Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 09/13/2012 at 9:35 AM News

The Popdust Files: rihanna, upcoming albums

Well, it’s not like Def Jam France was being entrusted with any particularly great secret with Rihanna releasing a new album this year—it’s been nearly a half-decade since Ri went a whole year without releasing an LP, so the odds were certainly in favor of it happening again in 2012. Still, they might have let the cat out of the bag a little early with this since-deleted tweet, in which the label teased (en francais) that Rihanna’s new album would be coming out at the end of November, with a lead single premiering this very Monday.

They’ve now changed their statement to a tease of a “new announcement this Thursday,” but we’re guessing it’s gonna be pretty similar info once revealed for real. Which is good news—much as we love the A$AP Rocky-featuring “Cockiness (Love It)” remix, we couldn’t exactly see it ruling the charts or the Top 40, and going too long without a big Rihanna smash to rule our lives causes us to break out in hives. (If we remember correctly, anyway–it’s been a while since we were long without one, y’know?)

[Idolator]