It’s been a while! The last studio album that she released was ANTI in 2016 – the best part of a decade ago. It was a bold album that took her in a different, more experimental, direction than some of her pop-heavy songs and albums before then. She was pushing the boundaries as an artist, and it was generally very well received by critics who appreciated the fact that she was trying to do something a bit different with her music. Many critics have cited it as an incredibly important album for the genre of R&B.

That’s not to say that it didn’t resonate with her fans, though. Eight of the songs from ANTI topped the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart.

Again, it’s been far too long. Rihanna embarked on the ANTI World Tour on March the 12th 2016, and finished it up on November the 26th later that year. It was a huge success, earning over $260 million at the box office. In the UK, she performed at Wembley Stadium in London, the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, Hampden Park in Glasgow and Emirates Old Trafford (the cricket one) in Manchester.

Oh, don’t worry, she’s kept herself busy! A lot of her focus has turned to her many business interests, especially Fenty Beauty which is reportedly now worth in the region of $3 billion! She has also been acting in major Hollywood movies, like Ocean 8 in 2018, and has given birth to two children, in 2022 and 2023. And he also made time to take part in the Super Bowl LVII halftime performance, during which she was pregnant. It is rumoured that for the last couple of years, Rihanna has been working on new music. She has reportedly started recording an album more than once, before stopping and starting again… Surely a new album is just around the corner…?

Errr…yes! Rihanna has won an incredible amount of awards throughout her career. We’ll start with the big one – she’s won 9 Grammys. 13 AMA awards, 7 VMAs and 2 Brit Awards. She has a Guinness World Record for digital record sales – 58 million since 2012. She’s had 14 number ones in the Billboard chart – the third most in history. She is the second best-selling female artist ever in the UK, behind only Madonna.

Rihanna was born in Barbados in 1988, given the name Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and had a difficult childhood with an abusive father and excruciating headaches. But she always had music in her life, growing up on reggae. While she was at school she formed a band with two classmates, and they managed to get an audition with an American record producer, who later remarked: “The minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn’t exist.” He invited her to record some songs with him – but this took around a year to complete as Rihanna could only visit him during the school holidays.

When they had completed a demo album, they sent it to record labels – and that was how Jay Z, who was working for Def Jam Records, first heard her. He invited her to audition, and before long she had signed a 6 album deal.

Her first two albums, Music Of The Sun and A Girl Like Me, were both big hits, with singles like Pon de Replay and SOS with very positive reviews. However, it was the release of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, in 2007 which changed everything. Umbrella, the lead single from the album, went to Number One in 13 different countries and it stayed at No. 1 in the UK for 10 weeks, the longest stint at the top since Wet Wet Wet in 1994. It was an absolute smash, which announced her as one of the most exciting artists in the World.

Well, it’s been a while so it’s anyone’s guess what to expect! There are a few things that you can bank on though – first off, there will be a lot of energy. Rihanna is famed for her dynamic stage presence and high-tempo performances, so she will get the crowd moving. Then there is her amazing voice, and a huge back catalogue to work through. Rihanna has never been afraid to try new things with her music, so you can bet that the set list will be diverse, and full of great songs that everyone knows.

She has been known to invite special guests to her shows in the past, so that is always a possibility, and it’s a safe bet that there will be incredible lighting displays and choreography with bold and ambitious dance moves. It will be visually spectacular.

So we can’t know for sure what to expect, but you can be sure of an unforgettable night of incredible music and entertainment.