Rihanna's song Diamonds, from her 2012 album Unapologetic, was co-written by Sia and produced by Benny Blanco.
In a Howard Stern interview, Blanco said, "Sia writes a song in under five minutes—it's the craziest thing I've ever seen in my entire life! She was waiting for a cab, this was before Uber, and they said it was going to take 15 minutes. She said, 'Oh, well, just load up another thing.' The melody, lyrics, harmonies—everything was all done before the cab came. And she was like, 'Yeah, that's pretty good!'"
Blanco continued, "a lot of these artists, you have to remember, a lot of people are songwriters, so sometimes they put out songs, and you never know how a song's going to feel or how it's going to hit you. You know, Rihanna is such a special artist that the second her voice touches something, it's like a firework; she has so much tone and personality."
"When we first made the demo, I was like, 'This is cool.' I don't know, because we wanted to give the song at the time to Kanye or Eminem, and actually, Eminem recorded a song to it, but he didn't say anything until like a year later, until it was about to come out. It was crazy. I just remember in that moment being like, 'Oh, this is cool,' but then once Rihanna sang it, I was like, 'Oh my God, this is something,'" said Blanco.
When the song came out, Rihanna said, "It gives me such a great feeling when I listen to it. The lyrics are very helpful and positive, and it's about love. I just think the sounds are a little different from what people would expect, and I'm excited about that. I'm looking forward to surprising them sonically."
Lyrically:
The opening lyrics urges you to put happiness first. They say, 'Shine bright like a diamond / Find light in the beautiful sea / I choose to be happy.'
"You and I, you and I, we're like diamonds in the sky
You're a shooting star I see, a vision of ecstasy
When you hold me, I'm alive, we're like diamonds in the sky"
These lyrics reveal a strong bond between two. They compare their love to "diamonds in the sky." The "shooting star" symbolizes beauty and possibly the fleeting moments. The word "ecstasy" elevates the bond.
"I knew that we'd become one right away
Oh, right away
At first sight I felt the energy of sun rays
I saw the life inside your eyes"
These lyrics emphasize that the connection between the two was destined to "become one," with the combined energy, symbolized by "sun rays," enhancing life.
"Palms rise to the universe as we moonshine and molly
Feel the warmth, we'll never die, we're like diamonds in the sky"
"Palms rise to the universe" suggests a shared spiritual experience. It evokes surrender and openness. "Moonshine" refers to the glow of the moonlight. “Molly” takes a sharp turn and introduces a sense of euphoria, as it’s a common term for MDMA.
The rest of the song is quite repetitive. Most lyrics reinforce its core message: to celebrate love. The phrases "shine bright" and "beautiful like diamonds in the sky" remind us to find brilliance in ourselves and others.
Diamonds carries a deeply personal connection for Rihanna, as it honours the memory of her grandmother, Dolly Braithwaite, who passed away from cancer shortly before the song’s release in 2012. Rihanna stated that the song is "connected to my grandma; I literally think of her every single time I perform that.”
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