Are We Finally Getting New Rihanna Music?
Rihanna has been tantalizing her fans with the promise of her ninth studio album since 2018. This much-anticipated musical comeback has kept the music world abuzz with speculation and excitement. Rihanna’s journey to her next album has been quite a rollercoaster.
The Barbados singer recently made headlines by signing a deal with Live Nation, signalling her intentions for a musical resurgence. Not only is she planning to release new music, but she’s also eyeing a world tour spanning from 2024 to 2025. However, it’s worth noting that her original plan was to embark on this tour in the current year.
Unfortunately, her plans took a different turn when she and her partner, A$AP Rocky, discovered they were expecting their second child, Riot Rose. This news forced her to withdraw from headlining Glastonbury in 2023, but she’s rumoured to be one of the headliners for the 2024 edition.
Image Courtesy: Vanity Fair
In February, during an interview, Rihanna expressed her desire to release the album this year, stating, “Honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year.” Her enthusiasm is clear, she just wants to have fun, make music, and create music videos we’ve come to love. However, her perfectionist nature and the legacy of her 2016 record ‘Anti’ have been delaying her next work.
She acknowledged that waiting for everything to feel “right and perfect” might lead to an indefinite delay, and she’s not willing to let that happen. She wants to explore and play with her music, despite having her creative ideas locked up in her head.
Image Courtesy: Glamour UK
Rihanna’s most recent musical offering was the sombre ballad ‘Lift Me Up’ in 2022, which served as the lead single for the ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ soundtrack and paid tribute to the late actor Chadwick Boseman. In March of the same year, she announced her second pregnancy during the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show.
She clarified that while the Super Bowl performance was one thing, releasing new music was another. She recognized that her announcement might have raised expectations of an imminent album release and remarked, “I knew, the second that I announced this I said, ‘Oh my God, they’re gonna think my album is coming, I need to get to work.'”
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Rihanna has always been known for her willingness to explore and experiment with her music. At the press conference for the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show, she spoke about her openness to creating things that are new, different, offbeat, and perhaps unconventional. She expressed her desire to have fun with music, pushing the boundaries of what her fans might expect from her.
Rihanna has also achieved remarkable success in the business world. She has welcomed two children and, thanks to her ventures, Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty, she has become a billionaire. Her fans have been waiting for new music for over half a decade, and it seems their patience is about to be rewarded.
While there was some confusion regarding the world tour plans, with reports of a multi-year contract with Live Nation debunked, the certainty remains that Rihanna is planning to release new music next year.
-Britney Jones
