Rihanna Responds to Fan Asking for ‘R9’ Album: ‘2021 Energy’

It’s only been 2021 for a few hours, but a Rihanna fan already has their foot on the singer’s neck for her dangerously anticipated next music project.

RiRi took to Instagram to celebrate the new year, posting a selfie with the caption, “new year’s resolution: apply the pressure.”

User @sgggbrina immediately swooped in and wrote, “Resolution should be releasing the album.” Rihanna returned with a memo for the fan: “this comment is sooo 2019. grow up.”

But later, RiRi double backed and responded again: “2021 energy,” alongside laugh-crying and flexed bicep emojis.

The singer’s long-rumored and now-infamous album R9 has been in the works for some time. Our most recent glimpse at the project-to-be was in September when Skylar Grey shared a snippet of a song she’d revealed that she worked on with Diplo for Rihanna’s album. She and Diplo reportedly collaborated on the song “when Rihanna was supposedly doing some kind of reggae album,” according to Grey.

And just a year ago, in late December 2019, Rihanna shared a mysterious video on IG where she appeared to hint at the project. “Update: me listening to R9 by myself and refusing to release it,” she wrote, with a clip of a small white dog energetically head-banging to House of Pain’s classic cut “Jump Around.”