Oscars 2023: A heavily pregnant Rihanna performs Lift Me Up, partner ASAP Rocky cheers from the stands

There’s no diamond that shines half as bright as Rihanna!

At the 95th Academy Awards, Rihanna performed her Oscar-nominated song Lift Me Up and moved those present at the venue to the point that she received a standing ovation. Interestingly, her partner and the father of her child, rapper ASAP Rocky, was also present to see her perform live and was seen cheering for her while the Grammy winner rendered a soulful live act.

For the uninitiated, the song Lift Me Up from the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was nominated under the Best Original Song category for Oscars 2023. However, Lift Me Up lost to Indian song Naatu Naatu.

For those of you who are not watching the event live, Oscars 2023 kickstarted with Jimmy Kimmel included the infamous Chris Rock-slapping controversy in his opening monologue. Kimmel joked, “We want you to have fun, feel safe and, most importantly, we want me feel safe... So, we have strict policies in pace. If anyone in this theater commits an act of violence at any point during the show, you will be awarded the Oscar for best actor and permitted to give a 19-minute long speech. But seriously, the academy has a crisis team in place. If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the show, sit there and do absolutely nothing. Maybe even give the assailant a hug... And if any of you get mad at a joke and decide you want to get jiggy with it — it’s not going to be easy.”

Needless to say, the audience cracked up at these subtle jibes that the celebrated host took at Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during Oscars 2022.

Interestingly, this year, India has a lot to look forward to in terms of representation at the coveted award show. Indian actress Deepika Padukone is one of the presenters at this year’s award ceremony alongside Dwayne Johnson and has won two Oscars this year: Best Documentary Short for The Elephant Whisperers and Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu from the movie RRR.

The 95th Academy Awards is taking place at the legendary Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California.