We Found Love

Following the release and success of her album Loud (2010), Rihanna originally revealed via Twitter that the album would be re-issued with new songs and released in Fall 2011, writing that "[t]he [Loud era] continues with more new music to add to [your] collection".[4][5] In September 2011, Rihanna again took to the social networking site to confirm that the plans had been scrapped, with the singer tweeting "I [thought about] a [re-release], but LOUD is its own body of work! Plus [you] guys work so hard that [you] deserve to act brand new".[6] On September 19, 2011, Rihanna further provoked excitement amongst her followers when she posted that she was listening to the song, only to be re-tweeted by Calvin Harris, who replied "Sometimes it feels like we find love in the most hopeless place", suggesting that his response contained possible lyrics from the song.[7] In an interview with Capital FM, Harris – who produced the track[8][9] – explained that followers of Rihanna had sent messages to him regarding their expectations of the song, saying "The song better not be rubbish", which he interpreted as slightly threatening, but went on to say that "it's all part of the fun".[10] In an interview for Q magazine, Harris said of the lyric, "we found love in a hopeless place," "It could have been Jumpin Jaks in Dumfries (Harris' home town), I don't know exactly what I was thinking about."

"We Found Love" premiered in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2011, on Capital FM,[11] and was sent for mainstream adds in the United States on October 11, 2011.[7][12][13] The song was released via iTunes on September 22, 2011.[14] During an interview with MTV News, Calvin Harris revealed, "'We Found Love,' is the most successful thing I've done ever... It's not strictly a song by me, obviously, it's by Rihanna. She sings it...It was great to work with her... No one could have taken it as far as she did. You can't escape it here [in America]. I've heard it a lot. I've heard it probably more times today than I did when I was mixing it. Which is a good thing... Ever since the Rihanna song did well, a lot of people want to do some stuff, which is great... That's what I enjoy doing. In terms of actual names, I've not done anything yet."[15] In October 2012, British singer Leona Lewis claimed that she was originally chosen to sing the song but ended up losing it to Rihanna when Harris went touring with the latter, commenting. "I didn’t commit to it because I wanted "Trouble" to be my first single so I think that was another reason they went with Rihanna. It was the same version and production but mine’s better."[16] In 2013, Nicole Scherzinger claimed that she was the first artist given the song but ended up rejecting it, commenting. "I've got the demo of that song and I was busy at the time. They'd sent me a few dance tracks and I wasn't able to get to them and I was like, 'Oh there's so much dance and I want to take a break from it."[17][18]

"We Found Love" is an electro house[23] song with elements of Europop, pop, techno,[24] dance-pop, trance, and Euro disco.[25][26] According to the digital music sheet published at musicnotes.com, the song is written in the key of F ♯ major and it is set at a tempo of 128 beats per minute.[27] The instrumentation of "We Found Love" consists of alarm bells, a keyboard,[26] repetitive pumped-up synthesizers and 4/4 beats.[28][29]

Rihanna's vocal range in the song spans one octave, from the lower note of C♯₄ to the higher note of C♯₅.[27] Priya Elan of NME commented that Rihanna sounds "extremely relaxed"[26] and Bill Lamb of About.com wrote that her vocals are simple and unaffected.[30] Leah Collins of The Vancouver Sun wrote that Rihanna's vocals on "We Found Love" were similar to her vocals on "Fly".[29] According to Elan, the keyboard work in the song bears resemblance to that in from "Only Girl (In the World)" and the melody is similar to that of "Complicated", a track included in Rihanna's 2010 studio album Loud.[26] Similarly, Michael Cragg of The Guardian noted that "We Found Love" is in the same vein as "Only Girl (In the World)", with regard to its dance beat.[31]

The lyrical content of the song is sparse and largely revolves around Rihanna chanting the song's hook line,[30] "We found love in a hopeless place".[1] Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone described it as "half-baked romantic".[28] Rihanna starts the song in a falsetto airy voice as she sings, "Yellow diamonds in the light / And we’re standing side by side / As your shadow crosses mine / What it takes to come alive."[23][32] Michael Cragg commented that the first chorus is almost being sidelined in favor of a large chunk of Harris's riff, before they join on the second chorus.[31] The hook repeatedly rings throughout the song.[32]

