Rihanna returned for her second live performance in as many months on Sunday night, performing her Oscar-nominated song “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” to a packed crowd at the Dolby Theatre. And, as expected, she brought the house down (but the stage, up).
The song, composed for the film, which honors the franchise’s late star Chadwick Boseman, was nominated in the Best Original Song category, and was the last nominated performance of the night before the award was handed out. Unfortunately, it didn’t end up taking home the Oscar, but Rihanna fans were wowed with the performance nonetheless.
Similar to her Super Bowl performance, the platform holding Rihanna up eventually collapsed high enough to actually lift her during her performance. You can watch the moment in the video below.
Of course, in order to fully set the mood for the performance, the stage needed to be changed slightly, to create a sense of the fantasy world it was created for.
So, while this was happening, host Jimmy Kimmel fielded “fan” questions with some of the famous stars in attendance. It was an ephemeral bit – one that many assumed was being set up for Rihanna’s performance anyway, because naturally, Rihanna’s performance is always an incredible production.
Unsurprisingly, Rihanna’s emotional rendition of the song garnered a standing ovation from the crowd, which included the popstar’s partner, ASAP Rocky. Looking at the mother of his child — the soon-to-be child, as Rihanna stunned the Super Bowl crowd by appearing pregnant once again on stage — she raised a glass to the singer.
You can watch the full performance in the video above.
