Rihanna to 'Headline Glastonbury' As Release Date For First Album In 8 Years Nears

Rihanna's first album in eight years is set for release – and rumors are swirling that she's also in talks for Glastonbury.

via: Daily Mail

The 36-year-old songstress is allegedly preparing for the release of the LP, according to a 'well-placed music insider' who spoke with The Sun on Monday.

Rihanna's legion of fans have been clamoring for new music from the hitmaker ever since the release of her eighth studio album, Anti, in 2016, and they could also get a chance to catch her live, as she is reportedly set to headline the 2025 edition of the Glastonbury Festival in England.

Since release that album — which scored some of the best reviews of her career — Rihanna has largely focused on running and promoting her successful cosmetics and lingerie companies, as well as devoting time to her romance with the rapper A$AP Rocky.

The lovebirds welcomed a son named RZA in May 2022, followed by their son Riot Rose in August of 2023.

'It’s been a running joke how long Rihanna’s ninth album has taken to be released, but finally the wait is almost over,' the insider said.

They claimed that Rihanna had recorded songs featuring 'loads of different people' in the past few years, including with collaborators Alesso and Diplo.

The singer–songwriter had allegedly flitted between multiple genres as she tried to craft her sound, though fans may never end up hearing her aborted experiments.

'She has gone from pop to reggae to hip hop and everything in between,' the source continued. 'But because she wants it to sound fresh, and because of where Rihanna is at in her life, practically everything was scrapped.'

They noted that some of the songs had been 'reworked' and repurposed for the final version of the album, 'but the majority was canned completely when she went back to the drawing board earlier this year.'

'Rihanna has been back in the studio for a while now and things are finally coming together,' the insider added on a hopeful note.

They noted that Rihanna tends to release her albums toward the end of the year, though it could easily be pushed back into early 2025 due to the slow manufacturing speed for vinyl records, which have increased in popularity significantly in recent years, even as CD purchases have declined.

However, the potentially delayed release date would still work well to set up a world tour that Rihanna is allegedly concocting.

In addition, the source claimed that Rihanna was set to headline the influential Glastonbury Festival.

'Either way, 2025 is set to be her year with a giant tour in the works with Live Nation and yes, Glastonbury is back on the table,' they said.

The Work singer had allegedly been secretly planning to perform at the festival for its 2023 edition, but she was forced to withdraw due to her pregnancy with Riot Rose.

Elton John, Guns n' Roses and Arctic Monkeys later covered the top three spots at that year's festival.

Rihanna's return to music will follow her partner A$AP Rocky's fourth album Don't Be Dumb, which will be released on August 30 of this year.

He has so far released multiple advance singles from the LP, including D.M.B., S***tin' Me, RIOT (Rowdy Pipe'n), and Same Problems?.

Last month, he released another single as a promo for his debut fashion collection American Sabotage that featured vocals by their two-year-old son RZA.

Meanwhile, one of Rihanna's next big projects is to produce Paramount Animation's The Smurfs Movie.

The Diamonds singer will also be a major on-screen presence, as she's set to voice the character Smurfette.

Although it may not tide over fans anxiously awaiting her next album, she's reportedly writing and recording several new songs for the film's soundtrack.

In addition to Rihanna, The Smurfs Movie will star Parks And Recreation's Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, JP Karliak, Dan Levy, Amy Sedaris, Nick Kroll, James Corden, Octavia Spencer, Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, Sandra Oh, Alex Winter, Billie Lourd, Xolo Maridueña, Kurt Russell and John Goodman.

The family-friendly film arrives in US and UK theaters on February 14, 2025.

All I have to say on this is it's about damn time.