"Rare" is a song 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 ...

from her third studio album of the same name (2020). It was released alongside the album as the second and final single of the standard edition on January 10, 2020, by Interscope Records. The track was written by Gomez, Madison Love, Brett McLaughlin and its producers Sir Nolan and Simon Says. "Rare" is a pop 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 ...

song with lyrics exuding self-love and individuality. It peaked at number 30 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Rare" was ranked as the 12th best song of the first half of 2020 by '' Billboard''.

Background

"Rare" was developed in a writing session with producer Sir Nolan and songwriters Madison Love and Brett McLaughlin. The song was initially written for Gomez, however she declined, and the song was recorded by other artists such as Madison Beer and

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

. In 2018, Selena wanted the song for the album and received it through her label's A&R. According to Nolan, Gomez added melodies and ad-libs to make it fit her perspective. Producer Simon Says co-produced "Rare" with Nolan stating: "Simon and I went through her vocal takes a million times, comped them, Melodyned them, and went over the timing a trillion times. When it's an artist this big, you don't want to take any risks." The song was revealed in an Instagram Live by Gomez on August 15, 2018. Later that day, co-writer McLaughlin confirmed his involvement in the song. Gomez teased the song's lyrics in an interview with '' Elle'' in September 2018. The song was then teased in the ''Rare'' album trailer. On February 28, 2020, the Alexander 23 Edit of "Rare" was released for digital download and streaming.

Composition

Musically, "Rare" is three minutes and forty seconds long and has been described as a pop and

song. In terms of

music notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proces ...

, "Rare" was composed using common time in the key of C Mixolydian with a tempo of 115 beats per minute, following a chord progression of C–B♭. Gomez's vocal range spans from the low note of C₄ to the high note of A₅, giving the song one octave and five notes of range. Gomez spoke to ''Billboard'' about "Rare":

Chart performance

"Rare" debuted and peaked at number thirty on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 following the release of the parent album and its accompanying music video. It later peaked at number 17 on the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

chart following its release as a radio single. The song also peaked within the top 40 on charts in Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Scotland.

Music video

The BRTHR-directed music video, released on January 10, 2020, accompanied the song and album's release. It features Gomez wandering in an ethereal world, laying on a spinning bed in a discotheque inspired room, and swimming in a pool. It was stated by Gomez that the music video was inspired by her philanthropic trip to Kenya months prior to the album release. The dress Gomez wore in the video was designed by AADNEVIK.

Live performances

On February 24, 2020, Gomez performed the song for the first time at the Village Studio. This live version was released for digital download and streaming on March 6, 2020.

Track listing

* Album version # "Rare" – 3:40 * Digital download – Alexander 23 edit # "Rare" (Alexander 23 edit) – 3:48 * Digital download – Live from The Village Studio # "Rare" (Live from The Village Studio) – 3:51

Awards and nominations

Credits and personnel

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

Recording locations

* Recorded at Home Away From Home Studios (Los Angeles, California) * Mixed at Mirrorball Studios ( North Hollywood, California) * Mastered at Sterling Sound (New York City)

Personnel

– lead vocals, backing vocals, songwriting * Madison Love – songwriting, backing vocals * Brett McLaughlin – songwriting * Sir Nolan – songwriting, production, vocal production,

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 ...

instrumentation Instrumentation is a collective term for measuring instruments, used for indicating, measuring, and recording physical quantities. It is also a field of study about the art and science about making measurement instruments, involving the related ...

* Simon Says – songwriting, production, vocal production, engineering, instrumentation * Bart Schoudel – engineering * Benjamin Rice – engineering * Jake Faun – instrumentation * Tony Maserati – mixing * Miles Comaskey – mix engineering * Chris Gehringer – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2020 singles 2020 songs Electropop songs Selena Gomez songs Songs written by Selena Gomez Songs written by Madison Love Songs written by Sir Nolan