Rihanna Posts Documentary Proof She Is Recording Music

Rihanna, who has said she’s been working on her first new album in a decade, has now shared some cold, hard proof that she really is in the recording studio. The singer shared an 80-second Instagram Reel, “A Night in the Life,” featuring a late-night (early-morning) stop at the studio.

The video kicks off with her attending a meeting for her lingerie brand (the whole Reel is captioned “commercial break”), reviewing designs (some of which are blurred so you can’t steal them), autographing records, and getting the punch-drunk giggles at 1:30 in the morning.

Just before 2 a.m., Rihanna announces she must go to the studio to record a little more of her upcoming, as-yet-unofficially-unannounced ninth album, after which she needs to make a Mardi Gras costume for her son. “Longest day ever,” she tells her staff, who are still working at 2 a.m.

Rihanna then meets her studio staff, who record with her until 5:05 a.m., though there’s no audio in this portion of the clip she’s willing to share at this point. “We should have coffee someday, get to know each other,” Rihanna says. Then at 10 minutes to 7 a.m. Rihanna begins “Mom duties,” which include making and modeling the Mardi Gras costume. The timestamp on the clip eventually cuts out, likely because the videographer collapsed into a pillow.

Although Rihanna has yet to share any music from the album she’s recording, she has kept busy in the decade since she released Anti. She released the single “Life Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, performed at the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show, and voiced Smurfette in the latest Smurfs movie. She’s done all that and more, as Rolling Stone’s timeline of everything she’s done other than releasing an album shows.