Rihanna's 'Friend Of Mine': a Smurfy slip-up that left fans feeling blue

The highly anticipated “Friend Of Mine” track by Rihanna has officially dropped, and fans are not entirely impressed.

The 37-year-old singer’s fans have been holding out hope for new music, and while they might not have gotten the album they have been asking for, they did get “Friend Of Mine”, a song from the "Smurfs" soundtrack, which dropped today.

The song, which features Rihanna’s vocals, has been met with mixed reviews from fans, who were expecting something more substantial from the music icon.

Rihanna has been focusing on her business ventures and motherhood in recent years, and fans have been eagerly awaiting her return to music. 

While some fans might be willing to take whatever they can get, many are expressing disappointment with the new song, saying it does not quite live up to their expectations.

The artist took to her social media to post a snippet of the new song along with the visuals, as well as the link to download it. 

The music video for the song features Rihanna walking towards the Smurfs’ village, sheltering under a giant flower that doubles as an umbrella.

Once she enters the village, the scene seamlessly transitions to animation, showcasing the Smurfs throwing it down to the upbeat track with their impressive moves.

Fans quickly flooded the comment section with their candid opinions, and most were not happy.

@mositions commented: “Girl, at this point we’ll take what we can get, I guess.”

Another X user @HARRYSHOUSE3 said: “Even ‘Lift Me Up’ was more listenable, we are in the trenches.”

“Friend Of Mine” marks Rihanna’s first music release in over three years, following “Lift Me Up” from the “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” soundtrack in 2022.

The song is part of the "Smurfs" movie soundtrack, and Rihanna is also voicing Smurfette in the film. 

Despite being part of an animated movie, the song’s style is more geared towards a techno sound and uses a lot of electro and autotune; the star’s vocals feature in the chorus, but the autotune overpowers them.

Rihanna has delivered a club banger, yet many fans are puzzled by the song, questioning what went wrong. While Rihanna’s vocals are present, they are not as prominent as fans might have hoped. 

The highly anticipated “Smurfs” is set to hit theatres on Friday, July 18.