Rihanna hints at 170 unreleased songs as fans await her next album

Rihanna has hinted that she has at least 170 unreleased songs in her music archive, offering an update on her long-awaited ninth studio album during a TikTok livestream.

The 38-year-old singer made the remark during an October 6 broadcast promoting Fenty Beauty’s holiday collection.

When her business partner Jennifer Rosales asked how much unreleased music she had, Rihanna used a box of beauty products to illustrate the size of her catalogue.

"If there are 10 products in a vault, then I have at least 17 vaults," she said.

Rihanna did not reveal any song titles or confirm which recordings could feature on her next album, widely referred to by fans as “R9”.

Her last studio album, ANTI, was released in January 2016, leaving fans waiting for a follow-up for more than a decade.

In an April 2024 interview with Interview, Rihanna discussed how her creative process was changing, saying, "Maybe the visual ideas are leading me to the songs that I need to make."

By February 2025, she told Harper's Bazaar that she had found a direction that felt right after years of recording and reconsidering concepts.

"There's no genre now," she said when asked about expectations of a reggae album. She also explained that she wanted to make music that reflected her artistry rather than being designed for radio, adding, "I cannot put up anything mediocre."

Her partner, A$AP Rocky, offered another update in August during an appearance on BET's The Jason Lee Show.

"But yo, she in the studio right now," he said, before adding, "Sorry babe."