User:Tomica/Sandbox21

Writing and production
American songwriter and record producer Benjamin "Benny Blanco" Levin convened with StarGate (Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen) in 2012 at a studio in New York City to create new material, including a song for Rihanna. They have previously produced together Wiz Khalifa's single "Work Hard, Play Hard" (2012). Additionally, StarGate has worked with Rihanna previously and produced some of her previous singles including "Don't Stop the Music" (Good Girl Gone Bad, 2007) and "Only Girl (In the World)" (Loud, 2010). According to Blanco, one day they went in the studio with an idea to create something "Kanye [West] could rap over", something that "wasn't Rihanna" sounding. He further elaborated, "We weren’t thinking of Rihanna at all and then it's the one that we weren’t thinking Rihanna, is the one that turned into the Rihanna record...But that’s how it always happens like with me, when I'm really thinking, 'Yo, you got to make this hit right now, we got to make the first single right now.'" They made the record first followed by its beat. Australian singer-songwriter Sia Furler later joined them and wrote the lyrics for "Diamonds". After the song was completed, they wanted to play it to Rihanna, however, Blanco was skeptical if she would accept it, having in mind its slower nature. After StarGate played the song to Rihanna, they called Blanco from London and told him that Rihanna likes the song, "'She's flippin' out. She played it like seven times in a row. It’s her favorite song." He further elaborated that they had to finish the mixing and mastering the song with Rihanna's vocals within the last days prior its release, which according to him it was "crazy and amazing".

Release and artwork
Following the commercial and critical success of her sixth studio album Talk That Talk (2011) and its six singles—including "We Found Love", a number one hit that topped the charts in more than 20 countries worldwide including the US— Rihanna began "working on the new sound" for her seventh studio album in March 2012, even though she had not yet begun recording. On September 12, 2012, Def Jam France announced via Twitter that Rihanna would release a new single the upcoming week while her seventh studio album is scheduled to be released in November 2012. However, the tweet was shortly deleted and replaced with another clarifying that "more information will be made available tomorrow, Thursday, September 13".

Right after her performance at the iHeartRadio music festival in September 2012, Rihanna revealed that her single "Diamonds" would be released the same month. She described the track as "happy and hippy rather than dancey", elaborating: "It's laid-back but it's hopeful. It's a record that... gives me such a great feeling when I listen to it. The lyrics are very hopeful and positive, but it's about love." On September 26, 2012, Rihanna posted the full lyrics of the song in PDF format on her official website Rihanna7.com. "Diamonds" premiered the same day on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show and was made available for digital download one hour later on iTunes worldwide. Def Jam Recordings solicited the single to contemporary hit radio in the United States on October 2. The cover artwork for the song was revealed on September 24, 2012, and features Rihanna rolling diamonds in a manner suggestive of making a joint.