Why Rihanna Felt It Was ‘Critical’ To Wait A While Before Putting Out New Music (Exclusive)

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Rihanna knows fans have been waiting for years, but the Grammy winner had her reasons for waiting before dropping new music.

Although Rihanna is well aware fans have been begging for new music from her for years, the Grammy winner, 34, felt it was “critical” to wait until the time was right. A few sources close to the “Diamonds” singer spoke EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife and revealed the reasons behind Rihanna’s six-year hiatus from music.

“Rihanna is well aware that fans have been waiting for new music from her for years. Although she knows she has a large fan base who loves her music, she also had a very full plate working on numerous other projects over the past several years which has taken up a large chunk of her time,” an insider revealed after Rihanna announced on October 26 that she would be releasing her first song in over six years, called “Lift Me Up,” which arrives October 28.

“In addition to her beauty brand, she’s also been focused on the Savage x Fenty lingerie line. Plus, starting a family with [A$AP] Rocky and putting most of her energy into being a mother. Rihanna didn’t want to just put any music out because the fans were asking for it. It was critical that she needed it to feel organic because it’s something she takes very seriously,” the pal added. “Creating her last album (ANTI) took all of her energy. She admitted that she struggled a lot with writing that album and it took her a few years to put everything together until she felt it was perfect. It was a challenging process, and she knew what it took to put out music again that she was proud of. Rihanna loves that she’s able to lend her voice on such an important project and she can’t wait for fans to listen.”

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The new song is featured in Marvel’s upcoming sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and is a tribute to the movie’s late star Chadwick Boseman. A second source close to the songstress said, “This song means so much to Rihanna. Aside from the fact that it is her first-time releasing music in years, it is a beautiful tribute to Chadwick, who meant so much to so many people whose lives he touched. Rihanna appreciates her fans’ excitement about this, but she cannot and will not take all of the credit. She was thankful to be able to do this with such a talented group of people and they never lost sight of the fact that not only for the Black Panther movie, which Chadwick was so proud of during his life, but that it is also for his family and friends to remember him by, There is no doubt that the release on a few days will mark a milestone in her career, but she doesn’t want people to think that this is Rihanna’s song or Rihanna’s return. It belongs to the memory of Chadwick.”

With the new single and Rihanna’s upcoming Super Bowl Halftime performance, fans are convinced her latest album is on its way. “This a great way for Rihanna to kick off her return to music and it’s something she’s been secretly working on for quite a while,” another insider said. “Being a part of this franchise that means so much to so many people is a huge honor, it was basically a project she couldn’t refuse because there were just so many reasons to say yes. She’s a huge Black Panther fan and she knows how much the movie means to people, it’s a very significant film with a very empowering message, it’s really the perfect project for her and totally in line with her values and her message.”