Rare (Selena Gomez Album)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Rare'' is the third studio album by American singer
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
, released by
Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
on January 10, 2020. As the
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
, Gomez worked with many producers, including
Ian Kirkpatrick Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Described as "supremely athletic, fast, fearless and with an uncanny sense of anticipation", Kirkpatrick is widely regarded as one of the greatest flankers ...
,
Jason Evigan Jason Gregory Evigan (born June 10, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as the vocalist for the rock band After Midnight Project, which was formed in 2004 before disbanding in 2012. His songwriting or producti ...
, Mattman & Robin,
Sir Nolan Nolan Lambroza (born July 25, 1990), better known as Sir Nolan, is an American record producer and songwriter based in Encino, Los Angeles, California. He has worked with notable artists such as Daniel Caesar, Tyla, Selena Gomez, Justin Biebe ...
, Simon Says,
The Monsters & Strangerz The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, and Jordan K. Johnson and The Strangerz: Marcus "Marc Lo" Lomax and Cla ...
and David Pramik. Described by Gomez as her "diary from the past few years", ''Rare'' is a
midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given composition, and is often also an indication of the composition's character or atmos ...
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
and
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
record, taking cues from
electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...
,
latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...
and R&B styles. Lyrically, the album explores themes of self-love, self-empowerment, self-acceptance, and
self-worth Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie ...
. Guest features on ''Rare'' are from rappers
6lack Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American R&B singer and songwriter. Born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he gained recognitio ...
and
Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...
. The album was promoted by two singles prior to its release: The lead single " Lose You to Love Me" was released on October 23, 2019. The song topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and became Gomez's first number-one single in the United States. " Look at Her Now" was released a day after the lead single, peaking at number 27 on the chart. Coinciding with the album release, the
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
was made the third single, peaking at number 30 on the Hot 100. ''Rare'' received positive reviews from music critics, who praised its production and cohesiveness, with many calling it Gomez's best album to date. The album debuted at number one in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, and the United States. ''Rare'' has since been certified
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) for sales of over 1 million equivalent units in the United States. A
Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...
-exclusive edition of ''Rare'' additionally includes five of Gomez's standalone singles released in 2017–2018: " Bad Liar", " Fetish" featuring
Gucci Mane Radric Delantic Davis (born February 12, 1980), known professionally as Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He is credited, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers T.I. and Jeezy, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music for mainstream a ...
, "
It Ain't Me "It Ain't Me" is a song by Norwegian DJ Kygo and American singer Selena Gomez. It was released by Interscope Records, Sony and Ultra on 16 February 2017 as the lead single from Kygo's debut extended play '' Stargazing'' (2017) and appears as a ...
" with
Kygo Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (; born 11 September 1991), known professionally as Kygo (), is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He first received international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track " I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his De ...
, " Back to You", and "
Wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...
" with
Marshmello Christopher Comstock (born May 19, 1992), known professionally as Marshmello, is an American DJ and record producer. His songs "Silence (Marshmello song), Silence" (featuring Khalid (American singer), Khalid), "Wolves (Selena Gomez and Mar ...
. The vinyl edition of ''Rare'' adds " Feel Me" as a bonus track. A deluxe edition with three new tracks, including the fourth single "
Boyfriend A boyfriend is a man who is a friend or acquaintance to the speaker, often specifying a regular male companion with whom a person is platonically, romantically or sexually involved. A boyfriend can also be called an admirer, beau, suito ...
", was released on April 9, 2020.


