Rihanna has been busy in recent years, with new motherhood being one of her top priorities. She isn't entirely unaware of fans' hope for a new album, however, and recent comments have made it sound like she's closer than ever to putting out new music. After mixed reactions to her Wakanda Forever track, fans weren't sure what to think, or when to hope for brand-new music from their favorite icon.

Amid her Super Bowl LVII halftime performance, Rihanna made a handful of comments about releasing new music, giving fans even more hope that it will finally happen. Are they getting excited too soon though? It could take a little bit longer than anyone expected for Rihanna to release a full-length album of new music.

Rihanna Says She Has Plans To Release New Music

After her impressive performance at the Super Bowl, Rihanna stunned fans once again with her Vogue cover and a tell-all interview, which was clearly completed pre-Super Bowl. Fans may not have gotten the news they were hoping for within that interview, though.

Rihanna did admit that she hoped to release new music, acknowledging that the Super Bowl performance (which hadn't happened yet at the time of the interview) sort of did feel like a comeback.

Something has stopped her from completing new music sooner, though; Rihanna admitted that looking back, Anti is absolutely her best album, so it was hard to try to "top" that.

Now, with her style continuously evolving and having so many ideas in her head, the songstress is adamant that she will make more music.

She said to Vogue, "Like, honestly, it'd be ridiculous if it's not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos." Though she admitted she sort of misses the video aspect more than the music one, it doesn't sound like she's stopped dabbling in music at all.

Still, fans shouldn't get excited too quickly.

She Might Be Starting Fresh With A New Album

Though Rihanna has seemingly teased fans for years (in 2018 she famously quipped she would release an album in 2019, but that date came and went) over new music, there's still something keeping the artist from revealing her art.

In talking with Vogue, she admitted that listening to songs she'd begun working on in the past is "almost like trying to dress like you used to dress." She spoke a lot about how motherhood changed her and made all the things that preceded her first child simply unimportant.

But music? Her vibe has changed (perhaps this was evidenced by "Lift Me Up"), and she's not thrilled about the songs she was working on before.

Rihanna didn't explicitly say that she would be starting from scratch for a possible 2023 album, but it sure sounds that way.

What Has Rihanna Been Working On?

In the past, pre-babies, Rihanna discussed what her next album would entail, and it sounded vastly different from her work to date. That said, Anti was also an amalgamation of different styles; when Vogue's Giles Hattersley called the album's variety "exquisite," Rihanna replied, "Right? It's like a DJ's worst nightmare.

Back when Rihanna had a very different conversation with Vogue, about her plans for then-upcoming (which never happened) music, she elaborated on what fans could expect, saying she was throwing all genre conventions out the window.

Her perspective on the next album after Anti hasn't changed, but Rihanna's inspiration sure has. She's always been a dynamic artist, but if "Lift Me Up" is any indication, she might just be doing purely the things she loves now.

In explaining her possible next album with Vogue in the pre-Super Bowl interview, Rihanna didn't seem annoyed at all by being asked about new music (in the past, she's gotten a bit snippy over the subject).

This time, Rihanna explained that after being so stressed about topping what she called her best work, she finally realized that it doesn't even matter.

She elaborated, "It just has to be something that feels good. It could just be a song that I like. It literally could be that simple."

At this point, fans will take just about anything—but even better would be an album that Rihanna puts out because she loves the music and is just plain feeling it.

After so many years, it seems unlikely that any fan would be disappointed by a full album from Rihanna, even if her style has done a complete switch-up.

On the heels of her Super Bowl performance and tons of commentary about her upcoming albums, though, Rihanna might not be in any hurry to hit the studio.

As she was early in her pregnancy at the Super Bowl, she might revert to her pregnancy habit of watching "trash" reality TV and enjoying family time while she and A$AP Rocky grow their family from three to four.