Rock
With the current appetite for rock music, could Rihanna be next to give it a go?
The latest report on Rihanna's long-awaited ninth studio album is that she has been heavily inspired by rock legends Queen and late frontman Freddie Mercury.
Rihanna just made her live return at Jay-Z's Yankee Stadium concert on Sunday night (12.07.26), her first performance since her 2023 Super Bowl halftime set.
And if her A+R's comments are anything to go by, it looks like her long-delayed ninth studio album might finally be imminent.
American music executive and co-president of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, Omar Grant, said of R9: “It’s coming. It’s coming at some point. She’s put out some incredible music, but it’s also to the point where we have to outdo what we did in the past.
“When you build something like a ‘Rihanna record’, we have to continually beat what we did last time and be different from things we have done in the past.
“We are going to be criticised if we do something that’s not as good, or the same.
“Also, it doesn’t really fit if we go with too much of a departure from where it is - then it kind of gets into that weird zone.”
There's also a rumour that Rihanna has been heavily inspired by rock legends Queen and late frontman Freddie Mercury, so could that signal a rockier sound from the R'n'B-pop queen?
An insider told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: “Over the past few months, a lot of meetings have been taking place about Rihanna’s new album. It’s changed so much over the years, both in terms of direction and sound, but the new brief is ‘Queen.’
“Execs have been told she’s been inspired by Freddie Mercury and has been listening to a lot of his and Queen’s old records.”
Jay-Z's wife, Beyoncé, is also rumoured to be releasing a rock album for Act III of her three-act project, which included Renaissance and Cowboy Carter.
Charli xcx dropped the grungy tune Rock Music and was also said to be experimenting with the genre on her next album, though she later clarified that wasn't the case.
Regardless of whether Rihanna does head in a rock direction, it's a promising sign that R9, the follow-up to 2016's Anti, might finally be heading our way.
Check out Rihanna's return to the stage HERE.
