Will a 'surprise' new Rihanna album arrive in time for Christmas? Rihanna, pictured in New York City in June. Is Rihanna planning a Beyonce-style "surprise" album release in time for Christmas? It is just shy of a year since Beyonce caught music fans off guard with her eponymous fifth solo album. Beyonce debuted on iTunes on December 13 with no prior promotion yet enjoyed sales of more than 600,000 digital copies in its first three days of release. Rihanna's movements haven't been quite as cloak-and-dagger, what with her eighth studio album expected early in 2015 anyway. However, speculation has been mounting over an early Christmas present from the Barbadian pop superstar since so-called "music industry insider" DJ Skee said on Los Angeles station Dash Radio "that project is a lot closer than anyone realised." In response Rihanna has been dropping her own hints via social media, from a tweet that could be construed as surprise damage-control ("ANY news about #R8 will be delivered directly from me!!!!") to a video on Instagram of her performing a new track in a recording studio. As far as the bigger picture is concerned, a new release from Rihanna in December - traditionally a time of compilations and renewed pushes for albums released earlier in the year - would give the ailing music industry a welcome fourth-quarter boost in a year when only two albums have sold more than a million: the Frozen soundtrack and Taylor Swift's 1989. Could "#R8" become the third? Rihanna fans might want to revise their Christmas lists just in case.