When does Rihanna's next album come out?

Rihanna is poised to make the comeback to end all comebacks.

Time is ticking down (as per time of writing, anyway) to when she takes to the stage for the Super Bowl LVII's Halftime show on February 12.

Speaking before her live performance at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, Rihanna gave a hint on what she's working on.

"I’m feeling open to exploring, discovering, creating things that are new, things that are different, things that are off, weird, might never make sense to my fans. I just want to play, I want to have fun with music," she said, appearing at the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show press conference.

Hearing new music from the Barbadian will be weird no matter how it sounds, with the 34-year-old singer yet to drop an album since 2016.

Ever since then, she has been teasing new music, with one simple question remaining constantly on her fans' lips: "When does Rihanna's next album come out?"

Well, the answer is, we just don't know.

She has been rather busy with her multimillion-dollar Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin brands, as well as the birth of her first child, a baby boy, with rapper ASAP Rocky.

So Bad Gal RiRi has been fairly busy.

The impending album, nicknamed #R9 by fans as it'll be her ninth studio album, has been in the works for years.

In 2018, during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, she teased her next album, telling the audience: "You’ll just have to wait and see."

When asked for an update 15 months later, she told Entertainment Tonight: "Well, obviously, I’m a confident woman, so whatever I do, it’s gon’ be confident — whether it’s the album, perfume, lingerie, makeup or fashion. Y’all gon’ have to wait. I’m so sorry."

But not all has remained top-secret about Rihanna's new music.

She has confirmed that #R9 was inspired by her reggae and dancehall roots.

According to NME, Pharrell Williams and The Dream were shortlisted to produce the new album.

And, even though she is now a mother, she has assured fans that won't impact her sound. She said, as per Pink: "My fans would kill me if they waited this long for a lullaby."

DOD Photo / Alamy

Either way, it is still unknown when RiRi will drop some new beats.

She's fickle, telling fans at the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show press conference she had already changed her Super Bowl Half Time show setlist 39 times.

The show will run 13 minutes, with Rihanna's career spanning eight albums (so far) and 17 years.

"There’s probably been about 39 versions of the setlist right now. We’re on our 39th. Every little change counts," she said.

And who knows? Maybe before we know it, her little tweaks and changes will be done and we'll have her ninth studio album in our hot little hands.

Topics: Rihanna, Music, Super Bowl, Celebrity

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

@rlangjournalist