'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Barbadian singer and businesswoman Rihanna broke her three-year hiatus by releasing a new track as part of the upcoming Smurfs movie soundtrack. However, according to American blogger and columnist Perez Hilton, the song is just “mid”.
On Friday, May 16, 2025, the 37-year-old singer dropped her highly anticipated track titled, Friend of Mine. Rihanna voiced Smurfette in the upcoming Smurfs movie, set to release on July 18, 2025.
She also dropped a video for the same. The video features her movie character and others shaking a leg on the happy-sounding Afrobeats-inspired dance number in Smurf Village.
Meanwhile, after Friend of Mine dropped, critics and netizens were quick to react. One such reaction came from American blogger and columnist Perez Hilton himself. He took to his YouTube channel and compared the song to a "B-side" track from Beyoncé’s Renaissance album.
Trending
He commented:
“Friend of Mine sounds exactly like this: Imagine a B-side from Renaissance by Beyonce meets the ugly little sister of We Found Love by Her and Calvin Harris."
He further said, explaining his remarks:
It's not bad, but it's so mid a C minus, actually more than mid. It's in between mid and bad, it's not quite bad, but it's not good, it's not generic, but it's almost generic. I don't know, it's not fun even though they made it to try to sound fun.”
Notably, a B-side track is a secondary song usually found on the reverse side of a vinyl record or cassette. It is not the main or promoted track of a single or album.
Perez Hilton says listening to Rihanna's Friend of Mine feels “like a chore”
On May 16, 2025, Perez Hilton shared his views via a video post on YouTube. The media personality who has also been Rihanna’s co-star in her 2011 S&M music video, claimed that Friend of Mine is “bad”.
“I tried y'all. I tried to like it. I've literally just played it five times in a row, hoping that I could force myself to feel some positive kind of way about it. The first listen instantly disliked it. Second time not so bad. Third time, I think I might like this… The fifth time, I didn't want to keep listening to it, and then I stopped.”
The 47-year-old YouTube personality also claimed that listening to Rihanna’s new song should give “elicit joy” and not feel “like a chore”. Notably, Friend of Mine is also the first new song from the artist since she dropped the 2022 hit Lift Me Up from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
About the Smurfs movie
The new Smurfs movie will revolve around the Smurfs setting out on a journey to rescue Papa Smurf. Papa Smurf has been kidnapped by Gargamel and Razamel, the evil wizards. Smurfette takes charge of the mission, setting their steps into the human world. They make new allies, face new challenges, and encounter situations that may put their unity to the test.
Set to release on July 18, 2025, the Smurfs movie will feature an ensemble voice cast of Rihanna, John Goodman, Nick Offerman, James Corden, Sandra Oh, and more. Besides the Dimonds' singer, the soundtrack, according to Rolling Stone, will also feature artists including Tyla, DJ Khaled, Cardi B, and DESI TRILL.
Notably, Rihanna hasn’t released an album for nearly a decade. Her last LP was titled Anti. It was her eighth studio album, and was released in 2016.
