Rihanna: New album is soulful

Rihanna focused on songs that "felt real" for her new record.

The Stay singer will release her eighth album later this year, two years after her last cut, Unapologetic. And the Barbadian beauty has teased what fans can expect from her latest offering during a chat with MTV News.

"I've made a lot of songs that are really, really big songs," she said. "From the jump, they just blow up. And I wanted to kind of get back to — not that they weren't real music, but I just wanted to focus on things that felt real, that felt soulful, that felt forever."

Rihanna first made waves on the music scene with her 2005 release Music of the Sun, which featured debut single Pon de Replay. Since then her albums have included mega hits including Umbrella, Only Girl (in the World) and We Found Love. While the 27-year-old is thankful for the success such songs brought her, she doesn't feel like they have all stood the test of time.

"I wanted songs that I could perform in 15 years; I wanted an album that I could perform in 15 years," she concluded. "Not any songs that were burnt out. I find that when I get on stage now, I don't want to perform a lot of my songs. They don't feel like me. So I want to make songs that are timeless."

Her most recent single FourFiveSeconds featured a collaboration with Kanye West and Sir Paul McCartney. The trio performed the track at the Grammy Awards in February, and Rihanna was thrilled to perform alongside such an icon.

"What a night! Still can't believe we @kanyewest shared a stage with a f***ing BEATLE tonight! #bucketlistsh*t Thank you Sir @PaulMcCartney (sic)," she tweeted.