Rihanna Teases Long-Awaited 9th Studio Album, Says It Won’t Be 'Mediocre'; Shares New Update

Rihanna guarantees her long-delayed 9th studio album will be completely unexpected. Read on to know the details.

Written by Ipshita Chakraborty , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Feb 25, 2025 | 01:55 PM IST | 6.8K

Rihanna via Getty Images

It has been almost a decade since Rihanna released her last album, and she is finally speaking about her long-awaited 9th studio album, assuring fans that the wait will be worth it.

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, the Grammy-winning singer debunked rumors that the album would be a reggae album, insisting that it is not genre-specific. She also teased that it would be something no one had ever expected.

The Fenty Beauty mogul said, "I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more."

The Work hitmaker opened up about trying to wrap up the album each time she tried, but she never felt it met her level of artistic development. Unable to discover a sound that was as reflective of her development as she wanted, she stopped production multiple times.

She said, "Every time... I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour.'"

Now, with years of reflection and artistic discovery under her belt, she feels that the project is finally coming together in a manner that speaks to her vision.

The Umbrella singer continued, "After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, This much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears. It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait."

Rihanna's most recent album, Anti, came out in 2016 and is the only one she has in her catalog that she feels entirely comfortable listening to. In contrast to her other albums, which frequently left her disengaged, Anti is a product she can easily go back and listen to.

Although she would not announce a release date or even give too many details of the new album, she sounded sure of what direction it's headed. She asserted that it won't be written for crossover or commercial radio purposes.

The Diamonds singer said she has been honing her album for eight years, "But it didn’t hit me. I was searching for it," adding, "It’s not going to be commercial or radio digestible. It’s going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now. I feel like I’ve finally cracked it, girl!"

Even after distancing herself from album releases for almost nine years, she has continued to be in the music business. In 2022, the pop icon released Lift Me Up and Born Again for Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Rihanna also performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2023.