Rihanna’s long-awaited ninth album is back under the microscope after a comment from her own brand caught people off guard.
The moment came from ELLE’s May 2026 cover story with Billie Eilish, who was asked which music she is excited for.
“If Rihanna [expletive] ever makes R9, then I’m excited for that,” the “Bird of a Feather” singer said in a video shared on Instagram ahead of the cover’s release.
Savage X Fenty, Rihanna’s lingerie brand, then showed up in the comment section with a response that caused a little commotion.
Savage X Fenty Unexpectedly Weighs in on Rihanna’s New Album
The “Work” singer stayed out of the comment section, but Savage X Fenty did not.
Rihanna’s lingerie brand responded to the ELLE video with a short message about the album people have been asking about for years.
“R9 will be worth the wait, trust 🔥,” Savage X Fenty commented.
The comment picked up nearly 2,000 likes. It also got a direct reply from one person who wrote, “GIRL WHAT.”
Savage X Fenty answered with one emoji: “😶🌫️”
GettyThe exchange was not an official album update. There was no release date attached to it. There was no announcement from Rihanna.
Still, people in the comments were already deep in R9 mode.
“I’m also excited for R9 …. Whenever that day comes 🥲,” one person wrote.
“We will wait as long as it takes for R9🙏,” another comment read.
Someone else put it more bluntly: “Girl we’ve been for R9 since forever.”
Where Is Rihanna’s 9th Studio Album?
GettyWhile Savage X Fenty’s Instagram comment gained traction, Rihanna’s camp has been silent about her potential upcoming studio album. But she’s kept the door open.
Her last full studio album, “Anti,” was released in 2016.
Since then, she has returned to music in pieces, including “Lift Me Up” and “Born Again” for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” She also performed at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show and released “Friend of Mine” from the “Smurfs” movie soundtrack.
Is R9 coming? Here’s what we know:
Back in February, the “Don’t Stop The Music” singer posted on Instagram that she was seemingly back in the studio.
In 2024, Rihanna told Entertainment Tonight she was “starting over” with the project after spending years working on it.
“I have been working on the album for so long that I kind of just put all that stuff aside,” Rihanna told the outlet, adding that she wanted to revisit the music with “new ears” and a “new perspective” before deciding what still fit.
The following year, she gave another update in Harper’s BAZAAR’s March cover story.
“I know it’s not going to be anything that anybody expects,” Rihanna told the outlet. “And it’s not going to be commercial or radio digestible.”
She also said she felt like she had “finally cracked it.”
GettyOutside the music world, Rihanna has been busy making a world of her own. She recently welcomed her third child with A$AP Rocky, daughter Rocki Irish Mayers, in September 2025.
As far as the rumors about a fourth baby on the way, Rihanna also settled that in an Instagram comment section.
“Is the baby in the womb with us?” she wrote last month.
