Originally written for

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

, "Everytime It Rains" is the fourth single released from Swedish band Ace of Base's album ''

Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

'' in the UK, featured on a re-release of the album. The song was written by

Rick Nowels Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is an American songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and arranger. He has co-written and co-produced over 90 hit singles with multiple artists Billy Steinberg William Endfield Steinberg (born February 26, 1950) is an American songwriter. He achieved his greatest success in the 1980s with songwriting partner Tom Kelly; together they wrote or co-wrote the No. 1 hits " Like a Virgin" by Madonna (1984), ...

and

Maria Vidal Maria Elena Vidal (born August 1, 1960) is an American singer songwriter. She is known for her hit single "Body Rock", which reached No. 8 on the US Dance Charts, No. 48 on the Hot 100, No. 5 on the Springbok Charts in South Africa, and No. 11 i ...

. The single peaked at number 22 in the UK in April 1999. It was also remixed for American audiences and promotionally released as a lead single for their ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' record in April 2000. The single was not released commercially in the United States.

Background

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

of Arista Records, who had suggested the band cover "Don't Turn Around" for '' The Sign'', requested for

Malin Berggren Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren (born 31 October 1970) is a Swedish singer-songwriter, best known as a former member of the pop music band Ace of Base. Having been interested and involved in music since her childhood, she formed the band in 1987, ...

to record Everytime It Rains for Cruel Summer, as she had no solo songs on the album. Jenny Berggren initially recorded the track when Malin, looking to take a secondary role in the band, ignored Davis's demands. According to

Jonas Berggren Jonas Petter Berggren (born 21 March 1967) is a Swedish musician and singer-songwriter and record producer, also known as Joker. He started writing songs when he was seven, and continues to write for the Swedish band Ace of Base, which he is a ...

, once Davis found out that the track had not been recorded by the vocalist of his choosing as instructed, he called Malin and cautioned her regarding Ace of Base's future in the Americas. Linn promptly flew to

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

to record her vocals. However, in continued protest, she only allowed for one take. This one vocal take was used for the released version. "She was sad", Jonas Berggren wrote to fans about the incident in February 2011. "And you can hear she didn't like it ..it was after that incident that she decided she didn't want to be involved in the music industry anymore."

Critical reception

Quentin Harrison of ''Albumism'' described Linn's vocal performance in the song as "gorgeous" in his retrospective review of ''

''.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Bryan Buss called it "poetic". David Browne from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' wrote that "Everytime It Rains" is "the best song

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

never recorded." Gary Shipes from ''

The Stuart News TCPalm is the digital news site for Treasure Coast Newspapers, the largest daily news operation on the Treasure Coast of southeastern Florida. The region encompasses three coastal counties: Martin County, St. Lucie County and Indian River Coun ...

'' noted that "the gorgeous ballad" "oozes maturity and confidence". He added that the song could send Ace of Base scurrying to pop glory again."

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Everytime It Rains" (radio edit) # "Everytime It Rains" (Soul Poets club mix) # "Travel to Romantis" (Wolf mix) UK CD2 # "Everytime It Rains" (radio edit) # "Into the Night of Blue" # "

Living in Danger "Living in Danger" is a song recorded by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in October 1994 by Arista and Mega as the seventh and final single from the group's debut album, '' Happy Nation (U.S. version)'' and fourth single from their A ...

" (New Buddha version) US cassette single # "Everytime It Rains" (radio edit) # "Everytime It Rains" (Soul Poets club mix)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1998 songs 1999 singles Ace of Base songs London Records singles Mega Records singles Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Cutfather & Joe Songs written by Billy Steinberg Songs written by Maria Vidal Songs written by Rick Nowels