Rare

Album: This Is What The Truth Feels Like (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This electropop folk song finds Gwen Stefani declaring her love for Blake Shelton. It was one of several tracks on This Is What The Truth Feels Like that addresses the No Doubt songstress' relationship with the country star following her split from Gavin Rossdale.
  • Stefani wrote the song with Selena Gomez songwriters Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels plus Adele producer Greg Kurstin. Asked by Entertainment Weekly what the sessions were like, the No Doubt singer replied: "When I started this, I walked into the studio and said, 'I don't care about a single. I'm doing this to get this stuff out. I want it to be the truth.' So when we started writing, it was a lot of journal stuff that I had worked on. Every record was written around emotion."
  • When Shelton declared on Twitter that "Rare" was his favorite song on the album, Stefani tweeted back "Wonder who that one is about?"

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Reverend Horton Heat

Reverend Horton HeatSongwriter Interviews

The Reverend rants on psychobilly and the egghead academics he bashes in one of his more popular songs.

Maxi Priest

Maxi PriestSongwriter Interviews

The British reggae legend tells the story of his #1 hit "Close To You," talks about his groundbreaking Shabba Ranks collaboration "Housecall," and discusses his latest project with Robin Trower.

David Paich of Toto

David Paich of TotoSongwriter Interviews

Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket

Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet SprocketSongwriter Interviews

The "All I Want" singer went through a long depression, playing some shows when he didn't want to be alive.

Evolution Of The Prince Symbol

Evolution Of The Prince SymbolSong Writing

The evolution of the symbol that was Prince's name from 1993-2000.

Dean Pitchford

Dean PitchfordSongwriter Interviews

Dean wrote the screenplay and lyrics to all the songs in Footloose. His other hits include "Fame" and "All The Man That I Need."