Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande have seen some shit. So really, who better to give us a song about overcoming it all? Right now, we could really use it. Grande in particular has been getting us through a worldwide lockdown to slow the spread of the coronavirus, gifting us with Disney performances and singles with Justin Bieber. Now, after much teasing, she and Lady Gaga have released their new single "Rain On Me," which is a space for the two women to declare loud and proud that they've been through hell and back and returned stronger — and they have the music video to prove it.
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Through the Manchester bombing in 2017 and the death of Mac Miller a year later, Grande has the literal scars to show her struggle. Lady Gaga has suffered from chronic pain, as seen in her Netflix documentary. She also split from fiancé Christian Carino at the end of 2019.
“This is about an analogy of tears being the rain," Gaga told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about the single. "And you know what it’s also a metaphor for, is the amount of drinking that I was doing to numb myself. I’d rather be dry. I’d rather not be drinking, but I haven’t died yet. I’m still alive. Rain on me. Okay, I’m going to keep on drinking. This song has many layers."
"It's coming down on me/Water like misery/It's coming down on me/I'm ready, rain on me," Gaga sings in the song.
Grande's section of the song in particular seems to be in response to her past music. In "No Tears Left To Cry," she sings about being emptied of her sadness. However, in "Rain On Me" she realizes how necessary it is to let her emotions continue to flow.
"Gotta live my truth, not keep it bottled in/So I don't lose my mind, baby, yeah," she sings, before the pair launch into the chorus:
"I'd rather be dry, but at least I'm alive/Rain on me, rain, rain."
In the music video, the pair get creative, swapping hairstyles and aesthetics back and forth as they dance along to the track. Who knew Ariana Grande could look like that?
"Rain On Me" is out now.