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Rihanna, who says she is working on her first new album in a decade, has now provided solid proof that she is really in the recording studio. The singer shared an 80-second Instagram reel titled “A Night in the Life,” which documents a late-night—or rather, early morning—studio visit.
The video begins with her attending a meeting for her lingerie brand (the entire reel is subtitled “commercial break”), reviewing designs (some blurred out so no one can copy them), signing records, and falling into a fit of laughter at 1:30 in the morning.
Shortly before 2 a.m., Rihanna announces that she has to go to the studio to record a little more of her upcoming, as yet officially unannounced, ninth album – after which she still has to make a Mardi Gras costume for her son. “Longest day ever,” she says to her employees, who are still in the office at 2 a.m.
Studio work until 5 a.m
Rihanna then meets her studio team, with whom she records until 5:05 a.m. – though she doesn’t reveal any audio in this part of the clip. “We should have a coffee and get to know each other better,” says Rihanna. At 10 minutes before 7 a.m. the “mom duties” begin, which include making and showing off the Mardi Gras costume. The timestamp fades out at some point – probably because the cameraman collapsed into a pillow.
Although Rihanna has yet to share any music from the album she’s currently recording, she’s been anything but idle in the decade since the release of “Anti.” She released the single “Lift Me Up” from “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” performed at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show and voiced Smurfette in the latest “Smurfs” film adaptation. The ROLLING STONE chronicle shows all of this and more, everything they achieved during the time without a new album.