The song received polarized reviews from music critics. Amanda Dobbins of New York magazine praised the composition of the song, writing "Harris's electro fingerprints are all over this one — it plays like a straight house track, with some dreamy Rihanna vocals added in over the beat."[33] Robbie Daw of Idolator commented on the song's lyrics, with particular emphasis on the line "We found love in a hopeless place", writing that it is possibly the best lyric in pop music so far in 2011.[34] A reviewer for Instinct magazine praised the song, writing that "We Found Love" does not mark a departure from the dance-floor oriented material Rihanna debuted on Loud, but it certainly boasts "a higher-energy, peak-hour vibe".[35] Similarly, Michael Cragg of The Guardian commented that the song takes the dance direction Rihanna hinted at on "Only Girl (In the World)" and continues releasing similar songs, making reference to "We Found Love".[31] Cragg also likened the song to Leona Lewis's recent single, "Collide", but criticized the song's structure, writing "[it] is slightly odd".[31] He ended his review writing, "Either way, she could have recited Nick Clegg's conference speech from Wednesday over the sound of Harris cracking his knuckles and it would be a hit."[31]

Priya Elan of NME commented, "By now it's pretty customary to have a jaw-on-the-floor reaction to the first single from a Rihanna album. 'Pon De Replay', 'SOS', 'Umbrella', 'Russian Roulette', 'Only Girl In The World'."[26] Despite complimenting Rihanna for sounding extremely relaxed and calling her vocal as "luxurious calling to mind the atmosphere", Elan concluded that the over-all effect is underwhelming.[26] She continued by writing that instead of re-inventing the pop wheel, "We Found Love" has "a whiff of treading-water about it" and that "if there is a 'goosebump' moment to be had it comes after many multiple plays and, dare we say it, a glass of something strong."[26] Awarding "We Found Love" two stars out of five, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone was critical, writing that it "is much ado about very little indeed" and that is "an insipid tune". He concluded that Rihanna repeats 'We found love in a hopeless place' "approximately 350 times, hoping it will start to mean something. It's the worst single of Rihanna’s career. It will probably top the Hot 100 anyway."[28] Leah Collins of The Vancouver Sun initially praised Rihanna's vocal performance in the song, writing that she "smoothes out her vocals", before adding, "Angelic as she sounds, though, [her] performance – which is mostly just her repeating the line 'We found love in a hopeless place' – seems to take second place to Harris' repetitive synth-based blare."[29] Similarly, Amos Barshad of Grantland criticized the singer's vocal performance, calling it "a complete afterthought" before concluding, "People who regularly attend the Electric Zoo festival: Rihanna wants your money!"[24]

A reviewer for GlobalGrind commented on the song's lyrics, suggesting that there is perhaps an underlying message in the song for ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, in the line "We found love in a hopeless place".[32] This further raised suspicion when Brown re-tweeted one of Rihanna's posts on Twitter, which read "Sometimes it feels like we find love in the most hopeless place".[32][36] Jessica Herndon of People magazine praised the song, saying that "'We Found Love' had an amazing influence on people all across the world in 2012, becoming one of the most popular and most successful songs".[37]

Pitchfork Media commented, "Over a frantic, Calvin Harris-produced, Guetta-meets-'Sandstorm' beat on her sixth record's lead-off single, Rihanna repeats these words almost 20 times. 'We Found Love' ranks among Ri's best singles because it recognizes that there's not much more that needs to be said: in three and a half minutes, the line moves from being a great pop lyric to a triumphant mantra to something suggestive of a whole spectrum of unspoken emotion. The best pop music transports you to somewhere beyond words, and Rihanna's strongest singles all seem to be in on this secret."[38] Allmusic chose the song as a highlight on Talk That Talk, and wrote about the "singer's ecstatic vocal than Calvin Harris' shrill, plinky production".[39] Los Angeles Times commented that the song was an "ode for bad love" and added it "wouldn't be out of place at Electric Daisy Carnival".[40] The New York Times' writer commented "'We Found Love' almost criminally recalls the swinging Crystal Waters singles, with triumphant percussion somewhere between church and seventh-inning stretch."[41] Billboard magazine also praised the song, saying that: "Through a haze of glitter and bliss, Rihanna emerges to let us find a gorgeous hook in a hopeless place, and Calvin Harris becomes a household name."[42] As of January 2015, Billboard named "We Found Love" as the best song of the 2010s (so far).[43] USA Today considered the song to be a highlight on the set, commenting that Rihanna sings "bistfully".[44] Entertainment Weekly noted, "U.K. club king Calvin Harris trades Rihanna's usual somber synths for disco ecstasy on 'We Found Love,' a song that builds and builds to a climax that's so arena-ready it practically begs for someone to blow a vuvuzela".[45]

