Rihanna Has A Lot Riding On ‘Anti’ After A Year Of Commercial Disappointment


Rihanna fans are definitely excited for her new album, Anti, which, according to Just Jared, could launch very soon.

“After announcing her upcoming ANTI World Tour on Monday, the latest buzz is that Rihanna’s album ANTI will be dropping later this week on Black Friday.”

[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]
Rihanna has had a difficult year in terms of music. [Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]
Rihanna’s album is said to be exclusive to Tidal. She is hoping to refuel her music career after a year of bad luck. The year started off good enough with “FourFiveSeconds,” a hit single with Paul McCartney and Kanye West. However, the song didn’t top the charts like every new single from Rihanna usually does. But things went downhill from there.

Her next single, “B***h Better Have My Money,” failed to catch on fire, originally making it to the top 20 on Billboard‘s Hot 100. Then, she released a video, which wasn’t very well received. The Guardian said that the video is pure misogyny.

“The main issue here is surely: misogyny, who’s allowed to do it? And the only answer can be: nobody. It’s even difficult to excuse it on the grounds of artistic expression, given how crude is the video.”

The reviewer goes on to note that there is absolutely no artistic merit in the video whatsoever. The hype from the video helped Rihanna’s single climb into the top 15 briefly, but that could have been based on curiosity YouTube views, which now count towards a song’s chart position.

Then, Rihanna released “American Oxygen,” which only peaked in the United States at No. 78 and barely charted anywhere else in the world. Hits Daily Double weighed in on Rihanna’s latest flop.

“Not only have the initial Tidal exclusives failed to move the needle, the Rihanna video exclusive on ‘American Oxygen’ appears to have actually hurt the launch of the song, which sold only 19k in its first four days. Deepening the irony, Jay’s Roc Nation is both her label and her manager. Thus far, Tidal is seen by most observers as a big miss.”

Rihanna’s R8 album then kept getting extended until it was finally cancelled, reworked, and then announced as Anti. Releasing it during the holiday season should at least help sales. Rihanna has also announced a world tour in support of Anti.Rolling Stone has the news.

“The Anti World Tour kicks off February 26th at San Diego, California’s Viejas Arena and will spend three months circling North America before the first leg closes out May 7th at Oakland’s Oracle Arena. The following month, Rihanna will embark on a two-month trek through Europe.”

Rihanna Music
Rihanna hopes her new world tour will sell well, despite declining interest in her music. [Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]
Rolling Stone adds that Travis Scott will serve as Rihanna’s opening act throughout the North American leg, and the Weeknd and Big Sean will do the same for Rihanna’s European tour. Tidal members get early access to Rihanna’s tour tickets starting on November 30, while general tickets go on sale December 3. Like Madonna, Janet Jackson, and other acts, Rihanna will be bundling in her CD with the ticket sales. This has been controversial in the past, but ticket buyers only get the album if they choose to — it’s not automatically sent to them.

Are you excited about Rihanna’s new Anti album and world tour? Do you think Rihanna can turn around the slump she had for most of 2015? Let us know in the comments section.

[Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]

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