"Lift Me Up" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

. It was released on October 28, 2022, by Westbury Road,

Roc Nation Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

, and

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, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

of the 2022

superhero film A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature Action film, ac ...

'' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever''. The song marks Rihanna's first solo music output since her 2016 studio album, ''

Anti Anti may refer to: *Anti-, a prefix meaning "against" *Änti, or Antaeus, a half-giant in Greek and Berber mythology *A false reading of ''Nemty'', the name of the ferryman who carried Isis to Set's island in Egyptian mythology * Áńt’į, or ...

''. An R&B ballad, "Lift Me Up" was written and produced by

Ludwig Göransson Ludwig Emil Tomas Göransson (; ; born 1 September 1984) is a Swedish composer, conductor and record producer. He has scored films such as ''Fruitvale Station'', the ''Rocky'' franchise entries ''Creed'' and ''Creed II'', ''Venom'', and ''Tene ...

, with additional writing from Rihanna,

Ryan Coogler Ryan Kyle Coogler (born May 23, 1986) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a recipient of four NAACP Image Awards, four Black Reel Awards, a Golden Globe Award nomination and an Academy Award nomination for Best Pictu ...

, and Nigerian singer

Tems Temilade Openiyi (born 11 June 1995), known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer. She rose to prominence after she was featured on Wizkid's 2020 single "Essence," which reached the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after the releas ...

. The song polarized music critics; Rihanna's vocals received praise, while some labeled the song's lyrics and the production generic. Commercially, "Lift Me Up" reached number one in Belgium, Switzerland, and South Africa, number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, top five in Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Hungary, and the top ten in various other countries. American cinematographer

Autumn Durald Arkapaw Autumn Cheyenne Durald Arkapaw (born December 14, 1979) is an American cinematographer. Biography Durald grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended Loyola Marymount University and studied art history. After graduating she worked in adver ...

directed the music video, which sees Rihanna on an empty beach interspersed with short scenes from the film. The song has received various nominations at film awards, including for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 80th Golden Globe Awards,

at the

27th Satellite Awards The 27th Satellite Awards is an award ceremony honoring the year's outstanding performers, films and television shows, presented by the International Press Academy. The nominations were announced on December 8, 2022. The winners will be announced ...

and won Best Original Song in a Feature Film at the 13th Hollywood Music in Media Awards.

Background

In 2017,

took an extended hiatus from music after the release of her eighth studio album ''

'' (2016) and several collaborations, including "

Wild Thoughts "Wild Thoughts" is a song by American musician DJ Khaled featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna and American singer Bryson Tiller. It was released on June 16, 2017, by We the Best Music Group, We the Best and Epic Records as the third single from Khal ...

" with

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station WEDR, 99 Ja ...

, "

Lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

" with

N.E.R.D. N.E.R.D. (stylized as N⋆E⋆R⋆D and N.E.R.D, a backronym of No-one Ever Really Dies) is an American hip hop and rock band, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1999. Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo were signed by Teddy Riley to Virgin Reco ...

, "

Loyalty Loyalty, in general use, is a devotion and faithfulness to a nation, cause, philosophy, country, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another h ...

" with

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his Progressive rap, progressive musical styles and Social consciousness, socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most infl ...

, and her latest collaboration, " Believe It", with

PartyNextDoor Jahron Anthony Brathwaite (born July 3, 1993), known professionally as PartyNextDoor (stylized as PARTYNEXTDOOR), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. PartyNextDoor was the first artist signed to Drake's OVO Sound record label ...

. Following the birth of the singer's first child on May 13, 2022, Rihanna said she was working on new record material. On October 18, 2022, it was confirmed that the singer has recorded two songs for the soundtrack of the

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

film ''Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'', the sequel to ''Black Panther'' (2018). In addition to "Lift Me Up", Rihanna recorded the track "Born Again". On October 26, Rihanna announced her first solo single release since " Love on the Brain" (2016), with "Lift Me Up", which would be appearing on ''Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – Music From and Inspired By'', the soundtrack album to the eponymous 2022 film.

Composition

According to '' Clash'', "Lift Me Up" is an "emotive" R&B ballad that "speaks from the heart". Produced by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

composer

, who composed the movie's score, the song acts as a tribute to the late

Chadwick Boseman Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, ...

, who played

T'Challa Black Panther is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby. The character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #52 ...

, the titular protagonist in ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

''; Boseman died on August 28, 2020. The song was written by Rihanna, Göransson,

and

. The latter spoke about the meaning and creative process of the song: The song is performed in the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 89 beats per minute in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

. It follows a chord progression of A–Bm–E, and Rihanna's vocals span from G₃ to E₅ in the song.