MTV chose "We Found Love" as the third best song of 2011, and "Video of the Year" at the MTV Video Music Awards 2012. The writers of the website further commented, "The leadoff single from Talk That Talk is where Rihanna fully embraced EDM. Produced by Calvin Harris, 'We Found Love' is a swirling party track about love and loss, the rare song that manages to be sad and joyous all at once. And it is a pinnacle of the pop/dance crossover, a throwback to '90s raves that could make even the most stoic lover of pop want to break out a glow stick and just dance.[46] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone put "We Found Love" at number eleven on his list of Top 25 Songs of 2011 commenting, "While her other hits tried to camouflage her spindly voice, here it just strains for that spindly melody."[47] It was named the third biggest love song of all time by Billboard.[48]

The music video for "We Found Love" was shot in Northern Ireland in late September 2011, in County Down, Northern Ireland[99] and the New Lodge area of North Belfast.[100] The video was directed by Melina Matsoukas,[101] who had previously directed the videos for "Hard" (2009), "Rude Boy" (2010), "Rockstar 101" (2010) and the controversial "S&M" (2011).[102][103] Anticipation for the video grew in the United Kingdom when the national news picked up on the story of sixty-one-year-old Northern Ireland farmer Alan Graham withdrawing his permission to film in his barley field in Bangor, County Down after taking issue with Rihanna's clothing, focusing on her appearing topless and also wearing a red bikini top which he thought was an "inappropriate state of undress".[104] Rihanna and her film crew departed amiably after Graham advised them to "be acquainted with God and to consider His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His death and Resurrection."[104]

The video begins with a monologue about love and heartbreak by an unseen narrator, fashion model Agyness Deyn.[105][106] Multiple scenes of Rihanna and boxer Dudley O'Shaughnessy are intercut throughout the narration, depicting them in different love and hate situations with each other. The two are shown as completely enamored with each other while engaging in fun activities together, including enjoying their time at an indoor skating centre and eating in fast food restaurants. During the chorus, the video shows the romance to be somewhat warped, as images of drugs, various pills and dilated pupils are shown, while brief scenes of Rihanna and her boyfriend preparing to engage in sexual intercourse and their various stages of undress are shown. The chorus continues and the video abruptly cuts to Rihanna and other people at an outdoor rave, dancing to music. Calvin Harris features as the DJ during this scene.

From the second verse, Rihanna and her boyfriend are seen happily running amok in a supermarket, pushing each other in a shopping cart and spraying canned drinks at each other. This scene is interrupted with Rihanna in a Pontiac Trans Am outside with her boyfriend who begins to recklessly drive in circles, resulting in Rihanna asking him to stop the car which ensues into an argument between the pair. The video then progressively shows the couple experiencing mounting difficulties in their relationship. Rihanna removes herself from the car and returns moments later where we see her boyfriend grab her chin to look at him, suggesting that he is domestically violent towards her. During the final chorus Rihanna can be seen vomiting what appears to be pink and white streamers; she is also seen passed out on the street while her boyfriend tries to revive her. In another scene, Rihanna is seen lying on a couch while her boyfriend tattoos the word 'MINE' on her backside. Eventually, Rihanna decides to leave her boyfriend after finding him passed out on the floor of his apartment – and most likely due to the previous events shown throughout the video. The clip ends with Rihanna curled up in the corner of a room, crying.[107][108][109]

The video generated controversy for its depiction of violence and drug use, as well as for Rihanna's removal of her clothes during filming.[110] One journalist wrote, "The song is probably one of the most talked about in the country following the Barbadian being told to 'find God' after running naked through a Northern Irish farmer's field."[111] It was described as a "disgrace" by an anti-rape campaigner,[112] and Christian commenters worried about the effects of the video and that "Rihanna is damaging the moral and self-worth of young impressionable teens."[113] However, The Guardian praised the video for being different in its time period and called it "a very British music video", comparing it to UK TV series, Skins.[114] The video won a Grammy Award for 'Best Short-Form Music Video. As of January 2015, Billboard named the video as the second best music video of the 2010s (so far).[115]

Rihanna performing "We Found Love" on the Loud Tour (2011)

