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Rihannahas worn many hats in her long career — beauty mogul, actress, style icon, mother — but the first one she ever tried on, as a singer, has been collecting dust.
The star's last album,Anti, was released 10 years ago on Jan. 28, 2016. Although she has occasionally dropped stand-alone singles and featured on a few tracks, fans have eagerly anticipatedAnti's follow-up.
Since her latest musical project, she has founded Fenty Beauty, a brand that elevated the Barbados-born artist to billionaire status, and costarred with the likes ofAnne HathawayandCate BlanchettinOcean's Eight. She has also welcomedthree childrenwith her partner of five years, rapperA$AP Rocky.
OnAnti's 10th anniversary, see what Rihanna has teased about her hypothetical ninth album.
2018: R9's Genre
According toVogue's June 2018 cover storyon Rihanna, she plans to make a reggae album.
2019: She Has Not Had Time to Go to the Studio
UpdatingVogueon the status of the reggae album, she clarified that it would be more "reggae-inspiredor reggae-infused."
At the time, she was "trying to get back in the studio."
She explained: "It's not like I can lock myself in for an extended amount of time, like I had the luxury of doing before. I know I have some very unhappy fans who don't understand the inside bits of how it works."
There will be more music, she promised, adding she could never foresee a day when she would fully retire.
2019: She Doesn't Want to Rush the Album
Although the reggae-tinged album is "a really fun one," she toldInterviewmagazine, she isn't going to put it out until it's fully "complete."
"I've gotten to the point where I'm like, "Even if I don't have the time to shoot videos, I'm going to put an album out," Rihanna said.
Still, when pressed for a release date, she could not give an estimate.
2019: R9 Is Allegedly Done but She Refuses to Release It
She teased fans at the end of the year by sharing a video with the caption: "update: me listening to R9 by myself and refusing to release it."
2020: She Likes to Tease Her Fans
When asked about the album byEntertainment Tonight's Rachel Smith, she cryptically replied, "To be continued."
She added: "I like to antagonise my fans a little bit. Well, they antagonise me, too! So they get it right back."
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Smith frequently follows up with the singer at other red carpets, and each time, she only gives a vague assurance that new music will come.
2020: The Album Won't Be Reggae, Actually
ForBritish Vogue's March 2020cover story, she revealed she pivoted from the reggae concept — though it will happen at some point.
"I feel like I have no boundaries," she explained. "I've done everything — I've done all the hits, I've tried every genre — now I'm just, I'm wide open. I can make anything that I want."
2022: She's Changing the Way She Views R9
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"I'm looking at my next project completely differently from the way I had wanted to put it out before. I think this way suits me better, a lot better," she toldVogue. "It's authentic, it'll be fun for me, and it takes a lot of the pressure off."
2023: She Wants to Make Music and Music Videos
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Ahead of herSuper Bowlhalftime show performance, she admitted toBritish Voguethat she wanted the next album to come that year. (She revealed her second pregnancy during the show, and the album did not arrive.)
"Maybe it'll never come out and no, I'm not down to that," said Rihanna. "So I want to play. And by play, I mean I have my ideas in my head, but I can't say them out loud yet."
She continued: "I just want to make music and make videos. ... I need the right background music with the visuals. I can't just go shoot a video to me talking."
2024: She Has Visual Ideas
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ToInterviewmagazine in 2024, she said that she has ideated the visuals before the music.
"Now I'm having all of these visuals, and I don't have the songs for them yet, but maybe that's the key, this time," she pondered. "Maybe the visual ideas are leading me to the songs that I need to make.
2024: Life Has Led Her Away from Music
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At the launch of Fenty Beauty cosmetics in her home country of Barbados, shetold party attendees: "Music was the thing that got the attention. But God had other plans for me and I was able to create in ways … that were very sincere and genuine or organic and authentic to the things that I love."
2025: R9 Won't Be Commercially Friendly
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Her most recent album update might be her most substantial yet. She's "cracked the code" on the direction for her ninth album, she toldHarper's Bazaar.
"This much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears," the "Work" singer acknowledged. "It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre."
Though she had gone into the studio for the last eight years, she had not figured out an approach that aligned with her current place in life — until now.
"It's not going to be anything that anybody expects. And it's not going to be commercial or radio digestible," Rihanna teased. "It's going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now."
Read the original article onPeople
