Ayra Starr performs onstage during weekend three, day one of Summerfest 2025 at Henry Maier Festival Park on July 03, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Rihanna at Paramount Pictures "Smurfs" Los Angeles Premiere held at Paramount Theater on July 13, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Ayra Starr isn’t hiding her love for Rihanna and honestly, why should she?
The Nigerian superstar has been vocal about her admiration for the Fenty mogul for years, and in a recent interview with Canada’s “etalk,” she opened up about finally meeting her idol, how she acts when she’s around her, and the collab she’s been manifesting since she was 10 years old.
“She's just an amazing person,” Ayra said of RiRi. “To be honest, it still feels like a dream. I just love her so much. People always say, like, ‘Never meet your idols.’ But I'm so glad I met mine because she's just an amazing person.”
The two first crossed paths at a Fenty event in London in April 2024 and reunited a few months later during the Crop Over Festival in Barbados. Since then, fans have been hoping their chemistry would spark a collaboration, and Ayra Starr is all for one too.
“I'd like to put it out in the world. I've been saying it since I was 10 years old,” she said. “So, God is about to do his big one. Amen.”
Both artists share a connection beyond fandom — the Barbados native and Ayra are both part of the Roc Nation family. The boutique label and management company founded by JAY-Z recently confirmed its partnership with the rising songstress, who now appears on the roster alongside her hero.
Still, the idea of being around RiRi makes the “Rush” singer spiral a little. “I usually don't know what to do with myself,” Ayra confessed. “When I get, like, nervous, I try to make jokes and unnecessary jokes, and I just start joking a lot and everybody's like, ‘Ayra, it's fine. It's okay. Ayra, it's okay. You can just keep quiet for one second.’”
Even if a duet doesn’t happen, she’ll take whatever Rihanna’s offering. “She just has to release something. She just has to cough and I’m good… I'm fine. It doesn't have to be with me,” she laughed.
For now, Ayra Starr is staying booked and busy. She’s currently on a stadium tour with Coldplay, and according to Deadline, will make her acting debut in the film adaptation of Children of Blood and Bone, scheduled for release in 2027. But that Rihanna collab? She’s keeping that prayer line open.