I'm a Ruin

"I’m a Ruin"
Single by Marina and the Diamonds
from the album Froot
Released 2 February 2015
Genre Synthpop
Length 4:32
Label
Writer(s) Marina Diamandis
Producer(s)
  • Marina Diamandis
  • David Kosten
Marina and the Diamonds singles chronology
  • "I'm a Ruin"
  • (2015)
  • "Forget"
  • (2015)
Music video
Official music video on YouTube

"I’m a Ruin" is a song by Welsh singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis, professionally known as Marina and the Diamonds. It is the third official single from her third album, Froot, released officially on 2 February 2015, two months before the release of its parent album. [1] A music video for the song was released the following day, and premiered on Noisey. During its initial premiere on BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, host Huw Stephens announced that the song would be officially released as a single in the United Kingdom on 22 March 2015.

Background and release

As with the other tracks on the album, "I'm a Ruin" was written solely by Diamandis. It was written about an experience in which Diamandis had to break up with someone whom she was in a relationship with, which left her with feelings of guilt as she had hurt someone else. Diamandis said of the experience "It’s just as hard as being rejected or dumped"[2]

The song is a sparse synth-based pop and rock track that features mild hints of disco.[3] Like the rest of the album, it was recorded with a live band, and produced by David Kosten and Diamandis.

The song was officially released on 2 February, but due to early shipping of the "Immortal"/"I’m a Ruin" vinyl single, containing the song in addition to previous promotional single "Immortal", it leaked online around a week and a half earlier.[4] The song received its first official radio premiere on Huw Stephens’ radio show on 27 January.[5]

Music video

The song received its YouTube premiere on January 27 as an audio video.[6] The same day, the hashtag “#imaruin” trended at #1 worldwide.[7]

On 3 February, the official music video premiered via Noisey’s website. It was directed by Marcus Lundqvist and filmed during late January 2015 on the island of Lanzarote, and features Diamandis dancing in front of a barren mountainous landscape, which switches later on in the song to an underwater scene where Diamandis is surrounded by jellyfish.[8] On 20 February, an acoustic video for "I’m a Ruin" was premiered on ELLE’s website.[9] It was directed by Paul Caslin, who directed all of Diamandis’ acoustic videos for her "Froot" album.[10]

Reception

The song received critical acclaim from reviewers. Jamie Milton from DIY called the track “another affected take from the record, beginning lovelorn and sombre before finding ‘Froot’-laced escape in the energy-flowing choruses.”[11] Upon release, "I’m a Ruin" reached the top 10 in 20 territories on the iTunes charts, peaking at number 2 in the US, and also reaching number 14 in the UK.[12] The song failed to chart in most countries; in the UK, the majority of the purchases came as instant gratification downloads for album preorders, not counting towards sales totals.

Track listing

  1. "I’m a Ruin" – 4:32

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 169

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Worldwide 2 February 2015 Digital download (via pre-order of the album) Atlantic
Neon Gold
United Kingdom 22 March 2015 Digital download (single release)

References