"It Will Rain" is a song by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It was released on September 27, 2011 by Atlantic Records as the lead single and theme song from the soundtrack to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1. Mars composed the song with his production team the Smeezingtons. It was partially written during the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour in the United States and finished after the singer watched an early version of the movie which inspired him. The soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 was a much expected release and Mars's song was chosen as the lead single by the album's executive producer, Alexandra Patsavas, to promote it. Musically, "It Will Rain" is a pop and pop-soul ballad. Its lyrics tell the agony and torment of a heartbreak and its various stages.
The song received mixed feedback from music critics who praised the vocals, but criticized the over-dramatization of the song. It drew comparisons to Mars's "Grenade" (2010) and "Wild Horses" (1971) by The Rolling Stones. It was commercially successful reaching the top of the charts in the Mainstream Top 40 of the United States, South Korea International Singles and Venezuela Pop/Rock General, number two in New Zealand and top-five in many markets. It reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number five on the Canadian Hot 100. It was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and seven times platinum by Music Canada (MC). It also received a four times platinum certification by the Recorded Music NZ (RMNZ).
The music video, directed by Phil Pinto and Mars, prominently features the singer going through different emotions such as love and anger with his lover as they struggle through a break-up. The video is interpolated with footage from the film Breaking Dawn: Part 1, the fourth movie in the Twilight saga. Mars has performed the song on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and on The X Factor USA. He also promoted it during The Doo-Wops & Hooligans Tour (2010–12) and The Moonshine Jungle Tour (2013–14) interpolated with "If I Knew" (2012). It was also part of the 24K Magic World Tour (2017–18) interpolated with B.o.B and Mars's "Nothin' On You" (2009) and performed on the Bruno Mars Live (2022-24). It has been covered by some artists, including Austin Mahone, Pia Mia and Boyce Avenue on The Voice.
Background Bruno Mars started writing the song while he was on the Hooligans in Wondaland Tour, "I was just writing to write. I had my guitar with me on tour when I was in the States. I never finished it", he explained. Afterwards he got a call to provide something to the soundtrack, the singer saw some scenes of "Breaking Dawn" and thought to himself "that song I started might be perfect for this". He admitted to have the tune halfway done before visualizing an early cut of the film and, inspired by its characters, put together the finishing touches. In an interview with Billboard, he went on detail "I just had this melody in my head and basically laid it down after I saw the film." He had to watch "most of the movie" to feel "the vibe", as well as its direction.
At the time of the Billboard interview, on September 23, 2011, Mars was unaware of the placement of his song in the movie, he hopefully said "As long as it's not after the credits. I hope it's in a good (scene)!". Later, on November 7, 2011, the singer "hinted" that the single might feature in one of the movie's most pivotal scenes. Before the release of the song, Mars described it as having the same vein as the movies, "the 'Twilight' movies for me (are) a love story. But it's a dark love story", therefore the track is "the darker side of love." He explained that "It Will Rain" is just to be featured on the "Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn" soundtrack and not his second studio album, "I did this for the 'Twilight' soundtrack, then this is for the 'Twilight' soundtrack".
Alexandra Patsavas, music supervisor for the Twilight films, explained the choice of Mars was due to the wedding, in which Part 1 is centered, "who more appropriate than Bruno Mars to write a timeless, classic wedding song?" "It Will Rain" is the third song featured in the end credits of the franchise's fourth movie, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.
Production and release "It Will Rain" was written and produced by Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine, whom are collectively known as the Smeezingtons. Engineering for "It Will Rain" took place at the Levcon Studios, while the mixing was done at Larrabee Sound Studios, both in Los Angeles, California. Along with the song's composition, Levine also engineered the track. Phredley Brown did the arrangement of the strings, Oscar Hidalgo played the bass, Andrew Duckles was responsible for the viola, Charlie Bisharat played the violin with Josefina Vergara, and Suzie Katayama conducted the orchestra. The mixing team included Manny Marroquin, Chris Galland and Erik Madrid, the latter two served as assistants. It was mastered by Stephen Marcussen at Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California.
"It Will Rain" was first made available worldwide, excepted in the United Kingdom, as an iTunes exclusive via digital download on September 27, 2011 by Atlantic Records. On the same day, the single could be listened on Mars official website. Atlantic Records sent the track to American contemporary hit radios playlists on October 4, 2011. On October 10, 2011 the single was issued for radio airplay in Italy by Warner Music Group. On October 28, 2011, the song was released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as a CD single by Elektra Records and in the United Kingdom via digital download on October 31, 2011.
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"It Will Rain" is a pop and pop-soul ballad. Its instrumentation is reminiscent of "Wild Horses" (1971) by The Rolling Stones and Mars's "Grenade" (2010). The song's main structure is backed by piano, percussion that resembles an 80's drum track, backup vocals, a "digital echo" on Mars's voice and "sweeping strings". It starts with a piano chord in a menacing, dissonant crescendo with "solemn chord progression" and "haunting backup vocals". Suddenly, the a "light simple piano riff" starts, accompanied by a chorus.
