Rihanna on being a Trekkie and her song Sledgehammer

Back in May during the Star Trek Beyond fan event Rihanna was one of the faces that popped up on screen and professed her love for Trek.  It turns out that was merely a snippet of a somewhat longer promo video that Paramount has now released on their official YouTube channel. Click on to see RiRi rocking her TOS t-shirt in the full video.

 

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Just keeps getting better. She’s not a hire, she’s got soul in the game. And that’s why the song is so powerful. She MEANS it.

She left off the part where she wrote Sledgehammer back in 2014

Sia wrote it. And who cares? She could’ve been humming the melody since she was 9 while watching Star Trek with her dad and it wouldn’t matter. It’s not when an idea starts to ferment, but what inspires you, when you call it done, and where it fits in, that matters. That she contributed her considerable talent to Star Trek with an original song as a fan is a coup for the franchise.

I am sorry, let me correct myself
She left off the part where she said it was written for her to perform back in 2014.
This is not a song inspired by this movie.
And I kept an open mind (cause she is such an amazing singer, and a trek fan) when it was announced last weekend, up until I heard it and read that it was actually written 2 yrs ago.
But that’s my opinon

A written song is different from performing a song. She could very well have pulled inspiration from the movie to give more power and emotion to her song.

Yes and no. Many people are inspired by existing songs, that fit the soundtrack of their lives perfectly even though they weren’t written especially for them. If a song fits with something, who is to say it would be even more powerful if it were custom written for the exact situation? The power can then be derived from the performance and infusing each word with the meaning it has for the performer as it applies to their situation. And that’s not to say the lyrics couldn’t be updated to better fit a moment. In the end Sintra and Elvis didn’t sing their own songs, and I would argue that many of their performances are definitive after 60 years and dozens of covers by other equally important artists.

Where are you getting that from? I haven’t seen anywhere that this song was in a finished and ready to perform condition since 2014, because if it was ready to go then why didn’t she release it when she promised? Tweeting a one line lyric in 2014 is not the same thing as having this same song in 2014.

I would like to hear the inside story of how it got to be where it is today, but I haven’t read that story yet.

And in any case, the relevant point here is the song’s universality. It fits the movie because it’s singing about an experience that is both universal — something we who have experienced hitting that wall can all relate to, and particular — because the crew of the Enterprise hit that wall in this particular movie, and they all have a hole to climb out of in it.

This is the movie where Kirk becomes the sledgehammer, the legendary captain. The man who proves what HE is and can do when he hits the wall.

Star Trek was around in 2014 also so there is no reason to think that something from previous Star Trek films/other may not have inspired her to write the song.

Exactly. She was wearing a T shirt with characters that have existed since the 60’s and said her father introduced her to Trek when she was little. Star Trek could have been inspiring her for two decades.

Could Rihanna BE any more……..scrump-dilly-ishus??

No. She could not be.

Yes, she could be wearing the Original Series miniskirt uniform…

I’ve never heard a song of hers before “Sledgehammer,” (yes, I’m a nerd) but I really liked it. Felt like “Skyfall.” Certainly a huge improvement on “The Moon’s a Window to Heaven!”

Neat that she likes Star Trek herself. Trekkies are everywhere.

There’s GOT to be a Rihanna music video coming for this that ties in to the film.

Should be out on Thursday.

Wasn’t that the “trailer” just released?

I just watched the video with the full song and lyrics (no picture). It’s a great song.
I don’t know how to link it here. Maybe one of you geniuses could do that? :>)

Thanks, dmduncan. At least SOMEBODY knows what they’re doing around here!

Yep, music video coming out tomorrow for Sledgehammer. She’s got a teaser video on her twitter.

https://twitter.com/rihanna/status/748239411645677570

Actually premiering Infront of IMAXscreenings of Tarzan starting tonight.

Another trekkiie is always good.

She’s just gotten a whole lot sexier IMHO knowing that she is a Trekkie!

It’s not just an opinion. That statement was most logical.

awesome 🖖 😍

I’m hard of hearing, so I can’t make out the lyrics to the song. Would anyone with good hearing be willing to transcribe them?

Something about hitting a wall.

There’s a link to the song with the lyrics above. So you can read it as you listen to it.

Thanks!

Finally! The celebrity treatment for Trek.

This song is part of a movie relating specifically to the Kelvin universe. In fact, it is the third of such. So where are the T-shirts depicting this timeline’s Kirk, Spock et al?

Probably dont have any. And more than likely she grew up with the original show which is sounds like what shes talking about here so make sense to wear it.

I know I’m in the minority, but I don’t get the appeal.

I like her a lot.

I think it is cool that they got a big name singer to do a theme song for the movie. This makes it feel like a Bond movie in some ways.

Her song will be the best part of the movie.

the end credits?