It's been over three years since Rihanna released a new album, and quite frankly, that is already way too much time. We'll agree that after releasing seven albums over seven consecutive years, pop's biggest force was due a year off, but two?! We did not sign up for that.

That said, the delayed album has pushed anticipation to fever pitch with random single releases, scattered interviews, any number of rumours, inside sources and leaked information doing the rounds on the internet.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the biggest hints we've got so far to try to get an idea where BadGalRiRi is headed next.

What's it going to sound like?

If there's one thing Rihanna has built her successful career on, it is embracing new trends but doing it better than anyone else. To date, most of her back catalogue has remained very pop-focussed at its core, but 2012's Unapologetic did foray into a darker and sharper R&B sound.

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But then Rihanna flipped all that on its head and did a largely acoustic track with Kanye West and Paul McCartney. 'FourFiveSeconds' was a hit, but in Rihanna terms (and especially as a lead single), it didn't really achieve the worldwide domination they must've been expecting. Then came along 'Bitch Better Have My Money'; a headline-grabbing slice of so-so hip-hop on first listen, that gently revealed its infectiousness on repeated listens. But it was too late. The single stalled, the music video came out four months too late, 'American Oxygen' was shoved on Tidal as an exclusive, and with that the whole R8 campaign was thrown up in the air again.

So what else do we have to go on when it comes to the sound of Anti? Well there were the two Instagram snippets she posted last year. "None of this shit promised, none of it promised," she trills after foghorn blasts and over rumbling bass on one clip, sounding like a continuation of the 'don't ph**k with me' attitude of her previous record. The other, however, sounds a lot more light and radio-friendly. Titled 'Kiss It Better', it hears a provocative Rihanna over silky, funk guitar plucks. On first impression it feels like it will head up the shinier side of the record.

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The Florence + the Machine-sampling 'Only If For A Night' was given a brief time to shine in Rihanna's glossy visual for fashion house Dior. There's also the matter of leaked track 'World Peace'. Unexpectedly politically charged for a Rihanna song, the demo leaked earlier this year, but it is not actually known if it's intended for Anti. The fact that her label hasn't panicked about the leak and rushed to take down all of the streams suggests it isn't.

For other clues as to what the album may sound like, we should look at the list of confirmed collaborators for the project. We know that DJ Mustard has been in the studio with Rihanna. After recently producing will.i.am and Miley Cyrus's 'Feelin' Myself' and Fergie's 'LA Love', all signs show that he may add a nice dose of hip-pop flair to proceedings. Legendary hit-maker Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins is involved, while David Guetta is also thought to have submitted some tracks. You'd presume that the latter would be serving up some massive dancefloor anthems, but judging by his latest album Listen, released last year, it could be more chilled than expected.

And then there's Sia. Of course, 'Diamonds' is one of Rihanna's best ballads and so the prospect of them coming up with something even better is exciting. Judging by what Sia had to say about her submission, it sounds like it could potentially top it. "There's one that I just gave to Rihanna," she told VH1. "Like, as soon as I played it for her manager, he flipped over it."

Bond crooner Sam Smith seemingly dropped a massive hint earlier this year that he has been in the studio with Rihanna. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly he teased: "I'm personally very excited for Rihanna's new album. I know some stuff about that record that no-one knows." Whether Sam will feature on a track with RiRi or if he has written a song for Anti, you can be certain that the collaboration would add a healthy dollop of soul.

What's more, frequent collaborator Ne-Yo looks to be involved, while Roc Nation singer-songwriter Alicia Renee got emotional hearing Rihanna record a song she had written for her. Both are likely to add a spot of traditional R&B-pop to the table, meaning that Anti seems to be yet another nice mix of genres from BadGalRiRi.

What's the album artwork all about?

Roy Nachum

Rihanna was so proud of her new album artwork, she's had it displayed in the Mama gallery in Los Angeles. The image was designed by Roy Nachum, whom Rihanna praised as being someone who "sees things beyond the surface".

Sight has become a very prominent theme in this campaign, with all of Rihanna's single artwork including Braille captions. "The whole idea behind the Braille is that people who have sight are sometimes the people who are blindest," she explained.

The artwork sees a younger Rihanna with a crown over her eyes while holding a black balloon. "He really interpreted it in his own way," Rihanna said of Nachum's creation, "with exactly the message I wanted."

When will Rihanna release her new album?

Truth be told, at this point it's anyone's guess. With a few singles already out and numerous cover shoots throughout 2015, we've been continually led to believe it's imminent.

But we might finally have a solid release date. On November 19, Rihanna launched a brand new website called ANTIdiaRy.com (we see what you did there, Ri), which allows fans to unlock eight different stages.

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The website also has the Samsung logo displayed, suggesting that she finalised a deal with the tech giant to offer her new album as gift to their customers. But just remember, Rihanna is a shareholder in Jay Z's streaming service TIDAL, so chatter that it will initially be an exclusive on their platform seems plausible.

On November 27, stage two of Rihanna's ANTIdiaRy campaign was unlocked. It sees the star walk up to a plastic mixing board as scuzzy music plays out of the speakers. Could this be a sign of the sound to come?

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Despite a new headline tour for North America and Europe being announced, there was no new news on the accompanying album release. On December 4, the third stage of Rihanna's ANTIdiaRy campaign was unlocked and saw her follow her younger self into the closet.

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It was the third video in as many weeks, suggesting that the countdown will be weekly. If we're to believe that Anti will be released with the final video of the series, that places it for a January 8, 2016 rollout. And with the penultimate teaser now out there - and Samsung gearing up for a big keynote at CES on Tuesday, January 5 - could the wait almost be over?

All in all, Anti has already become the most anticipated album of Rihanna's career. There are plenty of incredibly talented people involved to make sure she can deliver an eclectic, exciting and chart-dominating album - and let's face it, when has Rihanna ever really let us down? We're just going to have to sit down our impatient butts and wait, but remember: don't listen to the "f**kery".

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