I’ve never been a huge fan of Rihanna. Sure Umbrella, Disturbia, and Pon de Replay were my jams in middle school, and sure if you get me drunk I’ll definitley be dancing to one of the trillion club mixes of “Only Girl In The World” or “We Found Love”, but mostly I find her annoying as hell. Rihanna’s latest single “Diamonds”, which was posted on Soundcloud two days ago and iTunes yesterday, hasn’t changed my opinion of her.
“Diamonds” is boring. That’s as simple as I describe this song. The lyrics are annoying and trite. She and her lover are ecstatic and in love and shining bright “like diamonds in the sky” and blah blah blah. There aren’t even any impressive vocals in this song. Rihanna essentially sings in this low moaning voice for the entirety of the track and it left me pondering the definition of “singer”. At many many many points throughout the song the lyric “Shine bright like a diamond” is repeated in this weird voice and it just grates against the set tone of the rest of the verses and chorus.
Interestingly enough, the song was co-written by the fantastic Sia Furler, best known for her vocals and co-writing of David Guetta’s hit “Titanium”. Sia has a great voice and I would have loved to hear her sing “Diamonds” rather than Rihanna. In fact, this sentiment was reflected in a multitude of comments on the song’s Soundcloud page.
“Diamonds” is the first single from what will be Rihanna’s seventh studio album. No other information about this upcoming album has been released, but I’m sure Rihanna is praying it will do as well as her last album. And I’ll be praying that “Diamonds” doesn’t make it on the air. If you'd like, you can listen to it here: http://soundcloud.com/rihanna/diamonds