Rihanna performed "We Found Love" for the first time on November 14, 2011, during a concert of her Loud Tour in London.[116] The song was then added to the setlist as the closing song for the rest of the tour until it ended on December 22. On November 17, 2011, Rihanna performed the song on first season of The X Factor USA. The performance featured Rihanna wearing torn jeans and a bomber jacket with neon signs also present on the stage.[117] On November 20, 2011, Rihanna performed the song on the eighth season of The X Factor UK, featuring Rihanna wearing a small tartan dress.[118]

On February 12, 2012, Rihanna performed "We Found Love" at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, followed by her duet single "Princess of China" with Coldplay for first time. John Mitchell from MTV News said he thought Rihanna looked "gorgeous" and that she gave "off a Tina Turner vibe — Rihanna rocked the blond locks she introduced recently, wearing a tight, belly-baring ensemble."[119] USA Today's writer Ed Masley, praised the performance, describing it as "shout in shout-out".[120] The Huffington Post also noted that the performance had "a twinge of Tina Turner".[121] Time magazine graded the performance with an A, saying that "Rihanna never disappoints. Her pop songs are always danceable, often catchy and consistently awesome — sometimes they even have some substance to them. Similarly, her Grammy performance wasn't the flashiest or craziest, and she didn’t bust out dance moves the way other entertainers did, but it was one of the most enjoyable."[122]

Later that month, the singer performed the song at the Brit Awards held on February 21, 2012, at the O2 Arena in London. The performance began with Rihanna, in only an old grandad-style jumper covering her body, in a clear cage as colourful paint began to be thrown inside with her, although none was thrown onto the singer herself. Dancers were also present as Rihanna emerged from the cage and began dancing along the broad stretch of stage. The performance concluded with big multi-coloured balloons pouring down red confetti from the ceiling as they burst, finalizing with Rihanna returning to the paint-covered cage and smearing it over herself ending with her silhouette being broadcast through the cage. At the ceremony, Rihanna also won the award for Best International Female Solo Artist.[123] Whilst promoting her first feature film appearance in Battleship, Rihanna made a visit to Japan, performing "We Found Love" on the Japanese music television program Music Station. She donned a traditional kimono and concluded the performance by crowd surfing into the audience.[124] On April 24, 2012, Rihanna performed a special acoustic version of the song at the Time 100 gala for Time's selection of that year's 100 most influential people of which Rihanna was listed.[125] Rihanna later performed "We Found Love" at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on May 24, 2012, as the seventeenth and final song on the set list.[126] The performance featured a giant sphinx on the stage.[127] On September 9, 2012, Rihanna performed the single (along with "Princess of China" and "Run This Town") with Coldplay and Jay-Z at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, entering on a steampunk pirate ship and also suspended in the air on a metal bench. On December 9, 2012, Rihanna performed "We Found Love" in a medley with a solo version of "Stay" on the final of ninth season of The X Factor UK. She also performed the song at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards.[128] She performed the song as part of her set during the halftime show of Super Bowl LVII.

American singer Tinashe uploaded a music video for her cover on her YouTube account on October 21, 2011.[129] British alternative rock band Coldplay, with whom Rihanna would later collaborate on their song "Princess of China", covered "We Found Love" on October 27, 2011, during a performance at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.[130][131][132][133] Jocelyn Vena of MTV News called the performance "flawless", writing "Lead singer Chris Martin's haunting vocals and the band's acoustic rendition, using drums, piano and guitar, play up the sadness of the track."[130] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard magazine also noted that the band used "piano flourishes, a kick drum and a simple guitar lick to convey the song's romantic declaration", while making a ballad which was "reminiscent of Bruno Mars' emotional reworking of Katy Perry's 'California Gurls'".[131] Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone wrote: "It may surprise that their rendition is actually pretty good. Whereas Rihanna's version is a thumping rave anthem, Chris Martin and company transform it into a lovely piano ballad nearly indistinguishable from many of their own songs."[133] A writer for The Hollywood Reporter said: "Martin's vocals blend with the piano for a slightly softer take on the tragic love story."[132] On February 17, 2012, British singer Jessie J made a cover of the song on BBC Radio1's Live Lounge.

