We Found Love

Story of Song

Rihanna had asked Calvin Harris to write her a song for her next album. She turned down several tracks from Harris, but finally agreed to this one. Calvin Harris told Q Magazine that “The line ‘we found love in a hopeless place’ didn’t mean anything in particular. It could have been Jumpin Jaks in Dumfries. Although that has sadly closed down. The thing is, I don’t know exactly what I was thinking about. I was just playing the song and doing nonsense singing to see if the syllables fit the song. It was like that. I was singing nonsense and that’s how the lyrics happened.”

Release date

Released September 22, 2011

Songwriter/s

Calvin Harris

Label

Def Jam – SRP

Chart Rankings

US – 1

UK  – 1

GERMANY – 1

This smash hit sold over 10.5 million copies worldwide. In the US, ‘We Found Love’ gave Rihanna her eleventh number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. It topped the charts for 8 consecutive weeks, becoming Rihanna’s longest-running number 1 single in the US and the longest-running number 1 song of 2011. It also topped the US Dance Club Songs, the Mainstream Top 40, and the Rhythmic Charts. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it 9 times Platinum for sales over 5.4 million copies. In the UK, the song topped the Official Charts Company and the Dance Charts; it made Rihanna the first female solo artist to top the chart 6 times in 5 consecutive years. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it Double Platinum for sales over 1.39 million copies. ‘We Found Love’ topped charts all around the world, including those in Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and Venezuela. The song peaked at number 2 in Australia, Austria, and Greece. It was certified 8 times Platinum in Australia, 6 times Platinum in Sweden, Triple Platinum in Italy and New Zealand, Double Platinum in Denmark and Switzerland, and Platinum in Belgium, Japan and Spain. In Germany, it was certified Gold.

Artist’s age on release date

Robyn Rihanna Fenty, aka Rihanna, was 23 years old and Calvin Harris was 27 years old when this song was released.

Cover Versions

Jessi J – Tinashe – Coldplay – Lea Michele & Naya Rivera (Glee) – Diana Helea – Kris Allen – Carmen Smith – Kelly Clarkson – Ed Sheeran (acoustic) – Lindsey Stirling – Kele Okereke – Tori Amos – Boyce Avenue – Ayssa Bernal – Megan Nicole – Sam Tsui – Alexa Goddard – Alyssa Bernal & Shane Boa – Us The Duo – Postmodern Jukebox – Renee, Molly Sue and Jole (The Voice Kids) – Tyler Ward Featuring Jess Moskaluke – Joe Barnard & Matalie Duffy – Tiffany Alvord featuring Andy Lange – CIMORELLI – Jayme Dee – WeAreCoverDrive – Jake Coco – Chloe x Halle – Other amateur artists covered this song on Youtube.

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