Background and release

Speaking in a November 2019 interview for
Apple Music Apple Music is an audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users can select music to stream to their device on-demand, or listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the sister internet radio stations Apple Musi ...
on the subject of her upcoming studio album ''Rare'', Gomez admitted that the unreleased tracks were where she currently was. She also said that the songs on the tracklist went well with each other, after putting them in order. Gomez appeared on the radio program ''
On Air with Ryan Seacrest ''On Air with Ryan Seacrest'' is a weekday radio syndication, syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. It was launched in 2004 as a drive time show at the same time on Los Angeles contemporary hit radio, Top 40 station 102.7 KIIS-FM a ...
'' and stated that she had "a million ideas and it's just going to be cooler and it's going to be stronger and it's going to be better." She stated on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'' that the album would have a "sense of strong pop", and that she experimented with electric guitar. She also said that it took her "four years now to even feel at a good place with this album". According to
Semrush Semrush Holdings, Inc. is an American public company that has a SaaS platform known as Semrush. The platform is used for keyword research, competitive analysis, site audits, backlink tracking, and online visibility insights. The keyword research ...
, ''Rare'' was one of 2020's three most-searched albums on
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
, collecting 1.2 million monthly searches; the other two are
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
's ''
Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
'' and
J Balvin José Álvaro Osorio Balvín (born 7 May 1985), known professionally as J Balvin, is a Colombian singer. He is one of the best-selling Latin artists, with 35 million records sold worldwide. Balvin was born in Medellín. At age 17, he moved to th ...
's '' Colores''.


Music and lyrics

''Rare'' is primarily a
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
and
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
record with a dark tone, deriving elements from various musical styles, such as R&B, electro,
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
-pop,
reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...
,
alternative pop Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
and
electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
. The main themes are of "love, loss and dating". Gomez herself stated that the album is "honest, empowering and uplifting", while its main messages are "self-love, acceptance and empowerment". She also added that the songs on ''Rare'' are "the most honest music I've ever made".


Songs

The standard edition of ''Rare'' contains 13 tracks. The opener and
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
is a "quiet but impactful self-love anthem" with lyrics discussing "the wavering interests of a lover" and the singer realizing "her love interest isn't valuing her in the way she deserves". Its sound has been referred to as "backing vocals and instrumentals muffled as if the whole thing has been dunked underwater". The following track, "
Dance Again "Dance Again" is a song recorded by American singer Jennifer Lopez for her first greatest hits album, '' Dance Again... the Hits'' (2012). It features guest vocals from American rapper Pitbull. The song was written by Enrique Iglesias, Bilal "T ...
", is a blend of multiple genres, including funk, dance, electro, and
electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
. It encompasses an "infectious" and "mellifluous" melody, "
Cure A cure is a substance or procedure that resolves a medical condition. This may include a medication, a surgery, surgical operation, a lifestyle change, or even a philosophical shift that alleviates a person's suffering or achieves a state of heali ...
-like" bass, "fuzzy" synths and a "walloping
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
bassline". It has been described as "lite-
Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...
" and "low-key yet deeply infectious". Co-written with
Julia Michaels Julia Carin Michaels (''Birth name, née'' Cavazos; born November 13, 1993) is an American singer and songwriter. She has received six Grammy Award nominations, including twice for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year and Grammy A ...
and
Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, ...
, "Look at Her Now" is an upbeat
dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
and electropop track which explores "being better off without the bad ones" and getting over the end of a relationship. The fourth song, "Lose You to Love Me", is the only
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
on ''Rare''. Its "bare-bones" production incorporates "plucked" violins, "booming" bass, "tearjerker" piano, an orchestra, and "multi-tracked Gomez voices cascading against each other". The song is about self-love and finding out one's true self while losing a lover in the process. Critics speculated that it may reference about Gomez's relationship with
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...
. The
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
-infused "Ring", which deals with "toying with noncommittal lovers", drew comparisons to the works of
Camila Cabello Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the Pop music, pop girl group Fifth Harmony, one of the List of best-selling girl groups, best-selling girl gro ...
(namely her 2017 hit single "
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Gotye Wouter André De Backer (; born 21 May 1980), known professionally as Gotye ( , , ), is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbr ...
's "
Somebody That I Used to Know "Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced and performed by the Belgian-Australian musician and singer Gotye featuring vocals from the New Zealander singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand through El ...
", as well as
Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer * Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp ** Santana 20 ** Santan ...
's " Smooth". Produced by
the Monsters & Strangerz The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, and Jordan K. Johnson and The Strangerz: Marcus "Marc Lo" Lomax and Cla ...
with
Jon Bellion Jonathan David Bellion (born December 26, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He was born and raised in Lake Grove, New York on Long Island. He is best known for his 2016 single "All Time Low," which peaked at ...
, "Vulnerable" is a "warm"
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
and electropop record with a "moody synth groove" and elements of
italo disco Italo disco (variously capitalized, and sometimes hyphenated as Italo-disco) is a music genre which originated in Italy in the late 1970s and was mainly produced in the 1980s. Italo disco evolved from the then-current underground dance, pop, ...
and
tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. ...
. Influences of Latin music are also present on the upbeat and "dancefloor-ready" "Let Me Get Me". The first of ''Rare''s two collaborations, "Crowded Room", is an R&B song which features singer
6lack Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American R&B singer and songwriter. Born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he gained recognitio ...
. Tracks 10, 11, and 12 all have a funk sound. "Kinda Crazy" is a "tongue-in-cheek tune" and "sinuous kiss-off" driven by a "clean bluesy guitar lick and accompanying horns". "Cut You Off" is a "slinky"
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
-inflected
downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...
pop song and a
slow jam A slow jam is music with rhythm and blues and soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or downtempo songs, and are mostly soft-sounding with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. The earliest known use of the term is from a ...
about "saying goodbye to a relationship that's dragging you down". It has been compared to the works of
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
. ''Rare'' concludes with "A Sweeter Place": A collaboration with rapper
Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...
, the song "documents the life lessons omezhas learned and expresses hope that brighter days lie ahead". The vinyl and digital bonus track editions of ''Rare'' feature the song " Feel Me", which was previously featured on the setlist of Gomez's 2016
Revival Tour The Revival Tour was the second solo concert tour by American singer Selena Gomez, in support of her second solo studio album '' Revival'' (2015). The tour began in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on May 6, 2016. The tour was ...
. Gomez released the song on digital platforms on February 21, 2020, the day of the vinyl release.


