Rihanna has addressed the progress on her long-awaited ninth album following the recent reveal of her pregnancy – see what she had to say below.
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The singer revealed that she expecting her third child with partner A$AP Rocky earlier this week at the 2025 Met Gala, with Rocky saying in a statement: “It feels amazing, you know. It’s time that we show the people what we was cooking up. And I’m glad everybody’s happy for us ’cause we definitely happy, you know.”
Following the reveal, fans have expressed their joy for the couple, but also wondered if the nine-year wait for her next album will be impacted by Rihanna’s pregnancy. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the Met Gala, the ‘Umbrella’ singer opened up about her ninth record.
When asked if the record – dubbed ‘R9’ – will be “put on pause even longer”, she replied “Maybe a couple [of] videos”, suggesting that any plans for music videos will have to wait until after the baby is born.
As for whether work on the record itself is being stalled, Rihanna simply said: “I can sing.”
This is what we came for! 🥹 Rihanna glows as she reveals her third pregnancy at the #MetGala and gives an R9 update. pic.twitter.com/EYFDQWFDfP
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) May 6, 2025
Rihanna shares both of her children with Rocky, who she started dating in spring 2021. RZA was born in 2022, and she announced that she was expecting Riot Rose while at her Superbowl Halftime Show in 2023 – he was born later that year.
Speaking to Interview Magazine in April last year, Rihanna discussed starting a family with A$AP Rocky. When asked how many more children she wanted, she replied: “As many as God wants me to have. I don’t know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl. But of course if it’s another boy, it’s another boy.”
In other news, the singer recently revealed that 2016’s ‘Anti’ is the only album of hers that she can listen to without “shame”. The comments came amid speculation that a follow-up to ‘Anti’ is coming soon. Details about the release remain vague, although she has said that the much-anticipated album is “not going to be anything that anybody expects”.
She has also been confirmed as being one of the main voice actors in the upcoming Smurfs film – for which she’ll debut new music, and is speculated to be preparing for a huge world tour.
