Is Rihanna Hosting 'SNL'? Clues She May Finally Drop New Music
R9 is coming.
Getty / DeuxMoi on Instagram One of the greatest mysteries in the pop culture world is whether Rihanna will release a new album before we reach the end of the world.
Rihanna’s "Navy" has been eagerly awaiting her ninth studio album ever since Anti dropped back in 2016, and the star has certainly left fans guessing for longer than they hoped.
Now, rumors are swirling about Rihanna guest-hosting on SNL, which has fans hoping her new album will drop any day now.
The “Work” singer took a hiatus from her music career to launch her beauty and skincare empire Fenty and she has been dominating the industry ever since — but that hasn’t stopped fans from pestering her to return to music.
Speculation about the existence of the new album, which has been dubbed #R9 by fans, has become a bit of a running joke on social media.
But as rumors swirl about a suspected Saturday Night Live appearance in the works, it looks like the album might be coming sooner than we think.
Is Rihanna scheduled to appear as a host or musical guest on SNL?
There is no definitive answer as of yet, but everyone’s favorite celebrity gossip Instagram account DeuxMoi recently added fuel to the #R9 fire when they shared an anonymous tip-off about an allegedly upcoming SNL appearance from Rihanna.
According to their sources, the singer is expected to act as a host and musical guest in an upcoming episode of the show.
SNL is a popular choice for many artists when promoting new albums.
Everyone from Harry Styles to Taylor Swift has taken on double duty both as host and musical guest on the sketch comedy show when their new albums were released.
That said, similar reports swirled around Adele prior to her SNL appearance last year, only for her to reveal on stage that her album was not yet ready and, therefore, she would not be performing.
Equally, DeuxMoi can be somewhat hit or miss when it comes to reliability, so we may just have to wait and see how this one plays out.
Rihanna has dropped hints about her new album
Even though the SNL reports are yet to be confirmed or denied, we do have some clues straight from Rihanna herself about when the mysterious #R9 album is coming.
Rihanna has been trolling fans for years, telling them the album would come in 2019 — it didn’t — and teasing in 2020 that she “lost” her new music.
In December 2020, she revealed rather cryptically that in 2021 she planned “to take my music and my brands to a different level.”
This news came months after the singer was spotted in London, allegedly filming a music video.
But the singer has been less coy recently, telling fans that new music is coming soon.
On March 24, a fan account shared a screenshot of Rihanna's reply to a to a fan pleading with her to release a new song.
“I think I should,” she wrote, followed by the “soon” emoji and quickly adding in a second reply, "just 1 tho lol."
So a full album might not be quite ready, but at the very least this could mean a single is in the works.
Here's hoping!
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment.