the film, before the full trailer begins with an 'intergalactic evil wizard alliance' meeting.
Fans of the singer left very excited comments after the trailer dropped with one writing: 'LETS GOOOO!!!! She’s coming', (sic) with another writing: 'aaaaaaaaaaaa yasssssssss!! IM WAITING FOR THISSSSSS OMGGG 😍💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙 I’m so excited for this!! 💙💙💙💙❤️🔥'. (sic)
Smurfs is due for release on 18th July 2025 and stars James Corden as No Name and John Goodman as Papa Smurf. The film also features Rihanna's song 'Don’t Stop The Music', along with her version of Belinda Carlisle's 'Heaven Is A Place On Earth', and new music from Desi Trill, featuring Cardi B, DJ Khaled, Natania, and Subhi.
The details of this new music comes just a week after Rihanna surprised fans by revealing she's expecting her third baby. The singer arrived at the Met Gala showing off her baby bump, where Rihanna's partner A$AP Rocky said: "It feels amazing, you know. It’s time that we show the people what we was cooking up. And I’m glad everybody’s happy for us ’cause we definitely happy, you know.
"Honestly, it’s a blessing nonetheless. Because you know how like some people in other situations at times can be envious of other people. But we’ve been seeing love for the most part. And we real receptive to that and appreciate that, you know what I mean? That’s love. Love is love."
What is Rihanna's new song called?
It is called 'Friend of Mine'.
When was it released?
It was released on Friday 16th May.
What film features the song?
The song appears in the upcoming Smurfs movie, along with other songs by Rihanna, and other artists.
Take a look through some of Rihanna's biggest collborations:
‘Break It Off’ with Sean Paul
Starting the collab's off strong in 2006, Rihanna teamed up with Jamaican superstar Sean Paul on her futuristic dance bop 'Break It Off'.
‘Umbrella’ with Jay-Z
It was in 2007 that Rihanna paired up with Jay-Z to create one of the most iconic songs of all time, 'Umbrella'. The hit charted at Number 1 for weeks, won several awards and is even listed on Rolling Stone's 'The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time'. In August 2024, the renowned track was certified 4x Platinum by the BPI, meaning it has sold over a whopping 2.4 million units.
‘Hate That I Love You’ with Ne-Yo
Later in 2007, the star went on to work with Ne-Yo, who was renowned for his incredible song-writing abilities- and the pair did not disappoint!
‘If I Never See Your Face’ Again with Maroon 5
In 2008 the singer joined forces with popular American pop-rock band Maroon 5, giving us the catchy tune 'If I Never See Your Face'. The song was a hit with fans and featured on both Maroon 5 and Rihanna's albums.
‘Live Your Life’ with T.I.
In that same year, Rihanna went on to collab with American rapper T.I in 'Live Your Life'. The song featured on the rapper's sixth studio album and was certainly catchy!
‘Run This Town’ with Jay-Z and Kanye West
It was in 2009 that Jay-Z teamed up with Rihanna and Kanye West to create the iconic track 'Run This Town'. It hit the top spot in the UK, and won Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the Grammy Awards. The track was certified 2x Platinum by the BPI in May 2024, translating to 1.2 million sales in the UK alone.
‘Hard’ with Jeezy
Rihanna's 2009 album 'Rated R' was full of big tunes, and 'Hard' was no exception. Teaming up with Jeezy, the pair produced this snappy number.
Eminem
RiRi and Eminem are no strangers to producing iconic tracks together. In 2010, the pair released the hard-hitting, 6x Platinum-certified 'Love The Way You Lie' followed by the melodic 'Love The Way You Lie Part II'- and they weren't stopping there! Three years later the duo teamed up again to release popular tune 'The Monster'.
‘Who's That Chick?’ with David Guetta
Well-known French DJ David Guetta sought help from Rihanna back in 2010 to create the masterpiece that is 'Who's That Chick?' The DJ is no stranger to a Number 1 hit, with this bop gliding to the Number 1 spot on the UK Dance Charts and being certified 2x Platinum.
‘All of the Lights’ with Kanye West
RiRi teamed up with Kanye again in 2010, gracing us with 'All of the Lights'. The song also features vocals from other stars such as John Legend, Alicia Keys, Elton John and Drake.
‘Rockstar 101’ with Slash
RiRi is really showing us that she can collab with pretty much anyone at this point, and proving that to us she teamed up with none other than Slash in 2010 on her track 'Rockstar 101'. Slash, also known as Saul Hudson, is the lead guitarist of American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and this proved to be a match made in heaven!
Drake
Dating back to 2010 with 'What's My Name?', it's safe to say that these two are pretty familiar with creating big tunes! The pair teamed up again in 2012 with 'Take Care', and went onto release the infamous reggae-pop hit 'Work' in 2016.
In 2024, 'Take Care' went 3x Platinum, selling more than 1.8 million copies in the UK, while 'What's My Name' also received 3x Platinum status in the UK in May 2025.
Nicki Minaj
Nicki has worked with some huge names in the music industry, and Rihanna is no exception! Hitting us with 'Raining Men' in 2010, we were further gifted with the melodic song 'Fly' in 2011.
Calvin Harris
Who can forget about the ubiquitous 'We Found Love' released in 2011? Rihanna and Calvin then teamed up again in 2016 for yet another catchy dance hit 'This Is What You Came For', which peaked at Number 2 in the UK and has since been certified 5x Platinum too.
‘Princess of China’ with Coldplay
In 2012 the superstar teamed up with the popular British band Coldplay to bring us 'Princess of China'. The band are no strangers to a killer collab, having joined forces with other big names such as Beyonce and Jay-Z. The song was an instant hit, with its popularity proving timeless - and as of August 2024, the song was certified 2x Platinum by the BPI.
‘Stay’ with Mikky Ekko
After a streak of hit dance tunes, Rihanna slowed down the tempo a bit, collaborating with Mikky Ekko in 2013 to bring us the gorgeous and melodious 'Stay'. It's since been certified 4x Platinum.
‘Can't Remember to Forget You’ with Shakira
In 2014, Rihanna and Shakira joined their impressive vocals together to create the catchy bop 'Can't Remember To Forget You', and we certainly won't be forgetting that one! It didn't quite make it into the Top 10 in the UK, peaking at Number 11, but it was certified Platinum by the BPI in May 2025.
‘FourFiveSeconds’ with Kanye West and Paul McCartney
Fellow musical giants Kanye West and Paul McCartney teamed up with Rihanna back in 2015 with the release of 'FourFiveSeconds'. The song was a huge hit, with Paul setting a new record for the longest break between top-ten singles in the charts.
‘Wild Thoughts’ with DJ Khaled and Bryson Tiller
This big tune was released in 2017 by DJ Khaled, featuring catchy vocals from Rihanna as well as popular American singer-songwriter and rapper Bryson Tiller.
'Loyalty.' with Kendrick Lamar
Rihanna joined Kendrick Lamar on his track 'Loyalty.' in 2017 and the song won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Performance in 2018. Although it didn't set the UK charts alight at the time, it's since been certified Platinum.
'Believe It' with PartyNextDoor
Rihanna paired up with Canadian singer PartyNextDoor to create the track 'Believe It'. The song came out in March 2020 and is part of PartyNextDoor's third studio album 'Partymobile'.
Now read:
Find out more about the Smurfs movie
Rihanna announces third pregnancy at the Met Gala 2025
Everything you need to know about the multi-talented Rihanna