Promotion

The album and its title were first announced on Gomez's
Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
page, where she revealed the cover art and included a snippet of the title track. The standard edition of the studio album was promoted and preceded by the release of "Lose You to Love Me" released October 23, 2019, and "Look at Her Now" on October 24, 2019. On November 24, 2019, Gomez performed "Lose You to Love Me" and "Look at Her Now" at the 2019 American Music Awards to promote the album. The title track was released as the second single the same day the album came out. Gomez also appeared on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...
'', ''
The Ellen Degeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...
'', and ''
The Kelly Clarkson Show ''The Kelly Clarkson Show'' is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and segments about "ev ...
'' to promote the album. In addition, "Dance Again" was scheduled to be used to promote CBS Sports and Turner Sports' coverage of the 2020 NCAA tournament. However, the song was never used, as the event was canceled over concerns of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. A part of the proceeds from "Dance Again" went toward the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. A performance video of the track was posted on YouTube on March 26, 2020.


Critical reception

''Rare'' received positive reviews from
music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
. At
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 76 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Jem Aswad of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' labeled ''Rare'' "one of the best pop albums to be released in recent memory" and described it as "sophisticated, precisely written and expertly produced music". While calling it "shockingly, and beautifully, upbeat", Brittany Spanos of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' opined that the album is "an act of divine ruthlessness, full of dance-y, mid-tempo clarity". Writing for ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', Rhian Daly called the album "a beautifully confident return from one of pop's most underrated stars, and a quietly defiant wrestling back of the narrative surrounding her", while Leah Greenblatt of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' praised the album's "lightness" despite its "heavy messaging". Mikael Wood of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' named ''Rare'' as Gomez's "most meaningful solo disc" and opined that it embraces "an infectious spirit of adventure". Similarly, ''
Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...
''s Craig Jenkins wrote that the album is "almost inarguably Selena Gomez's best album". In a mixed review, ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
''s Quinn Moreland stated that the album was her "most cohesive record to date" but that " omez'sintrospection can only go so deep when it's paired with sleek, easy songwriting that lets her slip by". In concurrence, Alexandra Pollard of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' gave the album three stars out of five, deeming it "an accomplished, coherent record, with moments of ecstasy and others of pathos" but concluding that it "never quite gets out from beneath the shadow of half a decade of behemothic bangers". ''
Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...
'' listed ''Rare'' among the 20 best pop albums of 2020, for being an "extraordinarily accomplished pop album that tackles serious issues like self worth and
mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...
" while complimenting " Lose You to Love Me" as a "
Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
-worthy
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
"; the tracks "Vulnerable", "Ring", "People You Know" and "A Sweeter Place" were highlighted as the "delights" from the album.


