Everything Rihanna Has Said About Her Ninth Album

Rihanna's fans have been waiting for her ninth album, R9, to arrive. In fact, most of them started eyeing for it over five years ago.

In December 2018, the "Work" hitmaker answered "2019" when a fan asked her about the possible release date of her album. A few months later, a Vogue profile reignited the buzz by revealing Rihanna's plans to make reggae material.

"Though it’s too soon to name a full list of collaborators, one early influence may be Supa Dups, the Jamaican-born record producer who has worked with such dancehall greats as Beenie Man, Sean Paul, and Elephant Man," the profile read.

Two months later, Rolling Stone confirmed she was working on two albums: reggae and pop albums. At the time, her team reportedly got eight songs but wanted to add one more to complete it.

"[Rihanna’s team] have, no lie, 500 records for this project [from] different producers and writers," a source told the outlet. "They’re only choosing 10 records. They’ve been having writing camps and trying to keep them quiet for almost a year and a half now. I’ve been flying to Miami, flying to L.A., cutting records nonstop for this project."

Speaking with Vogue in October 2019, the "Diamonds" singer shared her thoughts about not releasing an album since Anti.

"It’s not like I can lock myself in for an extended amount of time, like I had the luxury of doing before. I know I have some very unhappy fans who don’t understand the inside bits of how it works," the mom-of-two divulged.

In December 2019, Rihanna playfully teased her fans after choosing not to drop her ninth album at the time.

"update: me listening to R9 by myself and refusing to release it," she captioned the post featuring a clip of a dog jumping excitedly.

In February 2020, Rihanna told ET her album was "to be continued."

"I like to antagonize my fans a little bit. Well, they antagonize me, too! So, they get it right back," she told the outlet.

After dropping her Anti album, Rihanna welcomed her two children with A$AP Rocky and began focusing on her career as a businesswoman.

The billionaire singer talked to British Vogue regarding her busy schedule and working on music "very aggressively" at the same time.

"I can’t say when I’m going to drop … There are no rules," Rihanna continued. "There’s no format. There’s just good music, and if I feel it, I’m putting it out."

Speaking with The Associated Press, Rihanna revealed she had undergone writing camps for her new album. In addition to her busy schedule, the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the timeline.

"I want to go on tour but I can’t, so I’m stuck with music that I love, and now I’m trying to figure out how I can even create visuals to that," Rihanna said. "That’s a challenge as well. But I love challenges, so, you know, I’m gonna get it done."

During a September 2021 red carpet event of a Savage X Fenty Show, the "Don't Stop the Music" songstress teased her album again.

"You’re not gonna expect what you hear," she said, not disclosing her expected release date. "Whatever you know of Rihanna is not gonna be what you hear," she continued. "I’m really experimenting. And music is like fashion, you should be able to play."

While she still did not release her album after the interview, she gifted her fans with her first single in six years, "Lift Me Up," in October 2022. The track served as the soundtrack for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

She also dropped another ballad for the Marvel film, titled "Born Again."

Before her Super Bowl Halftime Show in 2023, Rihanna clarified to The Associated Press her headlining performance did not mean she would also release her long-awaited album.

"That’s not true," said the pop star. "Super Bowl is one thing. New music is another thing. Do you hear that, fans?"

Speaking with British Vogue in February 2023, Rihanna disclosed she had been recording music so it would be "ridiculous" if she would not drop it within the year.

"But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos," she added to clarify her statement. "And I need the right background music with the visuals. I can’t just go shoot a video to me talking."

After becoming the first female artist to have 10 songs with 1 billion streams each on Spotify, she celebrated the feat in an Instagram post while also speaking about R9.

"Bad Gal billi … wit no new album… lemme talk my s--- 😜🇧🇧," she wrote.

With her fans continuously asking her about R9, Rihanna seemingly assured them the wait would be worth it as she told Extra her music would "gonna be amazing."

"It has to be — that is the only reason it’s not out yet. If I’m not feeling it and I am not feeling like it represents the evolution and the time I spent away, there should be a show of growth… I want to play with it and have fun with it and show truly where I am at," said the "Rude Boy" singer.

In the same month, she told ET she and her husband already heard potential options for the album.

While hyping her fans with updates, Rihanna also told Interview editor Mel Ottenberg her brain was "working backward" at the time since she only had "visuals" and "not music."

"But maybe that’s the key, this time. Maybe the visual ideas are leading me to the songs that I need to make," she continued.

After sparking retirement rumors, the "This Is What You Came For" songstress informed ET she went back to the studio to start over.

"I don’t want to neglect the songs that I have. I want to actually go back and listen to stuff with new ears, with my new perspective, and then see what applies and what I still am in love with," she disclosed.