| "American Oxygen" | ||||
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| Single by Rihanna | ||||
| Released | April 14, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | 2014 | |||
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| Length | 5:20 | |||
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| Rihanna singles chronology | ||||
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| "American Oxygen" on YouTube | ||||
"American Oxygen" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was written by Alex da Kid, Candice Pillay, Sam Harris and Rihanna; Alex da Kid and Kanye West produced it. Written over the course of a year, "American Oxygen" was inspired by the 1984 single "Born in the U.S.A." performed by Bruce Springsteen. It was made available for streaming on Tidal on April 5, 2015, and released for digital download on April 14 via the iTunes Store as a standalone single. The song has patriotic lyrical content about a new America and the chasing of the American dream.
The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who generally praised the intricacy of the production, the quality of the lyrical content and the dubstep-inspired aesthetic of the song. Darren Craig, Jonathan Craven and Jeff Nicholas of the Uprising Creative directed the music video for "American Oxygen", which premiered exclusively on Tidal on April 6. It depicts numerous moments from American history while Rihanna sings in front of a large American flag. Rihanna performed "American Oxygen" for the first time at the Final Four of the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis.