It's Officially Been Six Years Since Rihanna Released An Album And Fans Are Rattled
Before she was a makeup and lingerie mogul, Rihanna ruled the music industry. In 2012, Rihanna was named the highest-selling digital singles artist of all time, according to Billboard. Her eighth and most recent record "Anti" earned the star even more commercial and critical acclaim. In 2021, the No. 1 album spent 275 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart, making Rihanna the first Black female artist to achieve this accomplishment.
Aside from collaborating on one-off singles with Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and PARTYNEXTDOOR, Rihanna went ghost on her solo music career after "Anti" in favor of her other business ventures, Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty. The "Work" singer's lifestyle brands have launched Rihanna into the upper echelon of entrepreneurs as a billionaire, Forbes reported in 2021. "She's broken through the ceiling ... and that's a bigger deal than having a No. 1 hit," "Fierce: Women in Music" host Lori Majewski told the New York Post. "Now that doesn't mean that she couldn't come back and have a hit: I think if she'd drop a [single] tomorrow, it would be massive. But I don't think she needs it anymore."
While music is no longer Rihanna's top priority, dedicated fans have remained hopeful over the years that she will bless the Rihanna Navy with another LP. As the "Anti" anniversary approaches, though, fan reactions are rattled by the lack of music.
Fans celebrate Rihanna's 'Anti' with some questions
It's been six years since Rihanna broke the internet with a selfie teasing her album "Anti" on January 25, 2016. "Listening to ANTI," the superstar simply captioned a photo of herself on Twitter wearing $9,000 Dolce and Gabbana headphones. The selfie foreshadowed the smash release of "Anti" just days later on January 28, 2016. The post seems to serve as a memorial for fans, who haven't received an album teaser since then.
"Me for the past six year," one Twitter user quoted Rihanna's "Anti" selfie, chiding her lack of album releases since then. "ANTI turning 6 years old this month," one sarcastic fan account tweeted. "a f***ing 6 years?????????? b**** im done with you." Getting grilled by harsh fans is nothing new for Rihanna, who has been known to joke back with her listeners about her time away from music.
When one fan asked Rihanna, "WHERES THE ALBUM," on Instagram in 2020, Rih hilariously wrote back, "I lost it," via The Shade Room. The "Kiss It Better" singer again toyed with begging fans in March 2021, when a fan suggested she celebrate Women's History Month by releasing a song. "I think I should," Rihanna responded, via Capital Xtra, adding, "Just 1 one tho lol." Alas, another year has arrived without so much as a solo single. Fans will have to take Rihanna at her word, as she promised British Vogue in 2020, "... I am very aggressively working on music."