The song was written and produced by Andrew Harr and Jermaine Jackson, of the American production duo the Runners, with Priscilla Renea, Alex Delicata and Rihanna.

Commercially, the song topped the Polish and Slovakian charts, achieved a top-five placing in Australia, Austria, Czech Republic and Portugal, while also reaching the top-ten in Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and others.

[10][11] Later, after their impact on radio, the song was also issued on CD single format in Europe and also as an extended play (EP) digital with nine remixes from the original track.

[12][13] "California King Bed" was written by its producers The Runners (Andrew Harr and Jermaine Jackson) with additional writing by Priscilla Renea, Alex Delicata and Rihanna, with vocal production done by Kuk Harrell.

[15] The song is a rock and R&B power ballad[16][17] with "acoustic guitar (complete with audible string scrapes), soft piano keys and intimate melancholy, building into a massive power-balladish chorus", as noted by NME's Emily Mackay.

[19] Both Ryan Burlenson of the website Consequence of Sound and James Reed of The Boston Globe compared the song with Taylor Swift's material.

"[25] Andy Gill of The Independent and Ryan Dombell from Pitchfork Media both noted that the song embodies all the elements of a big power ballad, with the former stating that it is "Rihanna's best vocal performance"[14] and the latter concurring, labeling the song as a "'I Don't Want to Miss a Thing' type power ballad genetically engineered to soundtrack a bi-coastal Kate Hudson rom-com.

"[25] Robert Copsey of Digital Spy gave the song four out of five stars, stating it "may pull in the reins as far as the hectic dance beats and sado-masochistic lyrics go, but it's no less beefy and extravagant."

"[23] Thomas Conner of Chicago Sun-Times concluded that "The acoustic strums of 'California King Bed' build to a cinematic, Diane Warren-sized breakup chorus.

"[28] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani called "California King Bed" a "slushy acoustic ballad whose clever metaphor is all but suffocated beneath the song's cheesy production choices".

[29] Entertainment Weekly's Kyle Anderson gave a mixed review of the song, explaining that Rihanna "doesn't have the chops to be a balladeer, which made the torch-song quality of 'California King Bed' land with a thud.

[44][46] The creative director, Ciarra Pardo, fabricated a custom made eighteen foot long bed, which was designed with a special feature to transport Rihanna the full distance from one side to the other.

Set entirely in a gorgeously pink-palleted open air room overlooking the beach, the winds swirl and blow the curtains dramatically around the heart broken singer.

"[57] Amber Katz of MTV Buzzworthy compared the video with Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" saying, that they "Both are midtempo, ballady and filmed in a soft-focus domestic setting.

[59][60] Rihanna performed the song for the first time alongside Sugarland lead vocalist Jennifer Nettles, at the ACM Awards held by the Academy of Country Music on April 3, 2011.

[63][64] The performance featured Rihanna in a floor-length, heavily textured rose-colored gown, which she adorned as she appeared from behind flowing ceiling height curtains.

'"[63] A writer of Rolling Stone wrote: "It's a classy, laid-back performance with Rihanna in a lovely gown, backed up by interpretative dancers caressing large pieces of fabric that are probably meant to evoke bed sheets, but look a bit more like giant strips of toilet paper hanging from the ceiling.

[66] As part of promotion for the campaign, Rihanna performed the song at private events in several European cities in May 2011,[67] including Hamburg, Milan and Paris.