Rihanna Surprise-Releases Eighth Album, 'Anti'

Rihanna has debuted her long-awaited, highly-anticipated eighth album Anti. It is her first full-length LP since 2012's Unapologetic and is currently only available to stream on Tidal. 

Rihanna first indicated the album's imminent release earlier this week when she posted a photo of herself wearing Dolce & Gabbana headphones on Twitter with the caption "Listening to Anti." Later, Billboard reported that a release of the full LP was imminent and a new single, "Work" featuring Drake, was released on Wednesday. 

Following the release of "Work," streaming site Tidal accidentally posted the album before taking it down just a few minutes later. With the streaming leak came the track list as well as the circulation of song clips on Twitter amongst fan sites who were quick enough to spot the leak.

Since Unapologetic, the Barbadian pop star has gone on two tours, including her 2013 Diamonds World Tour and co-headlining North American trek with Eminem, 2014's Monster Tour. She began teasing an imminent release of her eighth LP in early 2015 with the release of the trap-folk single "FourFiveSeconds," featuring Kanye West and Paul McCartney. She followed the star-studded track with "Bitch Better Have My Money" and "American Oxygen." All three singles were released in the spring and noticeably absent from the final track list for Anti..

Rihanna kept fairly quiet about the album's release until the fall when she began promoting the album through cryptic, Samsung-sponsored ads — AntiDiaRy — and debuting the cover art in a flashy Los Angeles event. Over the course of the waiting period for the album, two songs originally written for Anti but rejected by the singer were even released as singles by other artists, including "Go" by Grimes and "Cheap Thrills" by Sia.

In February, Rihanna will launch a massive Anti world tour. Travis Scott, who co-produced "Bitch Better Have My Money," will open for her on her North American dates while the Weeknd and Big Sean will join her for the European leg of the tour.

Anti track list:

1. "Consideration" featuring SZA
2. "James Joint"
3. "Kiss It Better"
4. "Work" featuring Drake
5. "Desperado"
6. "Woo"
7. "Needed Me"
8. "Yeah, I Said It"
9. "Same Ol' Mistakes"
10. "Never Ending"
11. "Love on the Brain"
12. "Higher"
13. "Close to You"