Diamonds

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Lore & Background

In 2012, American songwriter and record producer Benny Blanco met with Norwegian production duo Stargate at a recording studio in New York City to write new songs, including one for Rihanna. Stargate had previously produced her singles "Don't Stop the Music" (2007) and "Only Girl (In the World)" (2010). According to Blanco, he and Stargate wanted to deviate from Rihanna's usual sound and produce as though the song would be for a rapper such as Kanye West: "It's the one that we weren't thinking Rihanna ... that turned into the Rihanna record ... But that's how it always happens... with me". They produced the song's drum machine beat after the other instrumental music was recorded. Stargate's Mikkel Eriksen told The New York Times that Blanco took a recorded snippet of Eriksen's singing, altered it electronically, and made it sound "dirtier". He then applied timbre and used audio software to create ghostly accompaniment lines. Eriksen described Blanco's style as "unorthodox, as he almost never plays the keyboards but throws in weird samples and alters them to the right pitch to go with the song." Australian singer-songwriter Sia later joined them and wrote the lyrics for "Diamonds" in 14 minutes. After the song was completed, they wanted to play it to Rihanna, but Blanco was skeptical about the reaction towards the song because of its slow sound. After Stargate played it to her, they called Blanco from London and told him that she liked the song: "She's flippin' out. She played it like seven times in a row. It's her favorite song." Phil Tan and the assistant Daniela Rivera, mixed and mastered "Diamonds". Rihanna attempted to emulate Sia's singing style, which reportedly led to Sia thinking that her own vocal recording had been released. Recalling it, in an interview with The Huffington Post, Blanco commented, "We needed to have it recorded, the beat finished, mixed and mastered in 24 hours. She was recording in a separate part of the world, sending back the files, we're finishing the music and then we're mixing and mastering it, and then it was out in a few days. It's fucking amazing and incredible." Kuk Harrell produced Rihanna's vocals on the song and recorded them together with Marcos Tovar. In 2021, Blanco said that Rihanna was not who he had in mind for the track initially. He considered Kanye West or Lana Del Rey but Stargate was adamant it should be Rihanna. He also revealed that Eminem recorded a song on the beat.

In Their Own Story

On September 12, 2012, Def Jam France announced via Twitter that Rihanna would release a new single the following week and that her seventh studio album would be released in November. However, the tweet was shortly deleted and replaced with another clarifying that more information would be given on September 13. In an interview with iHeartRadio at their annual music festival in September, Rihanna confirmed "Diamonds" as her new single and said that it would first be played on American radio, beginning on September 26. She described it as an easy-going, but optimistic song that is "happy and hippy" rather than dance-oriented and said that the song "gives me such a great feeling when I listen to it. The lyrics are very hopeful and positive, but it's about love." The single's cover artwork was revealed on September 24 and depicted Rihanna rolling diamonds in a manner suggestive of joint rolling. On September 26, Rihanna posted the full lyrics of the song in a PDF on her official website Rihanna7.com. "Diamonds" premiered the same day on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, and on the following day, it was released as a digital download on the 7 Digital store. In the United Kingdom, the song was released to 7 Digital on September 28. Def Jam Recordings solicited the single to mainstream and rhythmic contemporary radio formats in the United States on October 2. On November 5, it was released in Germany as a CD single, which also contained the song's Bimbo Jones vocal remix. On December 18, eight digital remixes of the single were digitally released.

Reader's Guide

The song's music video was shot by director Anthony Mandler, a frequent collaborator of Rihanna's, and depicts her in four environments that represent the elements of earth, air, water, and fire. The video received positive reviews and was praised for its imagery. Some critics believe that the heavily tattooed man intertwined with Rihanna's arm in the video resembles Chris Brown. The singer performed "Diamonds" on television shows such as Saturday Night Live and The X Factor and included it on the 777, Diamonds, Monster Tour and the Anti World Tour set lists. The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized it as one of the most performed songs of 2013 and 2014. The official remix of "Diamonds" featured rapper Kanye West and was released on November 16, 2012. The song has been covered by various recording artists, including Josef Salvat, who released his own cover of "Diamonds" as a single. "Diamonds" has a length of three minutes and forty-five seconds. The lyrics are composed in two main stanzas with the repetition of the chorus sung six times in the song using variations of the main verse depicting "diamonds in the sky". Allmusic critic Andy Kellman characterized it as a mid-tempo pop ballad, while Michael Baggs of Gigwise described it as a mid-tempo electronic song. Time Out's James Manning described the song as a "somber" R&B ballad. It features heavy synthesizers, orchestral sounds and electronic rhythms accompanying Rihanna's vocal performance. Rolling Stone magazine wrote that "the track's production mainly stays out of Rihanna's way, letting the pop star build hooks with layers of her voice." According to EMI Music Publishing's digital sheet music for the song, "Diamonds" is composed in the key of B minor and set in common time signature, and has a moderately slow groove of 92 beats per minute. Rihanna's vocals span from the low note of F♯3 to the high note of F♯5.

Did You Know?

• Sia wrote the lyrics for "Diamonds" in just 14 minutes.
• Rihanna attempted to emulate Sia's singing style, which reportedly led to Sia thinking that her own vocal recording had been released.
• Benny Blanco initially considered Kanye West or Lana Del Rey for the track, but Stargate was adamant it should be Rihanna.
• Eminem recorded a song on the same beat as "Diamonds".
• The single's cover artwork depicted Rihanna rolling diamonds in a manner suggestive of joint rolling.