Rihanna says it would be ‘ridiculous’ if she doesn’t release an album in 2023

The singer has not released an album since 2016's "Anti."

A new Rihanna album could debut this year. The superstar singer says she wants to release a new body of work after a long hiatus.

Rihanna revealed her intention to drop a new project in 2023 during a British Vogue cover interview. “I want it to be this year,” Rihanna 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.”

It’s been nearly seven years since Rihanna released “Anti” in 2016. The album contained the smash single “Work” featuring Drake and is certified triple platinum. The Savage x Fenty founder called the project her “most brilliant album” of her career so far.

Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show
Rihanna performs onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show at State Farm Stadium on Feb. 12, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

“I say that because, in the moment, I didn’t realize it. But it always felt like the most cohesive album I’ve ever made,” she explained. “When you break it down and you realize this album goes from ‘Work’ to ‘Kiss It Better’ to ‘Needed Me’ to ‘Love on the Brain’ to ‘Sex with Me’ to ‘Desperado’ … and somehow it all fits and not for a second did you glitch?”

Fans have asked for new Rihanna music over the years. She even teased in 2018 that she wanted to record a dancehall album. But with her building a billion-dollar empire through her fashion and makeup lines, and her works of charity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rihanna seemed uninterested in making new music.

However, the “Umbrella” singer stated that if she couldn’t make music at the standard she set over her career, then why bother.

“There’s this pressure that I put on myself. That if it’s not better than that then it is not even worth it,” Rihanna said. “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.”

When Rihanna dropped “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” last November, fans became optimistic that a new Rihanna album was close behind. And after a triumphant performance at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show, she seems poised to complete her musical comeback.

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