Lea Michele and Naya Rivera covered the song in the climax of the third season's tenth episode of Glee, "Yes/No".[134] Romanian X Factor contestant Diana Hetea performed "We Found Love" in the "Public's Choice Gala" on December 10, 2011.[135] Even though ill of laryngitis, Hetea's performance was praised all three judges that called it "[The] Perfect match for her!" both visually and vocally.[136] Kris Allen also covered the song mashing it with other songs by Katy Perry and other female artists.[137] Carmen Smith also performed "We Found Love" for her battle round in the Australian Version of the Voice which saw her through to next round.[138]

In September 2012, Kelly Clarkson performed the song during a concert in Virginia Beach.[139] In October 2012, British singer Ed Sheeran did an acoustic cover of the song for Sirius XM Radio.[140] Lindsey Stirling covered it in a music video filmed in a Kenyan village.[141] British pop rock band McFly covered "We Found Love" on their "Keep Calm And Play Lounder" tour 2012. Kele Okereke sang a verse of the song as the intro to his band Bloc Party's song "Flux" on their June 2012 U.K. tour. In July 2014, Tori Amos covered the song on her Unrepentant Geraldines Tour.[142] In 2011, Boyce Avenue, a pop rock band, also made an acoustic cover of the song and released it iTunes and their YouTube channel. In November 2012, Forever The Sickest Kids covered the song as part of Punk Goes Pop 5.

YouTubers Tom Scott and Matt Gray spoofed the song in their video 'Ten Illegal Things To Do In London.'[143] The parody, where the song's chorus lyrics are replaced with 'We Flew A Kite In A Public Place,' plays over footage of Gray flying a kite in a public place, which is illegal in the U.K. under the Metropolitan Police Act 1839.[144]

Pictured American rapper Flo Rida was featured on a remix of the song overlapping Calvin Harris' dance beats.

In November 2011, R3hab released a remix of "We Found Love" with a "Halloween" sound. He explained "I made two versions ... one version is more melodic and euphoric. This [first] one is more dark because the lyrics [to] 'We Found Love' can also be seen as something dark. 'We are at the end of the world/ And I still found love.' So from there came the more darker chord progression and the more darker atmosphere, like Dracula is coming to get you. It's just got a lot of emotion and that worked out great for me."[145]

On January 13, 2012, Rap-Up released a remix of "We Found Love" featuring American rapper Flo Rida.[146] Flo Rida's parts overlap Calvin Harris' produced dance beats.[146] In the opening lines, Flo Rida introduces himself and raps tongue twisters about Rihanna and The Bahamas, "You know I got love for you/ See what happened was we in Bahams/ I remember it was the ox summer, oh so pretty I/ ..Girl nice to meet you what's the honour/ Yeah she tap me told me she Rihanna.".[147] He also references singer Mick Jagger singing that he is "rocking a party 'like I'm Mick Jagger."[148] Flo Rida, himself in an interview with NME revealed that it was an honor for him to work with Rihanna. He also revealed that "We Found Love" was one of his favorite songs and that's why he decided to make a remix with Rihanna. He added that Calvin Harris' production impressed him and heavily influenced him on his future work. Rihanna also noted that she decided to work with Flo Rida because of his "wild" productions on his songs.[149]

Andrew Unterberger of the website PopDust wrote that Flo Rida was "exactly" what the original version of "We Found Love" was missing. He added, "No Rihanna, you got it backwards—it's Flo Rida who needs to have other, more talented people on his songs in order to turn them into hits, not the other way around... At least this remix does feature a sizeable contribution from Flo, as he shows up on both the intro and over the song's primary instrumental hook with his trademark unintelligible yammering, though he gets in at least one reference to rocking a party 'like I'm Mick Jagger.'"[148] Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone praised the remix of the song, saying that "once again, Flo Rida shows his true rapping skills over the beat of Rihanna's 'We Found Love'".[150] Both Billboard's Erika Ramirez and Spin's Marc Hogan praised the remixed version calling it "refreshing" and "interesting".[151][152] However, Becky Bain of the website Idolator was more negative towards the remix. She noted, "Being that Rihanna's 'We Found Love' has enough beats and synths to be its own remix, not to mention it couldn't possibly be even more popular on the Hot 100... we find it pointless to release a new version of the single with Flo Rida."[153]

Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.[156]

Recording

• Recorded at Fly Eye Studios, London, United Kingdom and Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California.

Personnel

• Rihanna - vocals
• Calvin Harris – songwriter, producer, recording, mixing and instrumentation
• Marcos Tovar – vocal recording
• Alejandro Barajas – assistant recording engineer
• Phil Tan – mixing
• Damien Lewis – assistant mixing

• Video on YouTube