Year-end lists

''Rare'' was featured on several year-end list of best albums. It was listed at number 30 on ''Uproxx''s "The Best Albums of 2020" list, with the editors commenting "Coming into her adulthood necessarily meant facing down those two demons, and she does it with idiosyncratic lyrics, outstanding vocal performances, and earworm hooks." ''Rolling Ston''e ranked it at number 24 on "The Best Albums of 2020" list, with Julia Childing stating that "it’s cathartic to hear Gomez dump out the bad years like they’re just burned toast". The publication also listed "Cut You Off", a song from the album as the 19th best song of 2020. Billboard listed the
title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...
as one of the best pop songs of 2020. UMI Yearlies named ''Rare'' album of the year in 2020.


Commercial performance

In the United States, ''Rare'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, earning 112,000
album-equivalent units The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, often shortened to just unit, is a sales metric in the music industry that defines the number of streaming media, songs streamed and music download, songs downloaded equal to one Record sales, tradi ...
(including 53,000 copies as pure album sales) in its first week. This became Gomez's third US number-one debut and the first album released in the 2020s to top the chart. The album also accumulated a total of 79.3 million on-demand streams for album’s tracks that week. In its second week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, earning an additional 38,000 units. As of December 2020, the album has earned 703,000 album-equivalent units in the US, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. In July 2021, ''Rare'' had sold 123,000 pure copies in the US. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number two on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
earning 17,661 album-equivalent units in its first week. It became her highest-charting album in the country and highest-selling album in the country, being certified gold by the
British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI) in April 2021 for sales of 100,000 album units. In Australia, the album debuted at number one on the ARIA Top 100 Albums Chart, becoming Gomez's first number-one debut in the country. It also became her first number-one album in Argentina, Belgium (Flanders), Lithuania, Portugal and Scotland.


Track listing


Notes

* signifies a producer and vocal producer * signifies a vocal producer * signifies an additional producer * signifies a co-producer * signifies an additional vocal producer * Fifth anniversary edition CDs include an exclusive snippet of "
Sunset Blvd Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...
", with
Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer and songwriter. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall ...
, from their 2025 collaborative album ''
I Said I Love You First ''I Said I Love You First'' is a collaborative studio album by American singer Selena Gomez and American record producer Benny Blanco. It is Gomez's fourth studio album and Blanco's second. Following their respective studio albums '' Rare'' (202 ...
''.


Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Rare''.


Vocals

*
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...
– lead vocals , backing vocals *
6lack Ricardo Valdez Valentine Jr. (born June 24, 1992), known professionally as 6lack (stylized as 6LACK, pronounced "black"), is an American R&B singer and songwriter. Born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, he gained recognitio ...
– featured vocals *
Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...
– featured vocals, backing vocals *
Caroline Ailin Caroline Furøyen (born 1989), also known by her stage name Caroline Ailin, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter based in London. She co-wrote " New Rules", a single by Dua Lipa which reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart and US pop radio in ...
– backing vocals *
Amy Allen Amy or Aimee Allen may refer to: *Amy Allen (actress) (born 1976), American actress *Amy Allen (philosopher) *Amy Allen (songwriter) *Aimee Allen (born 1982), American singer-songwriter *Amy Allen (The A Team), Amy Allen ''(The A Team)'' *Amy Allen, ...
– backing vocals *
Chloe Angelides Chloe Angelides (born May 21, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. She has written songs such as "Zipper" for Jason Derulo for his album '' Talk Dirty'', "Jackie (B.M.F.)" for Ciara for her album '' Jackie'', " Burnin' Up" for ...
– backing vocals *
Jon Bellion Jonathan David Bellion (born December 26, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He was born and raised in Lake Grove, New York on Long Island. He is best known for his 2016 single "All Time Low," which peaked at ...
– backing vocals *
Jason Evigan Jason Gregory Evigan (born June 10, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer best known as the vocalist for the rock band After Midnight Project, which was formed in 2004 before disbanding in 2012. His songwriting or producti ...
– backing vocals * Steph Jones – backing vocals *
Ian Kirkpatrick Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Described as "supremely athletic, fast, fearless and with an uncanny sense of anticipation", Kirkpatrick is widely regarded as one of the greatest flankers ...
– backing vocals * Madison Love – backing vocals * Mattman & Robin – backing vocals, choir vocals *
MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (; born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK ( ; a gramogram of Emenike), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and ha ...
– backing vocals *
Julia Michaels Julia Carin Michaels (''Birth name, née'' Cavazos; born November 13, 1993) is an American singer and songwriter. She has received six Grammy Award nominations, including twice for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year and Grammy A ...
– backing vocals , choir vocals * Liza Owen – backing vocals * Henry Oyekanmi – backing vocals * David Pramik – backing vocals * Avena Savage – backing vocals *
Jasmine Thompson Jasmine Ying Thompson (born 8 November 2000) is a British singer and songwriter. She began her career at the age of ten by filming herself singing and uploading the videos to YouTube. In 2014, she was featured on German deep house producer Robi ...
– backing vocals *
Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Sara Bareilles, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, DNCE, ...
– backing vocals, choir vocals * Mark Williams – backing vocals


