Rihanna has such an undeniable influence on culture that she is breaking records without the help of new music. Like she said in “Hard,” that Rihanna reign just won’t let up, as the Bad Gal is shining bright like a diamond after becoming the first female artist with 10 songs to each reach a billion streams on Spotify.
And rightfully so, she has chosen not to be humble about the effortless career flex. “Bad Gal billi … with no new album… lemme talk my s**t,” she wrote in an Instagram post on Friday (June 30). Fans applauded the singer for her continued success, with comments congratulating her on the feat. But others would be remiss if they did not take a moment to acknowledge that it has been more than a minute since the nine-time Grammy Award winner released a new project.
“Not you reminding us about the missing album,” playfully wrote one person. A second individual joked, “She being petty now with no new album.” And a third commented, “Everyone saying no rush, BUT RUSHHHH. I’ve been waiting [seven] years now.” Rihanna’s last album, Anti, dropped in 2016 and boasts hit tracks like “Work” featuring Drake, “Needed Me,” and “Love On The Brain.” According to Insider, since then, she has been a featured artist on nine records and has contributed three records for films (“Lift Me Up” and “Born Again” for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack and “Sledgehammer” to promote Star Trek Beyond).
On the topic of new music, ahead of her 2023 Super Bowl halftime show performance, Rihanna said, “Musically, I’m feeling open,” in a pre-game Apple Music interview. She continued, “I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating, things that are new, things that are different, things that are off, weird, [that] might not ever make sense to my fans. You know, the people that know the music that I put out.”
A new album, song, visual, snippet, or whatever could be imminent. But what fans know for sure is that her previous releases are still worth listening to.