"A Year Without Rain" | ||||||||
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Single by Selena Gomez & the Scene | ||||||||
from the album A Year Without Rain | ||||||||
Released | September 7, 2010 | |||||||
Format | Digital download, CD single | |||||||
Recorded | April 2010 | |||||||
Genre | Dance-pop, synthpop | |||||||
Length | 3:54 | |||||||
Label | Hollywood | |||||||
Writer(s) | ||||||||
Producer(s) | Toby Gad | |||||||
Selena Gomez & the Scene singles chronology | ||||||||
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"A Year Without Rain" is a song by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene. It was written by Lindy Robbins and Toby Gad, with the latter also producing the song. The song was released on September 7, 2010 as the second and final single from the band's second album of the same name. A Spanish-language version of the song was also recorded, entitled "Un Año Sin Lluvia" [un ˈaɲo siɲ ˈʎuβja]. Gomez titled the album for the song because she wanted to base all the other songs around it. Musically, the song is a synthpop ballad with a disco beat. In its lyrics, the song's protagonist compares yearning for her love to a year without rain.
Music critics gave the song positive reviews, complimenting it as a dance ballad and noting Gomez's vocal maturity. "A Year Without Rain" became the band's third consecutive top forty single in the United States and Canada. It also charted in the lower regions of numerous European charts. The song's accompanying music video, directed by Chris Dooley and shot on-site in Lucerne Valley, California features Gomez frolicking in the desert surrounded by a swarm of photographs of her and her love interest, before they meet during a rainstorm. The band performed the song a number of times via live performances, including on televised programs such as Good Morning America, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the 37th Annual People's Choice Awards.
In early 2010, a demo of the song, performed by singer RaVaughn leaked online. Becky Bain of Idolator called the song a "mature dance track" and said that it "wouldn’t entirely be out of place on a Sophie Ellis-Bextor album." It seems that it was first made for Leona Lewis. In an interview with MTV News, Gomez said that "A Year Without Rain" was the first song she recorded for the album. She also explained why she named the album for the song, commenting, "I feel like that song has a lot of meaning, and it also kind of was the start of what I wanted to base all the other songs around." A Spanish-language version of the song titled "Un Año Sin Ver Lluvia" was released through the iTunes Store on October 26, 2010.