Instrumentation

* Jon Bellion – instrumentation *
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
– instrumentation * Carl Bodell – trumpet * David Bukovinszky – cello * Mattais Bylund
string synthesizer A string synthesizer or string machine is a synthesizer designed to make sounds similar to those of a string section. Dedicated string synthesizers occupied a specific musical instrument niche between electronic organs and general-purpose synthes ...
,
string arrangement The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...
, string editing, string recording * Kid Cudi – instrumentation * Mike Dean – instrumentation * Jason Evigan – instrumentation * Jake Faun – instrumentation , guitar * Finneas – percussion, synths, strings, bass guitar * Kristoffer Fogelmark – keyboards, drums, instrumentation, guitar, bass * Alex Hope – instrumentation * Mattias Johansson – violin * Ian Kirkpatrick – instrumentation * Johan Lenoxstring composition, string arrangement * Mattman & Robin – drums , guitar , percussion, bass , piano, synths , 808, organ, strings , keyboards, claps, harp * Albin Nedler – keyboards, drums, instrumentation, guitar *
Sir Nolan Nolan Lambroza (born July 25, 1990), better known as Sir Nolan, is an American record producer and songwriter based in Encino, Los Angeles, California. He has worked with notable artists such as Daniel Caesar, Tyla, Selena Gomez, Justin Biebe ...
– instrumentation , percussion * Oladipo Omishore – instrumentation * Henry Oyekanmi – percussion * David Pramik – instrumentation,
Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of double- cutaway electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corpora ...
,
Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typic ...
* Patrick Reynolds – instrumentation * Simon Says – instrumentation *
The Monsters & Strangerz The Monsters & Strangerz are an American production and songwriting team from Miami, Florida. The team features The Monsters: Alexander " Eskeerdo" Izquierdo, Stefan Johnson, and Jordan K. Johnson and The Strangerz: Marcus "Marc Lo" Lomax and Cla ...
– instrumentation * Mark Williams – instrumentation *
Rami Yacoub Rami Yacoub (born 17 January 1975), also known by the mononym Rami, is a Palestinian-Swedish record producer and songwriter and former member of the songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone. Yacoub collaborated extensively wi ...
– keyboards, drums, instrumentation


Production

* Selena Gomez – executive production * Jon Bellion –
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...
* Kid Cudi – production * Sean Douglas – production * Jason Evigan – production * Kristoffer Fogelmark – production * Ian Kirkpatrick – production, vocal production , co-production * Mattman & Robin – production, vocal production * Albin Nedler – production * Sir Nolan – production, vocal production * Dante Hemingway – co-production, vocal production *
Ojivolta Ojivolta is an American record production and songwriting duo, composed of Mark "Oji" Williams and Raul "Volta" Cubina. Their credits include production and co-writing for Kanye West, The Weeknd, Playboi Carti, XXXTentacion, Lil Nas X, Justin Bie ...
– production * David Pramik – production * Simon Says – production, vocal production , additional production * The Monsters & Strangerz – production * Rami Yacoub – production * Finneas – additional production * Johan Lenox – additional production * Billboard – co-production * Mike Dean – co-production * Alex Hope – co-production * Oladipo Omishore – co-production * Patrick Reynolds – co-production * Benjamin Rice – vocal production * Bart Schoudel – vocal production * Gian Stoneadditional vocal production


