Rihanna‘s debut album, Music Of The Sun, was released on August 29, 2005 — and wouldn’t you know it, that’s 20 years ago today! To celebrate, the elusive pop star has released a special edition vinyl box set featuring all eight of her albums so far, as well as a limited-edition merch collection bearing her “Rhenna” doodle, which she has used in one way or another as a profile picture on social media since 2014. There’s even a doll of the little stick figure with adjustable arms and legs.
But, we know, we know. You don’t care about some album from 20 years ago — you want to know where her long-awaited ninth studio album is. The seemingly interminable wait for the project’s release began almost as soon as she finished promoting the Grammy-nominated, No. 1-selling 2016 album, Anti, evolving into sort of a long-running joke between Rihanna and her increasingly impatient fans.
And hey… look. You can ask her about it, but be nice, because Rihanna isn’t known as one of the clapback queens of social media for nothing. She insisted recently that her third(!) pregnancy won’t delay the album anymore than it has been… but with no release date in sight, could you even make that argument?
On the bright side, fans did get a new song from Rihanna earlier this year: “Friend Of Mine” from the Smurfs soundtrack. Better than nothing, right?
