On New Year's Day, Rihanna posted her first photo of 2021: an image of her standing by the pool in a matching bikini top, a high-slit skirt, and lace-up heels.
"new year's resolution: apply the pressure," she wrote on Instagram.
Fans, who have been asking for a new Rihanna album for more than a year now, jumped into the comments. "Resolution should be releasing the album," one fan wrote.
"this comment is sooo 2019. grow up," Rihanna responded. She later wrote, "2021 energy."
Stylist Jahleel Weaver also popped in with an ask for the album: "Speaking of pressure, it's the album for me."
Rihanna responded with "phuck u."
Fans have, indeed, been begging Rih for years to release her next album, but she hasn't let on about when, exactly, it's coming. Last February, she told Entertainment Tonight that she enjoys playing this game with her fans a bit.
"To be continued," Rihanna said in reference to her album. "I like to antagonize my fans a little bit. Well, they antagonize me, too! So, they get it right back."
This is not to say that she hasn't talked about the album at all. In the fall of 2019, she gave Vogue some details about what the album will sound like.
"It’s not gonna be typical of what you know as reggae. But you're going to feel the elements in all of the tracks," she said. "Reggae always feels right to me. It's in my blood. It doesn’t matter how far or long removed I am from that culture, or my environment that I grew up in; it never leaves. It"s always the same high. Even though I've explored other genres of music, it was time to go back to something that I haven’t really homed in on completely for a body of work."