Rihanna said she’s ready to start working on music again after teasing her retirement last week.
At the launch for her newest business venture Fenty Hair on Monday, she shared an update about her long-awaited, highly-anticipated ninth studio album and said she has plans to ‘go back in the studio.’
‘I think that music, for me, is a new discovery,’ the entrepreneur, who showed off her short, natural curls at the event, told Entertainment Tonight.
‘I’m rediscovering things,’ the 36-year-old singer continued before explaining that she stopped making music for a bit after working on a new album for ‘so long’ but will be ‘starting over.’
She also explained why she wore an ‘I’m Retired’ T-shirt last week and revealed to the outlet that she ‘would definitely have more kids’ before denying pregnancy rumors.
Rihanna, 36, said she’s ready to start working on music again after teasing her retirement last week. At the launch for her newest business venture Fenty Hair on Monday, she shared an update about her long-awaited, highly-anticipated ninth studio album and said she has plans to ‘go back in the studio’
‘People got triggered with that retired word,’ she said when asked about that viral T-shirt she wore in New York City on June 6 and her fans’ reaction to the possibility she would no longer be making music.
‘They were like, “We’re never getting an album now.” No one read the other line. It was something about, “This is as dressed up as I get,”‘ she explained.
‘I have been working on the album for so long that I kinda put all that stuff aside and now I’m prepared to go back in the studio,’ she added. ‘I’m gonna start. Give me a second!’
Then, she clarified where she is at in terms of making R9 and her plans to complete the album.
‘Yeah, I’m starting over. But I don’t want to neglect the songs that I have, so I actually want to go back and listen to stuff with new ears, with my new perspective and then see what applies and what I’m still in love with.’
Last month, the multihyphenate artist also revealed she has ‘a lot of visual ideas’ for a new album but admitted she hasn’t made any songs yet.
She has not released an album since she dropped Anti in 2016.
Despite her hiatus from music, however, she is still making milestones with her acclaimed discography and older hits.
She also explained why she wore an ‘I’m Retired’ T-shirt last week. ‘People got triggered with that retired word,’ she said when asked about that viral T-shirt she wore in New York City on June 6 and her fans’ reaction to the possibility she would no longer be making music
She explained that there was a second line on her T-shirt and said she was not ‘retiring’ from music. Then, she clarified where she is at in terms of making R9 and her plans to complete the album; seen in Los Angeles on April 26
Last week, her 2012 single Diamonds reached diamond status as well as four other of her songs — making her the top female solo artist with the most diamond-certified hits in music history.
‘Wow, I remember where we made it from the jump,’ she recalled about the making of the song.
‘It was in London, and I also remember performing Diamond on tour,’ she continued before reminiscing singing Diamonds under ‘all the lights.’
‘Everyone puts their phone out at that very moment,’ she added. ‘And it’s connected to my grandma. I literally think of her every single time I perform that.’
Last year, Rihanna also touched on the possibility of making new music as she declared Anti her ‘most brilliant album.’
She also explained why that upped the ante for her follow-up.
In her March 2023 British Vogue cover story, she said: ‘It always felt like the most cohesive album I’ve ever made.’
For that reason, she said there is ‘pressure’ to deliver after Anti, which earned her six Grammy nominations.
She has not released an album since she dropped Anti in 2016. Despite her hiatus from music, however, she is still making milestones with her acclaimed discography and older hits. Last week, she became the top female solo artist with the most diamond-certified hits in music history; seen in October 2015
‘I’m rediscovering things,’ she continued before explaining that she stopped making music for a bit after working on a new album for ‘so long’ but will be ‘starting over’; seen in London on April 17
‘There’s this pressure that I put on myself,’ she said about her tendency towards perfectionism. ‘That if it’s not better than that then it is not even worth it.
‘I realized that if I keep waiting until this feels right and perfect and better, maybe it’s going to keep taking forever and maybe it’ll never come out and no, I’m not down for that.’
Since dropping Anti, she hasn’t avoided the recording studio entirely at least.
In 2022, Rihanna released Lift Me Up, her first solo single in six years, as well as Born Again as part of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