Critical reception

Spencer Kornhaber of ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' described the song as "gorgeous" and stated that it "is built around her vocals and reasserts her ownership of her now-ubiquitous sound." ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'' Bianca Betancourt thought Rihanna might earn her first nomination of

at the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for "Lift Me Up". Dylan Green of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' described the singer's voice as "matured, with a burnished, mahogany sheen" capable of keeping "the ballad afloat, selling every crescendo and note of anguish", however also described it as a "generic entry for the ''Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' soundtrack". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' Shaad D'Souza was not particularly impressed with the song's lyrical content, writing that it is "light and frankly anonymous, a far cry from ''Anti'' bright, world-weary, highly emotional lyrics" believing that it is not Rihanna's true comeback record. However, the journalist appreciated the production and sounds, describing them as "a soft, swaying ballad built around a lovely arpeggiating harp and serene strings", although "there is little of the heft and power of Tems songs such as '

Free Mind "Free Mind" is a song by Nigerian singer and record producer Tems. It was released through Leading Vibes Limited on 25 September 2020, as the third track from Tems's debut extended play, '' For Broken Ears''. Tems wrote and produced the song, al ...

' or '

Damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

'." Ed Potton of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' rated the track 2 stars out of five, and wrote that even though it is "flawlessly sung over subtle strings by Rihanna", it is "forgettable" and "bland", adding that it "sounds like the result of a committee meeting — well meant, inoffensive, entirely devoid of individuality."

Accolades

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Lift Me Up" debuted with nearly eight million streams, and 10,000 digital downloads on October 28, 2022, recording another 6.9 million streams and 6,000 digital downloads over the next two days, according to

Luminate Data Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

. The single ended up debuting at number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, it garnered a 48.1 million radio audience, 26.2 million streams, and 23,000 digital downloads in its opening first week, and marked Rihanna's first top-10 entry since "

" in 2017. "Lift Me Up" is Rihanna's 32nd top 10, as well as her highest debut, tied with the 2010

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

collaboration " Love the Way You Lie" which also entered the chart at number two. "Lift Me Up" further debuted at number three on the Digital Songs Sales chart—Rihanna's 36th top-ten song on the chart. Simultaneously, the song started at number six on the Radio Songs chart, becoming only the fourth top-ten debut since the chart's establishment in 1998. The single topped the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

and

Hot R&B Songs Hot R&B Songs is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular R&B songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations, digital download sales and streaming data. It was establis ...

charts, marking Rihanna's eighth and sixth number-one songs on the charts, respectively. In the United Kingdom, "Lift Me Up" debuted at number three on the

Official Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, marking that week's highest entry on the chart. Simultaneously, it became Rihanna's first top-5 single in five years and her highest-placing solo single in the UK in a decade, following "

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

" (2012). Furthermore, it became Rihanna's 31st top-10 and 50th top-40 song in the UK. The song debuted at number three on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

as well. In Australia, "Lift Me Up" debuted at number five on the ARIA Singles Chart.

Music video

The song's music video was released on October 28, 2022, via Rihanna's official YouTube channel. The video is directed by

, the cinematographer of ''Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'', and it depicts Rihanna on an empty beach interspersed with short scenes from the film.

Credits and personnel

Credits adopted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. * Robyn Fenty – vocal, lyricist, composer *

Temilade Openiyi Temilade Openiyi (born 11 June 1995), known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer. She rose to prominence after she was featured on Wizkid's 2020 single "Essence," which reached the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after the releas ...

– lyricist, composer, background vocalist *

– lyricist, composer *

– producer, lyricist, composer, piano * Mono Blanco – additional vocal *

Kuk Harrell Thaddis Laphonia "Kuk" Harrell ( ) is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He was a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The-Dream" Nash. In 2011, Kuk ...

– vocal producer *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...

– mastering engineer *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career ...

– mixer * Marco Carriòn – recording engineer * Marcos Tovar – recording engineer * Osarumen "LMBSKN" Osamuyi – recording engineer * Oamen "SirBastien" – recording engineer * Irabor – recording engineer * Frank Rodriguez – recording engineer * Trey Pearce – assisting, recording engineer * Robert N. Johnson – assisting, recording engineer * Patrick Gardinor – assisting, recording engineer * Hayden Duncan – assisting, recording engineer * Lou Carrao – assisting, recording engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2022 singles 2022 songs 2020s ballads Black Panther (film series) Number-one singles in Switzerland Rihanna songs Songs written by Rihanna Songs written by Ludwig Göransson Songs written by Tems (singer) Marvel Cinematic Universe songs Contemporary R&B ballads Pop ballads Soul ballads Roc Nation singles Def Jam Recordings singles Hollywood Records singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles