Rain on Me (Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande song)
"Rain on Me" is a song by American singers Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande from Gaga's sixth studio album, Chromatica (2020). It was written by Gaga, Grande, Nija Charles, Rami Yacoub, Tchami, Boys Noize and its producers, BloodPop and Burns. An upbeat house, dance-pop and disco song, the song features a synth-disco beat and funk guitars. The song explores resilience in defiance of the hardships in life.
"Rain on Me"
"Rain on Me" was released by Interscope Records as the album's second single on May 22, 2020. Music critics lauded the singers' vocals as well as the song's message. With the song's debut at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, it became Gaga's fifth and Grande's fourth number-one single in the US. It marked the first all-female collaboration to debut atop the chart and made Grande the first artist to have four songs debut at the top spot. On Spotify, "Rain on Me" was the seventh most streamed song of summer 2020 and the most streamed song by a female artist globally during the season.[1] Additionally, "Rain on Me" topped the charts in nine other countries, including Canada, Hungary, and the United Kingdom.
The accompanying music video was directed by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, and features Gaga and Grande dancing inside a giant arena during a rainstorm, with daggers falling from the sky. "Rain on Me" was nominated for seven MTV Video Music Awards, winning for Song of the Year and two more other awards while being nominated for Video of the Year. The duo gave a performance of "Rain on Me" at the VMA show, while Gaga performed the song solo on The Chromatica Ball tour (2022). "Rain on Me" was further promoted with the release of mock news broadcasts in partnership with The Weather Channel in which Gaga and Grande both appeared. The song won the Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category at the 63rd Grammy Awards, being the first female collaboration in history to win.[2]
Release and promotion[edit]
"Rain on Me" was officially announced on April 22, 2020, when Gaga posted the tracklist of her Chromatica album.[28] On May 15, 2020, both Gaga and Grande posted the single's cover art on Instagram and Twitter to announce its release a week later.[29][30] It premiered as the album's second single on May 21, 2020, at 21:00 PT (4:00 UTC on May 22, 2020).[31] The song was also promoted through an Amazon Music lyric video commercial.[32] To coincide with the single release, rain-themed merchandise items were made available in Gaga's official online store, such as rainboots, ponchos, and umbrellas.[33] On May 27, 2020, a limited 7-inch vinyl with alternate artwork became available to ship on Lady Gaga's official web store.[34]
On May 26, 2020, Gaga and Grande posted a one-minute skit in partnership with The Weather Channel, where they give a mock weather update while holding an umbrella, and talk about how they "would like to celebrate the rain".[35][36] On May 28, 2020, they released another weather update, filmed in Gaga's pool and Grande's bathtub.[37] On August 26, 2020, Gaga announced an online competition with a $10,000 cash grand prize for the winner, where participants had to design a poster inspired by "Rain on Me", using Adobe creative apps.[38] "Rain on Me" was added to a list of songs played on Fortnite in-game radio stations.[39] The song was later used in the game again as part of Gaga's feature in the Fortnite Festival mode. The game's shop added the song as a purchasable Jam Track that can be played on instruments in the music-centered game mode. An "emote" titled "Rain Check" was added to game's shop that prompts a player's character to "perform" a portion of the track's official choreography in-game.[40][41]
Live performances[edit]
On August 30, 2020, the duo performed the song at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, marking its first live performance. The track was part of a medley of songs from Chromatica. After performing "911", Gaga changed into a purple outfit with a spiky shoulder-piece and started singing "Rain on Me". Grande joined her on stage, sporting long pigtails and high, white platform shoes. Accompanied by dancers, they performed the choreography as seen in the music video for the song, which included their synchronized jumping.[93][94] Joey Nolfi from Entertainment Weekly called the performance "epic", as "the two singers hit high notes and performed exuberant choreography, wearing futuristic masks the entire time."[95]
In 2022, Gaga performed "Rain on Me" at The Chromatica Ball stadium tour. Similarly to the music video, she starts singing the song flat on her back.[96] The show in Los Angeles, – which was recorded for an unknown project, – involved fireworks exploding over Dodger Stadium during the closing part of "Rain on Me".[97]