Jessie Ware – “Diamonds” (Rihanna Cover)
The elegant British soul crooner Jessie Ware isn’t the first indie-universe fixture to cover “Diamonds,” Rihanna’s massive 2012 ballad; Zola Jesus already got there. But Ware’s cover, recorded for a recent BBC Live Lounge session, is the smallest and tenderest version of the song I’ve heard: A stripped-back acoustic lament that sounds like an internal monologue. Listen to Ware’s version below.
Ware’s ridiculously good debut album Devotion is out now on PMR.