Rihanna denied retirement rumors and said she’s “starting over” on her highly anticipated album “R9” in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight (ET).
The famous singer shut down the rumors Monday night at the launch of her new brand, Fenty Hair, in Los Angeles, according to ET. Rihanna sparked retirement speculation after stepping out in public with a t-shirt bearing the words “I’m Retired.”
“People got triggered with that ‘retired’ word,” Rihanna told ET. “They were like, ‘We’re never getting an album now.’ No one read the other line, it was something about, ‘This is as dressed up as I get.'”
Rihanna seen wearing an “I’m Retired” shirt 📸 pic.twitter.com/lhC2MSe5Iv
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) June 7, 2024
In the interview, the “Umbrella” singer also spoke about her long-awaited ninth studio album. (RELATED: Polarizing Video Of Rihanna Dangling Her Child Goes Viral)
“I think that music, for me, is a new discovery,” she told ET. “I’m rediscovering things. I have been working on the album for so long that I kinda put all that stuff aside and now I’m prepared to go back in the studio. I’m gonna start — give me a second!”
“Yeah, I’m starting over,” she added. “But I don’t want to neglect the songs that I have, so I actually want to go back and listen to stuff with new ears, with my new perspective and then see what applies and what I’m still in love with.”
The singer’s last album, “Anti,” was released in 2016, according to ET.
Rihanna’s latest project following the success of her makeup and skincare brand, Fenty Beauty, is a hair-care line focused on inclusivity, which launches Thursday, she told ET.
“Inclusivity has always been a big big deal for us,” she told the outlet. “And we didn’t want to change that with going into a new category, which is hair. We wanted to make sure that we applied that. We started off trying to make one product for all hair types and that’s just like one of those things, you you can’t. So we had to shift gears. We’ve been working on this for over four years.”
