Diamonds

The harmony of Diamonds is deliberately minimal — a single four-chord loop (I-vi-IV-V) that never changes throughout the entire track. This simplicity is the point: it creates a meditative, trance-like foundation that lets the layered electronic production and Rihanna's vocals carry the emotional arc. The progression avoids the more common I-V-vi-IV by placing the vi chord second, giving the loop a slightly more melancholic color before the IV-V resolution brightens it.

In 2012, producer Benny Blanco met with Norwegian production duo Stargate at a recording studio in New York City to write new material. They deliberately set out to deviate from Rihanna's usual sound, producing the track as though it were intended for a rapper like Kanye West. After Blanco and Stargate built the instrumental, Australian singer-songwriter Sia joined them and wrote the complete lyrics in just 14 minutes. Blanco later reflected that the song they weren't thinking of as a Rihanna record turned into exactly that.

Written by Sia in just 14 minutes and produced by Benny Blanco and Stargate, "Diamonds" became the lead single from Rihanna's seventh album Unapologetic (2012). The song topped charts in over 20 countries, earned Diamond certification from the RIAA, and marked Rihanna's twelfth number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, tying her with Madonna and the Supremes for fifth-most chart-toppers in history.