The long wait for Rihanna’s upcoming album may finally be coming to an end. In a new interview, the singer admitted that her LP, long referred to as “R8” among fans, is “not done.” “To me it’s never done until it’s done. Until the final moment,” Rihanna told NME. However, she also revealed that the reason the album isn’t finished is because she’s having trouble whittling down the album’s potential tracks. “I have so many songs I love – and they’re so different – that it’s hard to actually put them all on the same album,” Rihanna said.
When Rihanna’s eighth album does arrive, it won’t be called R8 – the singer has narrowed the album title to two options – but she did share the names of three tracks considered front runners for her next LP: “Just Feel It,” “Higher” and “Love on the Brain,” the latter almost premiering at the Brit Awards in February before Rihanna cancelled her appearance. It’s unclear if 2015 singles “Bitch Better Have My Money” and “American Oxygen” will also appear on the new album.
Another holdup in the release of Rihanna’s new album: The ever-busy schedule of Kanye West, who serves as executive producer on the project after teaming with the singer on”FourFiveSeconds.” “Kanye definitely wanted to be involved in making the album,” Rihanna told NME. “So he did start helping me make it. Now we just have to wait to get back in the studio together. His schedule and mine are totally opposite right now, but I think this month we’ll be back in the studio.”
Charli XCX, whose Sucker was Rolling Stone‘s Best Pop Album of 2014, also worked with Rihanna on her upcoming album. “Charli’s just completely cool, so secure and non-calculating, and completely unaware of her surroundings,” Rihanna said. “She’s just so free. It’s pure. I love it. I love her.”
However, Rihanna had more reserved words for Taylor Swift, who is routinely surrounded by a fleet of celebrity buddies at each stop of her 1989 tour. When Rihanna was asked if she would ever accept an invitation to appear onstage at a 1989 show, she stated, “I don’t think I would. I just don’t think it makes sense.” The singer said she sees her fans and Swift’s at two different ends of the chart-topping pop spectrum. “I don’t think our audiences are the same. In my mind she’s a role model, I’m completely not,” Rihanna said. “I guess doing my own thing means I’m a horrible human being.”