Rihanna's team reaches out to Billie Eilish as 'R9' buzz grows

Is there a Rihanna and Billie Eilish collab in the works?

Rihanna’s team publicly reached out to the 24-year-old popstar this week after she shared her growing anticipation for Rihanna’s long-promised ninth studio album, R9.

“If Rihanna ever f***ing makes R9, then I’m excited for that,” Eilish told Elle magazine in an interview published Tuesday, April 28. Surprisingly, Rihanna’s lingerie brand Savage X Fenty popped up in the comments section of that video and wrote, “R9 will be worth the wait, trust,” with a fire emoji.

Fans have been waiting for the elusive R9 for years now, given that Rihanna’s last album was 2016’s Anti. Last year, Rihanna explained the hold-up despite being in the studio the “whole eight years.”

“I’ve been in the studio the whole eight years. But it didn't hit me,” she revealed in a March 2025 Harper’s Bazaar cover story. “I was searching for it. I went through phases of what I wanted to do… I feel like I’ve finally cracked it, girl!”

In 2024, Rihanna named Eilish as her dream collaborator. “If I could only do a song with Billie Eilish. She’s so good,”

In a 2024 chat with Access Hollywood, she called Billie Eilish her “dream collaborator.” “If I could only do a song with Billie Eilish. She’s so good.”

As for Eilish’s progress, she revealed to Elle that BE4 is “more than halfway [done].”