Three promotional singles were released prior to the release of the album. The first, a remix of "Rush" was released in November 2017. A second promotional single, "Keep Up" was released in December and a third, "Crush on You" was released in January 2018.
In 2016, Riri was discovered by Japanese-American singer-songwriter Ai and her recently launched talent agency, The Mic-a-holics, after winning a talent contest.[1] Later that year, Riri released her debut extended play I Love to Sing under the agency. In 2017, her second EP Rush was released by The Mic-a-holics.[2] Unlike her previous EP, Rush charted in Japan, debuting and peaking at number 70 on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart.[3] Riri ultimately was scouted by Sony Music Japan and eventually was signed to Sony Music Associated Records.[4]
Development and production
Wanting to appeal overseas and Japanese listeners, Riri worked with both western and far eastern producers. Five previously released tracks from I Love to Sing and Rush were included and recorded in Japan while five new tracks were recorded in Los Angeles.[5] She worked with various songwriters and producers such as Nikki Flores, Joacim Persson, Damon Sharpe, Uta, Ai, and Mayu Wakisaka.[6]
Music and lyrics
Riri has been described as an R&B and EDM album.[5][1] Riri was influenced by artists such as Beyoncé, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.[1] Riri's western appeal for the album was heavily influenced by Ai, who Riri has described as someone she "cherishes".[6] In an interview with Oricon, Riri described "Promised Road" as a song about eventually having dreams come true.[1]
