Rihanna has spoken about her long-awaited ninth album, saying it will be “ridiculous” if it doesn’t get released this year.
The pop icon last released an album in 2016 with ‘Anti’, but has continuously promised fans since that new music is on the way.
Speaking to British Vogue in a new interview, Rihanna discussed the possibility of a new album arriving soon once again. “I want it to be this year,” she said. “Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.”
The feature, however, made it clear that the star was not aware she was pregnant with her second child when the interview took place. She confirmed the pregnancy at her Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance.
Rihanna explained why the new music has taken so long: “When you come off of an album like ‘Anti’… In hindsight, it really is my most brilliant album.
“But there’s this pressure that I put on myself. That if it’s not better than that then it is not even worth it […] It’s not the right way to look at music because music is an outlet and a space to create, and you can create whatever. It doesn’t have to even be on any scale. It just has to be something that feels good. It could just be a song that I like. It literally could be that simple.”
She added that if she kept waiting “until this feels right and perfect and better”, a new album would never get released. “So I want to play,” she said. “And by play, I mean I have my ideas in my head, but I can’t say them out loud yet.”
Rihanna has also explained her decision to agree to perform at the Super Bowl after previously turning it down in 2018 in solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. “There’s still a lot of mending to be done in my eyes,” she said. “But it’s powerful to break those doors and have representation at such a high, high level and a consistent level.”
The star’s Super Bowl performance on Sunday (February 12) was the second-most-watched halftime show of all time, averaging 118.7million viewers. Katy Perry’s 2015 performance still holds the record with an average of 121million viewers.
The set also featured a tribute to late fashion icon André Leon Talley, the former editor-at-large of Vogue. At the end of her set, Rihanna donned a red sleeping bag coat by Alaïa – an apparent homage to Talley, whose favourite Norma Kamali coat was in the same style and colour.