Rihanna and Beyoncé: Sia Recalls ‘Awkward Situation’ When the 2 Singers Competed for ‘Pretty Hurts’
Rihanna and Beyoncé each have a unique voice and style, but the two iconic singers have competed for music in the past. Here’s how Rihanna ended up recording the song “Diamonds” instead of “Pretty Hurts,” which went to Beyoncé.
Beyoncé recorded the song ‘Pretty Hurts’ instead of Rihanna in what writer Sia called an ‘awkward situation’
“Pretty Hurts” is a song performed by Beyoncé on her eponymous 2013 album. It was written by Sia, who originally intended the track for Katy Perry. When the “Dark Horse” singer missed the song (Sia later implied it got lost in her email), it was passed on to Rihanna.
“I wrote it on the sofa three years ago for Katy Perry, sent it to Katy Perry, she never heard it,” Sia told ABC News in 2014. “Then I sent [it] to Beyoncé’s people and Rihanna’s people and Rihanna heard it and she had it on hold for eight months and her management forgot to secure it by paying for the track and Beyoncé just slid into home base and threw the money down and it was a really awkward situation.”
Beyoncé later told iTunes Radio she was willing to “fight” for “Pretty Hurts.” “It’s really difficult to find a song with such a strong message that doesn’t feel preachy,” she said (per Songfacts). “Sia is such a genius. The second I heard the song I’m like, I have to sing this song. I don’t care how hard I have to fight for the song, this is my song!”
Sia gave Rihanna the song ‘Diamonds’ after Beyoncé recorded ‘Pretty Hurts’
After Beyoncé secured “Pretty Hurts,” Rihanna’s engineer suggested that Sia send her a different song.
“Rihanna’s engineer said, ‘Why don’t you play her ‘Diamonds’ because I think it’s a better song for her and maybe that will make her less bummed,’” the “Chandelier” singer explained to ABC News. “Rihanna was like, ‘I love this song. ‘Diamonds,’ it’s mine,’ and so that’s what we did.”
The ‘Diamonds’ singer said it’s 1 of the songs she’s most proud of
Although Rihanna was “bummed” to miss out on “Pretty Hurts,” it led to her recording one of the songs she’s most proud of.
In March 2022, makeup artist Mikayla Nogueira shared a TikTok video of herself with the singer. She asked Rihanna, “The people want to know when the new album is, but I have a better question: what song are you most proud of that you’ve come out with?”
Nogueira then told Rihanna that her favorite song by the singer is “Unfaithful.” Rihanna laughed and said, “Most proud of?”
“I love ‘Needed Me’ and I also love a good ‘Diamonds,’ you know, because I love diamonds,” she answered, showing off the diamond rings on her fingers.
