Rihanna’s ‘ANTI’ 2015: A Timeline Of The Singer’s Most Confusing Year Yet

Bianca Gracie | December 4, 2015 10:00 am
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2015 has been a whirlwind of a year when it comes to pop music, and the major culprit was none other than everyone’s favorite Bad Gal — Rihanna.

Over the past 11 months, the pop star has proven to be “phucks-free” when it comes to proper promotion that has led to a slew of misplaced singles and no set release date (or any other information) for her eighth ANTI album.

So in anticipation (?) of the forthcoming project, we looked back at every confusing and head-scratching event that occurred in Rihanna’s world throughout 2015 (and mid-way through last year as well). Get into the chronological timeline below!

May 28, 2014: Rihanna tweets a series of ominous song lyrics.
Before the hype of #R8 began, the singer posted a series of lyrics that alluded to a bad relationship with a bunch of #barz hashtags.

September 26, 2014: The singer reunites with Ester Dean in the studio
The singer/songwriter is responsible for hits like “Rude Boy,” “What’s My Name,” and “Where Have You Been” so this seemed to be a promising sign.

October 4, 2014: Charli XCX is reportedly brought in to write songs for Rihanna
The UK singer revealed the news in her Billboard cover story.

October 25, 2014: The Internet latches on to a rumored #R8 tracklist
It is obviously fake, but we were all becoming desperate.

November 2, 2014: The Bad Gal makes a return to Instagram after 6 months
Could the comeback signal — gasp! — upcoming promotion? (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t)

November 2, 2014: She is also rumored to be on Beyonce’s self-titled album reissue
Here we are, continuing the series of disappointments.

November 3, 2014: Rihanna covers Elle‘s December issue
This photoshoot marked the rise of Rihanna, the supermodel — which will take over all of the following year.

November 3, 2014: All of Calvin Harris’ penned songs are scrapped from #R8
“She listens to everything, I know that, but she’s got a strong idea and identity and an idea of what her album should sound like. It’s okay because I’m working on my stuff and it’s going fine,” the “We Found Love” producer revealed. Could this mean a new direction in sound?

November 4, 2014: Rihanna covers Esquire UK‘s December issue

November 11, 2014: Ne-Yo speaks on #R8, gets everyone’s hopes up
The artist said this in a radio interview: “The stuff I’ve heard is absolutely incredible. I can’t speak on what it sounds like because I’ll get in trouble. But I definitely feel like people are gonna enjoy it. Anybody that’s a Rihanna fan is gonna stay a Rihanna fan, and anybody that’s not might become a Rihanna fan … just gear up for it.”

November 25, 2014: Rihanna surprises everyone with a song snippet
Alas! Some new music from the pop star! “Ain’t none of this shit promised/Ain’t none of this promised,” Rihanna warbles over a looping track produced by Mike wiLL Made-It. Well, it was kind of a premonition — we’re still not being promised an album.

December 2, 2014: Rumors spread about a 2015 tour
News surfaced about both Kanye West and Rihanna separately hitting the road in 2015. It never happened.

December 9, 2014: The singer teases a second snippet
The navy dubbed this track as “Kiss It Better.”

December 16, 2014: Rihanna is named the creative director of Puma
The singer continues to fulfill her part-time model duties by building her ever-growing brand with the athletic company.

December 19, 2014: The singer meets fans in Paris for an “#R8” experience
To this day, no one is absolutely sure what this meet-up was meant for.

January 5, 2015: News is revealed that Kanye West, Rihanna & Paul McCartney recorded a song

January 24, 2015: Rihanna drops “FourFiveSeconds,” gets everyone’s hopes up
The smoky, acoustic downtempo song gave insight of a more mature Rihanna who is now even more of a genre-bender. The musical risk paid off, as “FourFiveSeconds” had a blockbuster first day on pop radio.

January 29, 2015: Rihanna covers i-D magazine’s music issue
We soon find out these photos are also inspiration for her upcoming album promotion.