A Year Without Rain | ||||
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Studio album by Selena Gomez & the Scene | ||||
Released | September 21, 2010 | |||
Recorded | April–August 2010 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 34:39 | |||
Label | Hollywood | |||
Producer |
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Selena Gomez & the Scene chronology | ||||
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Deluxe edition cover | ||||
Singles from A Year Without Rain | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
About.com | |
Allmusic | |
Billboard | 77/100 |
musicOMH | |
Portrait Magazine | positive |
Wairarapa Times-Age | |
The Washington Post | mixed |
A Year Without Rain is the second studio album by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene. The album was released on September 21, 2010 via Hollywood Records. For songwriting, staffwriters were hired to write all the lyrics. The band once again worked with writers and producers from their debut, Kiss & Tell such as Rock Mafia duo Tim James and Antonina Armato, as well as Fefe Dobson, Toby Gad, and Superspy.
New contributions came from Kevin Rudolf, Katy Perry, Jonas Jeberg and RedOne among others. Due to the success of their breakout hit, "Naturally", the album draws mainly from dance-pop and synthpop, rather than the pop rock and electronic rock sound of Kiss & Tell. While making use of the Auto-Tune effect, the album also infuses influences of several other genres, including dancehall and Eurodance, among others. According to Gomez, most of the songs on the album are dedicated to the fans, while she wanted content with more melodies and empowering lyrics.
The album has been given mixed to positive reviews and critics noting it as an improvement from the band's debut album. A Year Without Rain debuted in the United States at number four, selling 66,000 copies in its first week. The album has so far spawned two top forty singles in the United States, lead single, "Round & Round", and the title track "A Year Without Rain". In January 2011, the album was certified Gold by RIAA making it the band's second gold selling album.