Rihanna to perform ‘Black Panther’ song at Oscars

Rihanna performs onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona.  (Getty Images via AFP)

LOS ANGELES – Pop superstar Rihanna will perform at the Oscars next month, organizers said Thursday, just weeks after she made her long-awaited — and visibly pregnant — return at the Super Bowl.

The Barbados-born singer will perform her Academy Award-nominated song “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” at the film industry’s top awards show in Hollywood.

The song is competing with the likes of Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick,” and the current frontrunner “Naatu Naatu” from Indian crowd-pleaser “RRR.”

Rihanna, 35, had not performed a live show in seven years before bringing a career-spanning medley of hits to the NFL flagship halftime show earlier this month.

She has instead concentrated on the successful makeup, lingerie and high-fashion brands that have helped make her a billionaire — as well raising her first child, a son, who was born in May.

Her new baby bump dominated conversation at the Super Bowl, with representatives for the singer confirming soon after the show that Rihanna is pregnant with her second child.

But fans hoping for a glimpse of the album she’s been teasing for years were left disappointed.

“Lift Me Up” is the first Oscar nomination for Rihanna, a nine-time Grammy winner with eight multi-platinum albums.

The 95th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be held at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre on March 12.

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