Technical

* Cory Bice –
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
* Raul Cubina – engineering, programming * Ryan Dulude – engineering , assistant engineering * Rafael "Come2Brazil" Fadul – engineering * John Hanes – engineering , mix engineering * Sam Holland – engineering * Stefan Johnson – engineering * Ian Kirkpatrick – engineering * Jeremy Lertola – engineering * Mattman & Robin – engineering , programming * Sir Nolan – engineering , programming * David Pramik – engineering * Benjamin Rice – engineering * Simon Says – engineering * Bart Schoudel – engineering * William J. Sullivan – engineering * Mark Williams – engineering, programming * Bo Bodnar – assistant engineering * Andrew Boyd – assistant engineering * Kevin Brunhober – assistant engineering * Lionel Crasta – assistant engineering * Gavin Finn – assistant engineering * Chris Kahn – assistant engineering * Sedrick Moore II – assistant engineering * Mick Raskin – assistant engineering * Jeremy Tomlinson – assistant engineering * Finneas – programming * Kristoffer Fogelmark – programming * Albin Nedler – programming * Rami Yacoub – programming * Ben Dotson – post production vocal and sound editing * Jon Castelli – mixing *
Serban Ghenea Serban Ghenea () is a Canadian audio engineer and mixer. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award a total of 45 times and has won 21 times. Early life and education Ghenea was born in Romania, and in 1976 he moved to Montreal with his family. H ...
– mixing *
Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...
– mixing *
Tony Maserati Tony Maserati is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in mixing. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and hip-hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Queen ...
– mixing * Miles Comaskey – mix engineering , assistant mix engineering * Josh Deguzman – mix engineering * Chris Galland – mix engineering * Scott Desmarais – assistant mix engineering * Robin Florent – assistant mix engineering * Jeremie Inhaber – assistant mix engineering * Najeeb Jones – assistant mix engineering * David Kim – assistant mix engineering * Dale Beckermastering *
Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...
– mastering * Will Quinnell – mastering


Design

*
Petra Collins Petra Collins (born December 21, 1992) is a Canadian artist, director of photography, fashion model and actress who rose to prominence in the early 2010s. Her photography is characterized by a feminine, dreamlike feel, informed in part by a fe ...
– photography * Max Angles – design * Dina Hovsepian – art direction


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Release history


See also

*
List of 2020 albums The following is a list of albums, Extended play, EPs, and mixtapes released in 2020. These albums are (1) original, i.e. excluding reissues, remasters, and Compilation album, compilations of previously released recordings, and (2) WP:MUS, not ...
* List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2020 * List of number-one albums of 2020 (Australia) * List of number-one albums of 2020 (Belgium) *
List of number-one albums of 2020 (Canada) A list is a Set (mathematics), set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of t ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2020 (Mexico) Top 100 Mexico is a record chart published weekly by Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas, AMPROFON (Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas), a non-profit organization composed by Mexican and mul ...
* List of number-one albums of 2020 (Norway) * List of number-one albums of 2020 (Portugal) * List of number-one albums of 2020 (Scotland) * List of UK top-ten albums in 2020


References


Footnotes


Citations

{{Authority control 2020 albums Albums produced by Finneas O'Connell Albums recorded at Westlake Recording Studios Interscope Records albums Selena Gomez albums Albums produced by Jon Bellion Albums produced by Kid Cudi Albums produced by Sean Douglas (songwriter) Albums produced by Jason Evigan Albums produced by Alex Hope (songwriter) Albums produced by Jonas Jeberg Albums produced by Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer) Albums produced by Kygo Albums produced by Marshmello Albums produced by Kurtis McKenzie Albums produced by David Pramik Albums produced by Sir Nolan Albums produced by Andrew Watt (record producer) Albums produced by Rami Yacoub Albums produced by Ojivolta Albums produced by Dot da Genius Albums produced by Mike Dean (record producer) Albums produced by Plain Pat