Rain (Mika song)

"Rain" is a song by Mika, released as the second single from his second studio album, The Boy Who Knew Too Much.[2][3] The song was produced and mixed by Greg Wells and features violinist Owen Pallett.

"Rain"
Single by Mika
from the album The Boy Who Knew Too Much
Released23 November 2009
Recorded2008–2009
Genre
Length3:43 (Album Version)
3:35 (Radio Edit)
LabelCasablanca[1]
Songwriter(s)
  • Mika
  • Jodi Marr
Producer(s)
Mika singles chronology
"We Are Golden"
(2009)		 "Rain"
(2009)		 "Blame It on the Girls"
(2010)
Music video
"Rain" on YouTube

Description

The song's lyrics are taken from a break-up letter that Mika wrote to an ex.[4] The opening lyric "Is it really necessary?" has the same tune as Dionne Warwick's "Do You Know The Way To San Jose". In an interview with Q magazine, Mika says:

["Rain"] is an unapologetic '80s pop record. I bumped into producer Stuart Price while he was working with The Killers at Olympic Studios. He helped me program this. It reminded him of ABBA and Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

— Mika, Q Magazine[5]

Keira performed Mika's song at Australian Idol's grand finale along with "We Are Golden". On 5 February 2010 Mika performed a special operatic version of the song in a duet with opera star Danielle de Niese on the ITV1 show 'Popstar to Operastar'.

Reception

The song received very positive reviews from most critics. Nick Levene from Digital Spy gave to the song 4 stars (out of 5) and said: "Those unconvinced that much had changed when Mika returned with 'We Are Golden' this summer should be pleasantly surprised by 'Rain', the second single from his second album. The shrieking has been reined in, the nursery rhyme hooks have been ditched and instead we're treated to a concoction of shimmering synths, layered vocals and throbbing, clubby beats. As it builds towards a crescendo that's both intriguingly dark and glitteringly magical, Mika proves he's perfectly capable of channelling his hyperactivity in the right direction. Here's hoping for more of this in the future".[6] Heather Phares from Allmusic says that "Rain" is a kissing cousin to "Relax"'s pulsing, melancholy disco-pop.[7]

Music video
A frame from the "Rain" music video.

The music video for "Rain" was filmed in Epping Forest in Essex and premiered online on 16 October 2009. It was directed by Nez Khammal.[2] The video is set in a dark enchanted forest with Mika waking up in a colourful tent. He is soon joined by various strangely dressed imps and creatures who dance around him at first but chase him out of the forest amid exploding fireworks.

Track listing
UK CD single[3]
No.TitleLength
1."Rain"3:43
2."Poker Face" (Radio 1 Live Lounge Session)3:09
3."Rain" (Seamus Haji Big Love Edit)3:05
French 2-Track CD single[8]
No.TitleLength
1."Rain"3:43
2."Rain" (Acoustic Version)3:04
French 4-Track CD single[9]
No.TitleLength
1."Rain"3:43
2."Poker Face" (Radio 1 Live Lounge Session)3:09
3."Rain" (Seamus Haji Big Love Edit)3:05
4."Rain" (Benny Benassi Remix)6:10
Italian CD single[10]
No.TitleLength
1."Rain" (Benny Benassi Edit)3:29
2."Rain" (Seamus Haji Big Love Edit)3:08
3."Rain" (Diamenco Torti Edit)3:36
4."Rain" (Benny Benassi Remix)6:10
5."Rain" (Benny Benassi Dub)6:13
6."Rain" (Seamus Haji Big Love Remix)8:25
7."Rain" (Diamenco Torti Extended Remix)6:17
8."Rain" (Magistrates Remix)4:34
9."Rain" (Radio Edit)3:26
UK Digital Download[3]
No.TitleLength
1."Rain"3:43
2."Rain" (Benny Benassi Remix)6:10
3."Rain" (Seamus Haji Remix)5:43
4."Rain" (Acoustic Version)3:04

Charts

The single was released on 23 November 2009 in the United Kingdom in both digital and physical formats. The single peaked at #72 on the UK Singles Chart, making this Mika's lowest charting UK single. Casablanca Records believed this was due to low promotional airplay on UK Radio. The song was received better in continental Europe, where it peaked at #4 in Italy, being certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.[11] It also peaked inside the Top 40 in the Netherlands and Spain, and debuted at #8 in Wallonia. The single debuted at #5 in French Singles Chart and peaked #16 in Digital Singles Chart.

Credits


gollark: I'm not even sure I could do that, unless I did.
gollark: You're lying like a lying liar who lies.
gollark: Obviously, because Olivia did #2.
gollark: Collaborations actually aren't unreasonable entirely.
gollark: No, I did.

References
  1. Business Wire (14 June 2009). "Global Pop Phenomenon, MIKA, Releases Sophomore Album, WE ARE GOLDEN, 22 September", Business Wire. Retrieved on 2009-07-14.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 July 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. http://www.mikasounds.com/news/view/702/Mika_Set_To_Rain_Supreme
  4. Rain Songfacts
  5. Allen, Matt (1 June 2009). "Exclusive: Mika's Second Coming Archived 18 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine", Q magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-12.
  6. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/singlesreviews/a187705/mika-rain.html
  7. Heather Phares review Mika's Rain
  8. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rain-2-Track-Mika/dp/B002UZ2FSI/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326103711&sr=1-2
  9. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rain-TRACK-Single-incl-Poker/dp/B003626SMS/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1326103711&sr=1-5
  10. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/B0030C0V72/ref=dp_otherviews_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&img=1
  11. "Certificazioni Download FIMI" (PDF) (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  12. "The ARIA Report - Week Commencing 30 November 2009 - Issue #1031" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association / Pandora.nla.gov.au. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  13. "Ultratop.be – Mika – Rain" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  14. "Ultratop.be – Mika – Rain" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  15. "Mika – Chart Search" Billboard European Hot 100 Singles for Mika. (subscription required)
  16. "Lescharts.com – Mika – Rain" (in French). Les classement single.
  17. "Offiziellecharts.de – Mika – Rain". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  18. IFPI Greek Singles Chart
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. "Italiancharts.com – Mika – Rain". Top Digital Download.
  21. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mika" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  22. http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparadask/index.php?a=tyden&hitparada=18&tyden=1945&sec=7a19e4bc3b2560e999757a97aa12c1a0
  23. "Spanishcharts.com – Mika – Rain" Canciones Top 50.
  24. "Swisscharts.com – Mika – Rain". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. UK Top 100 Singles Chart
  26. "Italian single certifications – Mika – Rain" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Rain" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
  27. "Rapports Annuels 2009". Ultratop. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  28. "Airplay Detection Tophit 200 Yearly – 2009". Tophit. Archived from the original on 28 March 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  29. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2010
  30. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2010
  31. https://web.archive.org/web/20140111100413/http://www.snepmusique.com/fr/pag-259376-Classements-Annuels.html?year=2010
  32. http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2010/european-hot-100-singles
  33. http://www.fimi.it/dett_ddmercato.php?id=73
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