Rihanna had more than just the new year to celebrate Tuesday night as she counted down the final moments to 2025. The singer revealed that she had abstained from alcohol for 12 months while celebrating New Year’s Eve with friends.
“Y’all I didn’t drink all year,” Rihanna told her Instagram followers after posting her family’s New Year’s countdown. “I didn’t drink all year.”
The singer did not elaborate on whether or not she planned to stay sober in 2025 as well, or if the break from alcohol was temporary. Rihanna appeared to enjoy a low-key celebration this year, as she was seen in a gray bathrobe in a hotel room while watching the ball drop in Times Square via a livestream on her iPhone.
“New Year, New Me,” she said.
In addition to 2024 marking a year of sobriety for the Pon de Replay singer, it also marked another year for her long-awaited follow-up to her album Anti. After her headlining performance at the 2023 SuperBowl, Rihanna said that she expected the album to be released that year — an anniversary that came and went. “I want it to be this year. Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year,” the singer said at the time. “But I just want to have fun.”
Since the release of 2016 Anti‘s, Rihanna has been heavily focused on her businesses, including her wildly successful makeup line Fenty Beauty. During a Fenty Beauty red carpet in April 2024, she told Extra the only reason it hasn’t been released is because she wants to perfect it.
“It’s gonna be amazing. It has to be — that is the only reason it’s not out yet. If I’m not feeling it and I’m not feeling like it represents the evolution, the time I spent away. There should be a show of growth, right? I want to play, and I feel like music is a playground, and I want to have fun with it and show truly where I am at.”
From Rolling Stone US
