Diamonds

The first single from Rihanna's seventh album is a departure from the singer's recurring theme of an unhealthy relationship, as the Barbadian songstress croons of a bright love. "Find light in the beautiful sea. I choose to be happy. You and I, you and I. We're like diamonds in the sky," she sings. When asked about the mood of the song following her performance at the iHeartRadio festival in Las Vegas, Rihanna replied, "You're not sad. You're happy and hippie. It's hopeful. It gives me a great feeling when I listen to it. The lyrics are hopeful and positive. It's about love and the gears are different than what people will expect." The song was premiered on September 26, 2012 during Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and was made available for digital download an hour later.

Sia Furler wrote the song. The Australian singer-songwriter had crafted tunes for Christina Aguilera and Will Young, but her songwriting breakthrough was "Titanium" for David Guetta (Sia's demo vocals ended up being used on the track). From that song, she learned to craft a surefire hit: start with a basic image and use it as a metaphor for empowerment, supporting that single theme with the lyrics. "Diamonds" was written in this vein, and it worked: Rihanna had never before recorded one of Sia's songs, but it became a huge hit. Sia planned to use this newfound freedom to abandon her solo career, but her next single, "Chandelier," made that impossible.

This was produced by the Norwegian production duo Stargate and Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin. It was the first time Blanco worked with Rihanna, but the Bajan star had previously hooked up with Stargate for a number of her hit singles, including "Take A Bow," "Rude Boy," and "What's My Name?."