Rihanna Taps Emeli Sande To Write Songs For ‘Home’ Concept Album

Rihanna‘s concept album for an upcoming 3D animated film, Home, is starting to take shape. Emeli Sande reveals that she has been writing songs along with producer Rodney Jerkins. “I’ve been writing for Rihanna’s new movie, which has been incredible,” Sande said to Digital Spy. “I was with Rodney Jerkins the other night. I feel now I’m back on creative mode.”

She isn’t kidding. Sande, the biggest-selling U.K. artist of 2012 and 2013, also revealed that she has been in the studio with Naughty Boy, the rising producer behind “La La La” featuring Sam Smith. And it’s fitting, too – as Naughty Boy revealed to us last year, that same global hit was originally to be written with Sande herself. “But because she was on tour, I did the session with Sam and I presented the idea to him,” he said. “It just had to be Sam because where it went from there is perfect.”

Sande’s news arrives just as Dreamworks announces that Home‘s release will be pushed back from November 26 to March 27, switching release dates with the next Madagascar sequel. And that can be a good thing. Not only can Rihanna’s Home team focus on pulling off this concept album, but the “Stay” star can then perfect that other album to be released this year – her follow-up to 2012’s Unapologetic.

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