Rihanna Debuts "American Oxygen" at March Madness Musical Festival
Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty), 27, debuted "American Oxygen" in its entirety during her set Saturday, April 4, at the March Madness Music Festival at White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. Until that night's live performance, only snippets from the song have been heard in the commercials for the music festival, along with still images of the Barbados singer in front of an American flag and with footage from the NCAA men's basketball court.
"American Oxygen" opens with the lyrics: "Breathe out, breathe in / This American oxygen / Every breath I breathe / Chasing this American dream / Respect for a nickel and dime / Turn it into an empire." Aside from the new song, Rihanna also performed her recent singles "Bitch Better Have My Money" and "FourFiveSeconds" along with some of her hits like "Rock Star 101," "Umbrella," "Stay," and "We Found Love." She closed her act with the song "Diamonds."
"American Oxygen" is the third single from Rihanna's upcoming eighth studio album to be publicly shared. The first single from the album, "FourFive Seconds," featuring Kanye West and Paul McCartney, was released on January 24, while the second single "Bitch Better Have My Money," was performed for the first time at the 2nd iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 29.
Rihanna used her spot at the March Madness Music Festival to also air her views on Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). "Who's feeling these new bulls--t laws that they're trying to pass over here? I say f--k that s--t," Rihanna told the crowd, inciting chants of "F--k that s--t." "We're just living our motherf---ing lives. Indiana!"
Hours after performing "American Oxygen" live at the March Madness Music Festival, Rihanna released the studio version of the track as an exclusive to Tidal, the re-branded music streaming service which rapper-entrepreneur Jay-Z (Shawn Corey Carter) reportedly bought for $56 million in cash from Swedish tech company Aspiro and which is being promoted as the "first ever artist-owned global music and entertainment platform."