"Rain" is a single by American singer-songwriter Madonna. It was the fifth single release (fourth in U.S.) from her fifth studio album Erotica. It was released as the final American single on July 17, 1993 and on July 25, 1993 in the United Kingdom.

Song information

Released in the summer of 1993, "Rain" received considerable airplay in the US and peaked at #14 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. This was a noticeable jump from the preceding single ("Bad Girl") which had peaked at #36. In Australia it was a big success, peaking within the top five, and is one of five Madonna songs that have spent twenty weeks or more on the charts.
For the UK release, "Open Your Heart" was included as the b-side due to it being used in a Peugeot car commercial at the time. It peaked at number 7 on the charts, selling 130,771 copies. "Rain" is also featured on Something to Remember, Madonna's ballads collection, but not on 2001's GHV2 or 2009's Celebration.

The song was performed during the Girlie Show Tour in 1993, and was used as a video interlude remixed with The Eurythmics' "Here Comes The Rain Again" on her 2008 Sticky & Sweet Tour.

Music video

170x|left|thumb|Madonna in the "Rain" music video
The video, directed by Mark Romanek, was set on a back stage and was filmed from May 16-19, 1993 at a Santa Monica Airport hangar in Santa Monica, California. Contrary to popular belief, the director did not use a filter for the color effect; the video was shot entirely in black and white and was hand-painted, frame by frame, to produce the color effect seen in the video. The video won two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography. On Slant Magazine's 100 Greatest Music Videos it was ranked #70.

• Director: Mark Romanek

• Producer: Krista Montagna

• Director of Photography: Harris Savides

• Editors: John Murray, Jim Haygood

• Production Company: Satellite Films

• Cast:

• *Japanese Director: Ryuichi Sakamoto

• Props shown:

• *Lockheed Lounge by Marc Newson

• *Arriflex 535 camera

• * NeXTstation computers

Tracklisting and formats

• USA 7" Vinyl / Cassette / CD Single

• "Rain" (Radio Remix)

• "Waiting" (Album Version)

• USA 12" Vinyl / Cassette Maxi / CD Maxi Single

• "Rain" (Radio Remix)

• "Waiting" (Remix)

• "Up Down Suite" (Previously Unreleased) ("Goodbye to Innocence" Extended Dub)

• "Rain" (Album Version)

• UK 12" Vinyl / CD Single

• "Rain" (Radio Remix)

• "Open Your Heart" (Album Version)

• "Up Down Suite" (Previously Unreleased)

• German CD Single

• "Rain" (Remix Edit, 4.17)

• "Fever" (Edit One, 4.03)

• "Rain" (Radio Remix, 4.33)

• "Up Down Suite" (Previously Unreleased, 12.13)

• EP

• "Rain" (Radio Remix)

• "Waiting" (Remix)

• "Up Down Suite"

• "Rain" (Album Version)

• "Bad Girl" (Extended Mix)

• "Fever" (Extended 12")

• "Fever" (Shep's Remedy Club)

• "Fever" (Murk Boys Miami Dub)

• "Fever" (Oscar G's Dope Mix)

• "Rain" (Video Edit)

Official Versions

• "Rain" (Album Version) - 5:25

• "Rain" (Video Edit) - 4:31

• "Rain" (Radio Remix) - 4:33

• "Rain" (Remix Edit) - 4:17

Charts

Cover versions

• The 2000 compilation Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 2. contains a cover of the song by British gothic rock band Rosetta Stone.

• A hi-NRG/eurodance cover by Who's That Girl was released during the 2000s through Almighty Records. An audio sample can be heard on the official Almighty Records website.