Rare (Selena Gomez song)

"Rare" is a song by American singer Selena Gomez from her third studio album of the same name (2020). It was released alongside the album as the third and final single off of its 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 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. 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 electropop song. In terms of music notation, "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": "I have always loved that song, and I always wanted it to be the title of the record. And I felt like it was a great complement to where I left off with my other singles, because it is honest and raw, and basically saying, "I know I don't have it all, I’m not perfect, but I know that I deserve great, and I deserve love, and I deserve all of it, self-love." It's just one of those things where it's a confidence thing, but without being cocky."

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 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
 * 1) "Rare" – 3:40
 * Digital download – Alexander 23 edit


 * 1) "Rare" (Alexander 23 edit) – 3:48


 * Digital download – Live from The Village Studio


 * 1) "Rare" (Live from The Village Studio) – 3:51

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

 * Selena Gomez – lead vocals, backing vocals, songwriting
 * Madison Love – songwriting, backing vocals
 * Brett McLaughlin – songwriting
 * Sir Nolan – songwriting, production, vocal production, engineering, instrumentation
 * 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