Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande – ‘Rain On Me’

29 May 2020

Earlier in May 2020 the UK had two number ones that were charity records in response to the COVID pandemic. Neither of them made the Irish top fifty—and you can look them up online yourself to understand why—nor did we have any native COVID charity hits. Perhaps the closest we got was the chorus lyric of “I’d rather be dry but at least I’m alive” here in ‘Rain On Me’ – a relatable sentiment at any time but certainly more resonant when much of the population was simply trying to cope.

One of my highlights from the mini-revival in chart pop at the turn of 2020 was the return to form for Lady Gaga. ‘Stupid Love’ earlier that year was her best single since the fantastic ‘Just Dance’ a whole eleven years before. Since then Gaga had gone from the tedious techno-naffness of ‘Bad Romance’ to the melodramatic country-rock of ‘Shallow’, a decade-long project in building brand and hawking lore that left the quality of the music a distant consideration. ‘Rain On Me’ does the torch-song melodrama in the opening verse (“At least I showed up / You showed me nothing at all”) and the EDM banger in the chorus but also, crucially, adds the ‘Just Dance’ smarts and lightness of touch throughout. Where was this A-game Gaga during the meat dress era, you have to ask.

Ariana Grande is here too. Her trademark flutter gets lost beside the force of Gaga’s voice and personality, but no matter. This is where Lady Gaga reigns again.