Nearly a decade after the release of her last album “Anti,” billionaire pop star and beauty mogul Rihanna has teased her highly anticipated new music in a recent interview with Harper’s Bazaar. She revealed that she has been in the studio for eight years and has finally discovered the direction she wants her new album to take.
Key Facts
– Rihanna expressed to Harper’s Bazaar that she has “just come to that realization” regarding her music’s direction, stating she feels as though she has finally “cracked the code” and is “feeling really good about this.”
– She noted that her upcoming music will be “not going to be anything that anybody expects” and will not conform to “commercial or radio digestible” standards; instead, it represents “where my artistry deserves to be right now.”
– Acknowledging the long wait for a new album, she remarked on the ongoing nine-year gap between releases since “Anti” came out in 2016.
– Rihanna also addressed rumors suggesting that her new album would be reggae, calling such claims “way off” and emphasizing that her new music will have “no genre.”
– Feeling the weight of expectations, she mentioned to Harper’s Bazaar that she must prove to fans “the worth in the wait” and emphasized that she “cannot put up anything mediocre.” However, she did not share any details on the album’s release timeline or title.
Key Background
Fans have been eagerly awaiting Rihanna’s ninth album, often referred to as “R9,” which remains unnamed. The long wait is unusual for the artist, who released seven albums between 2005 and 2012, achieving 14 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Her brief return to music in 2023 included writing and singing “Lift Me Up” for the film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” which earned her an Oscar nomination. During her time away from music, she began a relationship with rapper A$AP Rocky, with whom she has two children.
Tangent
Rihanna is aware of the prolonged wait for her new album but has playfully teased her fans, once wearing a shirt that said “I’m Retired,” which went viral and sparked concerns among her supporters. Later, she refuted the retirement rumors in interviews, explaining, “I like to antagonize my fans a little bit. Well, they antagonize me, too! So, they get it right back.” In 2019, she humorously posted a video of a dog jumping up and down, captioned: “me listening to ‘R9’ by myself and refusing to release it.”
Forbes Valuation
Rihanna’s net worth is estimated at $1.4 billion, according to Forbes. A large portion of her wealth stems from the success of Fenty Beauty, her cosmetics brand co-owned with LVMH, the French luxury goods conglomerate. Additionally, she holds a 28% stake in Savage X Fenty, her lingerie and loungewear brand. Rihanna ranks as the world’s second-richest female musician, following Taylor Swift, who surpassed her with a net worth of $1.6 billion last year.