"It Will Rain" was composed in a key of D major with a tempo of 72 beats per minute. Lyrically, the record shows the agony and torment of a heartbreak. It describes the universal emotional pain of relationship bonds like morphine ("If you ever leave me, baby / leave some morphine at my door"), romantic attachment and behavioral addiction. It shows the results of being ripped apart that leads to depression. Several publications noticed the over-dramatization of the lyrics.
Simon Vozick-Levinson of the Rolling Stone and Tris McCall from Nj.com dubbed "It Will Rain" as Mars's next radio hit. Mars's vocals have been highly praised, with Billboard writing "pitch-perfect vocals" while PopDust felt that "it shouldn't be surprising that he sings this well." Upon the single release, Mars started regretting the key he wrote the song in. In 2012, on the Billboard Cover Story, the artist revealed his displeasure and annoyance with the final mix of his vocals on the song, and whenever the song was playing he had to "turn off the radio" as he "felt like a mosquito singing."
Reception "It Will Rain" received generally mixed reviews. Billboard gave the song a 4 out of 5 stars, denoting that the song explores "the darker insecurities first seen in..."Grenade"". Billboard compared the song's piano riff to the ones used by the artist himself, while the percussion and chord progression was reminiscent of "OneRepublic's oeuvre more than Mars' sunny hits". The review concluded with positive feedback for the singer's "pitch-perfect vocals and his knack for warbling about women troubles, the man once again delivers."
In a mixed review, HitFix's Melinda Newman felt the recording "has the dated feel of a song from the '80s, perhaps because of the drum track." The "few chord changes" reminded her of "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones. Newman also said that "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins would be a more suitable choice for the soundtrack than "It Will Rain". Similarly, Simon Vozick-Levinson of Rolling Stone also drew a comparison to "Wild Horses" by The Rolling Stones, feeling an "overheated romantic dialogue" and "similarly melodramatic" as in "Grenade", adding that the "real point is the song's desperately yearning melody." Vozick-Levinson ranked the single three out of five stars. PopDust compared the recording to "Grenade", "yet somehow...more dramatic". However, the song was "nothing if not competent" and Mars's vocals were praised. It was Mars's fourth-best single by that time if released "with no tie-in". The reviewer assured that the singer has done better in "dramatic and romantic" and by comparison it was "a gentle drizzle that comes and goes".
On the other hand, Tris McCall from NJ.com criticized the track for its "radio-friendliness", which is evident "from the digital echo on his voice to the sudden beat drop at the beginning of the second verse". Nevertheless, McCall admitted that "It Will Rain" was "another monster hit", and it had "genuine grit and emotional heft", notwithstanding, hard to find since it was "bathe[d]... in strings and marinate[d]... in backing vocals". Dallas Observers Shahryar Rivzi gave a harsh critique of the recording saying that it was an "accessible way to present unrealistic ideas about romance". Its lyrics "present Bruno as either a vampire or a werewolf" and the "iffy drug reference" ("If you ever leave me, baby / leave some morphine at my door.") is a "relatively "safe" reference to drugs" and Mars "meant to ease the pain of losing the subject instead of making the user "realize"." Rivzi continued its criticism to the lyrics, "I'll pick up these broken pieces till I'm bleeding", resembles the "masochism" in "Grenade".
At the 2013 ASCAP Pop Music Awards it was one of the winners of Most Performed Songs. "It Will Rain" was nominated for Choice Music: Single by a Male Artist at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards.
Commercial performance In the United States, "It Will Rain" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 28. It is Mars's first soundtrack single to chart on the Hot 100. "It Will Rain" also entered at number 19 on the Adult Top 40 top twenty chart, eventually peaking at number three. It gradually climbed up the Hot 100 and peaked at number three. "It Will Rain" was successful on the Billboard pop charts, reaching number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. It placed at number 26 on the year-end ranking for Billboard Hot 100 in 2012. In Canada, "It Will Rain" was able to peak at number five on the Canadian Hot 100. Not only was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), but it was also certified seven times platinum by Music Canada (MC).
In Australia, "It Will Rain" entered at number 22 on the ARIA Charts, and reached its peak of number 14 nine weeks after its debut, staying there for one week in total. It gradually descended down the charts, present within the top 50 for a total of 17 weeks. It was certified twice platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 140,000 copies of the single. At the year-end tabulation, the song ranked at number 87 on the Singles chart. In New Zealand, "It Will Rain" debuted at number 28, it ascended the charts reaching the second spot of the chart, being kept of the first place by Rihanna and Calvin Harris' "We Found Love". The single gradually descended down the charts and was present for a total of 19 weeks. Recorded Music NZ (RNMZ) awarded the track a fourth platinum plaque.