A Look At Everything Rihanna Did In 2019
This is a tale of two posts from
Rihanna – a
promo for Fenty Aesthetics from December 2018 and also a
selfie uploaded earlier this month. Underneath the ad, Rihanna responded to a fan inquiry of whenever her long-awaited
R9 album would finally come out. The artist simply responded, “2019.” Yet nearly per year later, aside from hints at a possible
reggae theme, there hasn’t been much else from Rih on the music front. This brings us to the second post.
In it, Rihanna’s decked out in gold chains and rings, a Abraham Lincoln-esque top hat, as well as a shirt that says “ART SCHOOL DROPOUT.” She purses her lips as if she’s in the midst of delivering some bad news. Her caption is a bummer for fans clamoring for music nevertheless a nice reminder of her own limits as a human: “This year has been quite an overwhelming one, and I’m working on that ish called Balance,” she wrote. “Brb.”
Still, even if the follow-up to 2016’s
Anti isn't out for some time, it’s certainly in the works. In a June interview with
Interview magazine, she revealed that she was in the thick of the recording process. “I’m really happy with plenty of the material we have for now, yet I am not going to put it out up until it’s complete,” she mentioned. “It makes no sense to rush it, nevertheless I want it out.” Here’s the thing: She probably couldn’t even rush it if she wanted to.
Rihanna’s been so busy outdoors of recording that it seems absurd to even expect a new song, let alone a new album before the year is over. She’s done so much in 2019, from beginning a new style residence to releasing a visual autobiography, that her having to take some recovery time makes a ton of sense. It’s also a lesson that we really have to stop bugging Rihanna. As we mirror on our own expectations, here’s a breakdown of everything Rihanna did in 2019.
January 6: She begins off the year by teasing new music
Right after suggesting that
R9 would be coming out in 2019, Rihanna lit the fire of expectation in January with a 15-second Instagram clip. Though it was just a fast studio snippet with a spacey filter, it was proof that she wasn’t playing around and was actively in the studio working towards a LP.
Later, in May, she
confirmed that
R9 would presumably be the name, thanks to fans that “have haunted” her. In August, she revealed that she was “really happy with plenty of the material we have so far,” which sounds like proof that she’s
working on it. Want more? She apparently even
registered a new song, “Private Loving,” with efficiency rights agency BMI.
March 25: She made plans to enter into the skincare business
Fenty Aesthetics has been a smash in the cosmetic industry since its 2017 debut, so two years later, Rihanna looked to expand into skincare; in March, she
trademarked the name “Fenty Skin.” News about it has been quiet since, nevertheless it aligns with a fan find in 2017 that recommended various lotions, creams, and more had been registered under “House of Fenty.”
April 12: She stars in Donald Glover’s Guava Island
Technically,
the movie that Rihanna shot in Cuba with Donald Glover was filmed last August, yet it didn’t come out up until this April. The film, directed by Glover’s
Atlanta collaborator Hiro Murai and featuring
Black Panther’s Letitia Wright, debuted at Coachella before streaming on Amazon Prime. Rihanna plays a seamstress named Kofi, a partner to Glover’s Deni Maroon, and plenty mention they wish she would have sung in the movie. Yet that would have required recording
more music.
May 10: She begins a new style house
Back in January,
reports abounded that Rihanna was in the middle of signing a historic style deal with LVMH. It wasn’t up until May that the conglomerate officially unveiled news that the singer would build a Paris-based luxury style home named Fenty. In doing so, Rihanna became the opening female designer of color for the brand and propelled her to be the wealthiest female musician in the world. She shared the clothing collection that “takes shape with her vision in terms of prepared to wear, shoes, and accessories, including commerciality and communication of the brand” on May 22.
June 20: She goes day drinking with Seth Meyers
In the raucous segment for Late Night, she played a couple drinking games and sipped on some Rihanna-inspired drinks like "Under My Rumbrella," "Diamonds in the Rye," and "We Noticed Veuve in a Hostess Place." Subsequently, the pair acted as bartender and barfly as soon as Rihanna posed an interesting question to Meyers: "If I were to quit music, what should I do?" Any time Meyers brought up her agency deals, Rihanna side-stepped it, and the pair came to the conclusion that she should be a pilot, something that she's wanted to do since she was a child.
September 12: She raises $5 million for her nonprofit
Her yearly benefit gala, the Diamond Ball, drew more than 500 attendees, including Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage, and Meek Mill. The hip-hop stars donated sums of cash, directly and through auctions, to Rihanna’s nonprofit charity, the
Clara Lionel Foundation, which advantages impoverished communities around the world.
September 20: She amps up Savage x Fenty
At the same time, Rihanna continued with her lingerie brand Savage x Fenty that’s since
enlisted Normani as its first-ever brand ambassador. While in Style Week, she hosted a show in Brooklyn that featured Normani, Halsey, Big Sean, A$AP Ferg, Migos, DJ Khalid, and 21 Savage all taking the stage, making it feel more like a concert than a style show. More than 200 countries streamed it from Amazon.
October 7: She designs and releases her own photo book
Rihanna’s photos tell a story of an evolving pop star whose likeness has captivated the world since she entered the industry in 2005. In October, she released a self-titled “visual autobiography” that consists of 1,000 photos of her “life as a musician, performer, designer, and entrepreneur.” It’s a hefty book that sits at 15 pounds and was cautiously curated from over 400,000 pictures taken by her personalized photographer, Dennis Leupold. It's the best vessel to take some time to mirror on Rihanna's journey, and
her latest selfie is the dedication to balance that she needs. Immediately after seeing just how much she did in 2019, how could anyone pester her for music? Save it for 2020.
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