[artist id="1940303"]Rihanna[/artist] channeled her personal life into her last album, [article id="1626934"]Rated R,[/article] a dark collection of songs that touched on her experience with former flame Chris Brown, who assaulted her just before the 2009 Grammys. For her follow-up, she and her collaborators are promising something [article id="1632401"]more energetic[/article].

[article id="1641139"]Rihanna recently told Elle[/article] that she's much happier these days, and gushed about how her new beau, baseball player Matt Kemp, keeps her "sane." And according to songwriter [artist id="1874916"]Sean Garrett[/artist], who has been in the studio with Rihanna recently, her new music reflects this state of mind.

"I can definitely say that her album is definitely gonna be way more exciting, happy," Garrett told MTV News. "I hope she doesn't mind me saying this. I love Rihanna. She's fun, she's like a sister, and I tend to think she doesn't really take herself too seriously. And I think that's what this album is gonna be about.

"Remember when Rihanna was just the little girl from the island and she was just having fun with 'Pon de Replay' and enjoying life?" Garrett continued. "It always seemed like, 'Dag, she has that thing.' And it wasn't so serious until the incident happened. And everything became so serious. That's just life. But I'm just happy to see her back. And I can definitely say the records that we've been working on are very positive and very explosive. Heavy in the club."

In addition to Garrett, producer David Guetta said he wants to work with Rihanna and help her revisit her "Umbrella" days.

"Well, you know, I'm a DJ, so I make beats that make you want to dance," Guetta told MTV News. "And I think she was one of the first to do that in that urban world, so you know, I think it would be good for her to do it again."

What musical direction would you like to see Rihanna go on her next album? Tell us in the comments!