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Rihanna previously sung about love and diamonds when she pondered the existence of
both on her 2011 hit, "We Found Love" ("Yellow diamonds in the light. And we're
standing side by side. As your shadow crosses mine. What it takes to come alive").

Regarding the song's message, Rihanna told MTV News: "I think a lot of people are
afraid of being happy because of what others might think of it, They're afraid to
embrace that and embrace themselves and love themselves and do what they love and
do what makes them happy. My story is definitely going to be a happily ever after, no
matter what."

The Anthony Mandler-directed video showcases Rihanna in a variety of beautiful and

sad settings. We see her in four different environments, each representing one of the
four elements; earth, air, water and fire, highlighting the song's sense of hope in the
midst of chaos and destruction. The Bajan star explained to MTV News that the clip
concentrates more on emotion, than any tangible storyline. "With every song it's a
different story, so the visuals are very specific to that story and that world. With
'Diamonds,' it was just a series of vignettes that we put together to help get the
emotion across throughout the song 'cause the song changes and it builds, and there's
no real way that you could do that," she explained. "You just want people to feel that
and I wanted little cutaways of interactions that would give you the right emotion."

As well as interpreting the emotion of the song, the series of seemingly unrelated
vignettes paint a portrait of Rihanna's much-discussed personal life. "Nothing in life is
black or white, just death and taxes, and there's always two sides to the story, and
there's always multiple ways to look at the same situation, depending on who you are in
that situation. Are you one of the people involved, or are you an outside viewer?"
Mandler explained to MTV News. "And you can see what I'm getting at in terms of
relating this to Rihanna's real life, and what she's been through. What's truth or fiction?
You know 'Is she drowning, or is she in complete ecstasy? Are those hands coming
apart, or are they finding each other?' ... we tried to bring up these deeper questions
that relate to song and her life and finding beauty in chaos and finding beauty in pain
and finding pain in beauty."

Rihanna performed the song for the first time on television during the November 10,
2012 episode of Saturday Night Live.

Asked during an interview on Facebook Live what her favourite of her own singles is,
Rihanna replied that she used to favor 'Umbrella' but now this song has replaced it as
her preferred tune. "It's a really powerful song even to listen to," she explained, "it just
gets you... you just get sucked in. Even if you're in the club, it really f--ks with your
 head."

"Diamonds" was Rihanna's twelfth #1 on the Hot 100, placing her in second place with
Madonna and The Supremes as the female acts with the most chart-toppers. (Mariah
Carey had reached the summit 18 times when this reached the peak position).

Regarding the album title, Rihanna explained to WWD: "I named my album
Unapologetic because there is only one truth, and you can't apologise for that."
"It's honest," she added. "I'm always evolving of course. I think the only motto I have is
to be true to myself."

This was the third US diamond-titled #1. The other two were Gary Lewis and the
Playboys' "This Diamond Ring," which topped the chart in 1965 and Elton John's 1974
version of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds."

Rihanna finally broke her duck of never having had a #1 album in the US when
Unapologetic debuted at the top spot on the Billboard 200. This meant the Bajan star
gave up her record of having the most #1 songs on the Hot 100 without ever having a
#1 album.

Unapologetic's first seven days sales of 238,000 copies were Rihanna's best sales
week to date for an album.

According to an interview with Sia in New York Times Magazine, she wrote this song in
just 14 minutes.

Rihanna used Sia's demo vocal as a guide, copying her inflections exactly. When Benny
Blanco played the Australian songwriter the finished version, she thought the vocal still
belonged to her. "We listened to it on his iPod, sitting on a sofa at ABC Carpet and
Home in New York," Sia told New York Times magazine. "I literally punched him in the
arm. I thought Benny was playing a trick on me. She could've done it her own way, but I
think she really genuinely liked the way it was."

More songs from Rihanna

More songs with jewelry or precious stones in the title

More songs performed on Saturday Night Live

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