Rihanna Spotted at Recording Studio — and Fans React with Theories Because She Hasn’t Released a New Album Since 2016

Rihanna, who hasn’t released a new album since 2016’s Anti, was spotted heading into a recording studio in New York City on Saturday, Jan. 18.

Now, some fans of the nine-time Grammy winner are speculating that a new album may be on the horizon, while skeptical fans are theorizing her studio time could be for something else entirely.

The “Diamonds” singer, 36, entered the studio building in the early morning hours on Saturday wearing a floor-length tan coat with fur embellishments, workout clothes and a Louis Vuitton handbag.

Fans on X were thrilled to see potential evidence that the singer’s ninth studio album — which they refer to as “R9” — may be in the works.

“R9 IS COMING “”””””””””GET UP NAVYS WE ARE GETTING NEW ALBUM,” exclaimed one fan, while another simply wrote, “WHATTTTTT.”

More skeptical fans seemingly refused to hold out hope that the spotting might mean new music from the the fashion mogul.

“She’s not fooling me,” one commenter of the Fenty Beauty founder, while another fan guessed, “She’s recording a voice over for her Fenty ads.”

Others theorized that the sighting could mean music for Paramount’s upcoming animated Smurfs movie, in which Rihanna is voicing Smurfette.

The “Work” singer has been candid about the fact that while she enjoys making music, she’s been going at her own pace since welcoming sons — RZA, 2, and Riot, 17 months — with partner A$AP Rocky.

“It’s very different,” Rihanna said of working post-kids during a press conference prior to her 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show. “The balance is almost impossible because no matter how you look at it, work is always something that’s going to rob you of time with your child. That’s the currency now, that’s where it goes. The magnitude of how much it weighs.”

In a June 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Rihanna assured fans that her ninth studio album would be coming but that she wants to approach it with a fresh perspective based on where she is in life now.

“I think that music, for me, is a new discovery,” she said. “I’m rediscovering things. I have been working on the [new] album for so long that I kinda put all that stuff aside and now I’m prepared to go back in the studio.”

πI’m gonna start — give me a second!” Rihanna added. “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.”