Once again Twitter becomes the official source of legitimate information about our favorite celebrities. Hunted by rumors, Rihanna took it to her Twitter account to confirm, much to everyone’s surprise, that she is in fact working on a new album that will drop sometime this fall.

Rihanna’s words have caught everybody by storm, given that her latest album was released less than a year ago. ‘Loud’, which is also the name of her international tour, came out last November to immediate chart success, topping the music lists with singles like ‘Only Girl’, ’What’s My Name?’ and the controversial ‘S&M’.

After 44 weeks on the charts, ‘Loud’ is still way ahead of records released around the same time last year, selling strong and delivering new singles while Rihanna’s hectic tour schedule keeps her busy. But some people are wondering, why rush a new album out when the current one is doing so well?

After a not-so-successful record, some artist put out new music to prevent fans from ditching them for fresher musical options, especially in the era of internet where record sales are declining and Youtube is the best promotional window. But this doesn’t seem like a problem for RiRi, as their fans lovingly refer to her, whose songs keep going through the roof.

Concerts, merchandising products and endorsements have replaced album sales as the main chunk of a popstar’s salary. The more hits you score, the more entertaining the repertoire, the bigger venues and pricier tickets. Artists like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry or Rihanna herself played to small venues and opened for bigger acts until they had cooked up enough hits to build up an arena set-list.

On the other hand other performers take long breaks in between records to focus on other not-less-profitable adventures such as Gwen Stefani, whose 150$ million clothing empire has become a fashion reference, or Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez who re-engaged audiences as the diva-in-the-room on The Voice and American Idol.

Rihanna’s many business ventures include the creation of her first perfume, an endorsement with Nivea and a role in the upcoming science fiction naval war movie where a fiercer side of the Barbadian songstress will be shown. In 2010, the artist and her manager parted ways and a new company ,Rihanna Entertainment, was founded to also represent side projects.

It has been six years since Rihanna rose to fame and her hectic career has so far been full of controversy. While she is the youngest performer to ever place 10 songs at number one in the US charts, her performances have been labeled as raunchy and her videos always stir up criticism, making the most conservative audiences steer away from her sexy moves.

But it was her rocky relationship with fellow R&B musician Chris Brown that put Rihanna in a very vulnerable place. After it was made public that Chris beat up his famous girlfriend, headlines stalked the Umbrella singer to the extreme. It was one of her toughest moments, as she later revealed, but she overcame the traumatic incident and unleashed her most heartfelt and personal emotions through her music.

When asked about the album’s style by one of her fans on Twitter, Jay-Z’s protégé responded that the record would be gangster so we’ll probably enjoy some hot collaborations with her peers Kanye West and Eminem, or even a long-awaited duet with BFF Katy Perry. Whether she goes gangster or stays dance-hall queen, there’s one thing clear about Rihanna, she’ll be taking no breaks.

Her new single ‘We Found Love’  is supposed to hit radio stations soon.

 
Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

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About the author

Francisco Blanco
Born and raised in Spain. Language Teacher, in love with California,movies, art, music, fashion and traveling. Currently looking for a country to explore while I figure out what I want to do next.