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In 2026, Rihanna continues to redefine her superstar status as she balances motherhood, business, and a long-awaited musical return. After welcoming her third child with partner A$AP Rocky in late 2025, the Barbadian singer-entrepreneur has been splitting her time between running her fashion and beauty ventures and dropping rare behind-the-scenes glimpses of studio work. Her recent Instagram post has fans speculating on when they might see new music. Here’s what she posted that sent fans into a frenzy.

Rihanna just teased new music with an Instagram clip that goes through a night in her busy life

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Fans can’t wait to hear what Rihanna has in store for 2026. Although her last full album was Anti in 2016, she has occasionally released standalone songs since. This has kept fans connected to her musical output despite her extended hiatus from a proper album cycle. After her 2022 ballad “Lift Me Up” for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marked her first new music in several years, she followed that with “Friend of Mine,” a track released on May 16, 2025, for the Smurfs movie soundtrack.

On Feb. 26, 2026, Rihanna posted a clip to her Instagram that has fans excited for new music. The clip begins with her having a Savage X Fenty meeting from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., proving she’s always working on her next business venture. By nearly 2 a.m., Rihanna and her crew are laughing when she tells them, “I still have to do the studio after this. And I have to make a Mardi Gras costume for my son after the studio. Longest day ever.”

After 2 a.m., Rihanna is seen in the studio. The clip shows her dancing and seemingly working on her next album until 5 a.m.

By 6:45 a.m., Rihanna still hasn’t slept. She’s seen driving her car and putting together the costume she promised she’d make for Mardi Gras, which includes a festive jacket and a green feathered umbrella. Rihanna dresses her son in the new outfit around 8 a.m. The clip finally cuts at nearly 10 a.m. with the singer/songwriter still awake.

Fans praised her work ethic and want to know when she’s releasing her next album

Rihanna has her hands in every project that has her name attached to it, and fans adore seeing her behind the scenes as she works on her passions.

“This woman is so disciplined and workaholic and still a billionaire,” one fan commented on the Instagram clip. “She could easily get people to do stuff for her, but she is involved in every project she accepts, and besides that, she still finds the time to be a good mom….”

Additionally, her hours in the studio have her fans pumped for what that means for her new music.

“Now this album is really coming!” one fan commented.

“Studio? Do you mean new music?” another fan questioned.

“SHE IS COMING BACK,” yet another fan wrote.

Rihanna said her return to music ‘needs to count,’ and fans won’t expect what’s coming

In February 2025, Rihanna spoke to Harper’s Bazaar about her future album. She admitted that she didn’t yet have a genre, but fans should expect the unexpected.

“There’s no genre now. That’s why I waited,” she said. “Every time, I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour.’ After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, this much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears. It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more.”

Rihanna added that she’s “feeling optimistic” about what’s to come.

“This feels right,” she continued. “It feels like it digs right into where I need to be, and I want this. This body needs to come out, and I’m ready to go there. This is becoming my new freedom, because when I’m in the studio, I know that my time away from my kids is to blossom something that hasn’t been watered in eight years. I’ve been in the studio the whole eight years. But it didn’t hit me. I was searching for it. I went through phases of what I wanted to do. ‘This kind of album, not that album.’ I know it’s not going to be anything that anybody expects. And it’s not going to be commercial or radio digestible. It’s going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now. I feel like I’ve finally cracked it, girl!”

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