We’d all accepted it, right? That R9 would never see the light of day? At this point, Rihanna made it pretty easy to make peace with the fact that she’d probably never follow up her 2016 magnum opus Anti. Over the 12 months, almost all of our Rihanna-related posts have been retrospectives on her hits from a decade ago or about her having a baby. But this post is not about either of those things. Just days after paparazzi shots of the singer-entrepreneur in a shirt reading “I’m Retired” sent the internet into a tizzy, we have a glimmer of hope that R9 might actually happen.

Rihanna just hosted an event celebrating the launch of Fenty Hair, her new line of texture-inclusive haircare products. During an interview at the event with Entertainment Tonight, she talked a bit about her relationship to making music nowadays:

Music, for me, is a new discovery. I’m rediscovering things. I have been working on the album for so long that I kind of put all that stuff aside. And now I’m prepared to go back in the studio… Starting over. But I don’t want to neglect the songs that I have. So I want to actually go back and listen to stuff with new ears with my new perspective and then see what applies and what I still am in love with.

While speaking to attendees at the event, Ri also gave a cheeky hint to the album: “[Fenty Hair] is probably the longest I’ve ever taken to create something. No — I lied. That’s R9.”

It might be smart to take this all with a grain of salt, but this is the most Rihanna has talked about R9 in recent memory, so we’re taking it. Plus, her natural curls look great. See the clips from the Fenty Hair event below.

‘R9’ update! Rihanna reveals she is “starting over” and is NOW prepared to go in the studio to work on her highly-anticipated album. #FentyHair pic.twitter.com/L1szsVfNYn

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) June 11, 2024

OH RIHANNA IS SICK NXUACBAISGW pic.twitter.com/I7lYLZrBtu

— FenTeaKid☈ (@FenTeaKid) June 11, 2024