It was a blowout ten years for Rihanna leading up to 2015.
Releasing seven albums in seven years, followed by a brief break before her eighth studio album in 2015 the pop icon achieved legendary status at the young age of 27, racking up 14 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat bested only by The Beatles and Mariah Carey on the 63-year-old chart.
But all of that stopped when the Barbados-born beauty released Anti in 2015.
And despite telling us all to please "Don’t Stop The Music”, the singer did just that, and it has now been six long years without any new material.
Rihanna of course hasn’t been completely idle since her break from music. Now 33, she has been dipping her hands into many different endeavors, including her wildly successful Fenty clothing and lingerie brands, her skincare line, as well advancing the modeling industry with her outstanding inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds.
But now, the "Work" singer has decided to tease fans, once more, with the promise of new music.
This time though, fans aren’t so quick to believe the global icon, as anyone who has been following the star can attest, “we’ve heard this one before.” Speaking with AP Entertainment on the red carpet of her latest Savage X Fenty show the singer had this to say to her fans.
“You're not going to expect what you hear. Put that in your mind. Whatever you know of Rihanna is not going to be what you hear. I'm really experimenting," the successful businesswoman said. "Music is like fashion. You should be able to play. I should be able to wear whatever I want, and I treat music the same way. I'm having fun, and it's going to be completely different. That's it.”
Fans, who are used to the singer's false promises after almost six years of silence, were ready to disregard this statement just as easily.
“I feel like she just be saying s*** at this point," wrote one disgruntled fan. "It’s literally been nearly 6 years," they wrote, alluding to the fact that Rihanna has been teasing new music consistently since 2018.
"She's right. We've been expecting music, and she's given us silence instead. To be clear: I'm not mad at it. Rihanna doesn't owe us squat! Do ya thang, queen! We'll be here when you're ready," attested another patient fan.
"It’s been so long that I want to say that I don’t even care anymore. But I really do," added one loyal listener.
But it was Rihanna's word choice that seemed to get fans particularly excited.
"I’m honestly really curious about Rihanna 'experimenting' with her 'new music'. She’s pretty much touched every genre at this point," noticed one eager devotee, while another pointed out "Rihanna saying she’s highly experimenting with new sounds just explains why the wait has been so long. She’s constantly being inspired and feels like she wants to push herself to make a better album. Even Pharrell said her new music sounds like it’s from a different planet..."
Let's hope that this time her words aren't just a tease, and it isn't seven silent years before the next era of Rihanna reigns.