How Do We Feel About Rihanna?

Just yesterday, Rihanna's latest single Diamonds hit the airwaves and for the fourth year in a row, she will have an album due out in November. My first reaction was yay but immediately after that was, really? Sure, I will listen/dance/sing along to this with the rest of the world but really, another one? Don't you need to live a bit to warrant creating an entire new album? And by a bit, I mean at least more than a year. Even if Rihanna did, she has a writing camp to write her feelings for her. And yeah, she clearly loves to make music but at some point you have to question the artistry. She can't possibly experience, conceptualize, write, produce, etc. an entire new album while just coming off another one. Can she?

It just feels like there are ulterior motives. Like breaking records and striking while it's/she's hot - that makes the process soulless and disposable. And maybe that's what wrong about pop music: it's a numbers game; quantity over quality. But with the team behind Rihanna, the music doesn't feel entirely tired which makes it more conflicting. Every "era" is eye/ear candy that I'm still going to be excited but at the same time, make me feel deprived and cheated. What if I want to listen to just Rihanna? You know, an entire record - not just a single - that resonate so much, it doesn't need to be replaced a year after.