Rare

"Rare" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani. It is the 12th track on her 3rd album, This Is What The Truth Feels Like. it was released on March 18, 2016, along with the rest of This Is What the Truth Feels Like by Interscope Records. The track was written by Stefani, Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels, and Greg Kurstin; Kurstin was the track's sole producer.

"Rare" is an electropop and folk pop influenced song and serves as the album's closing track. Lyrically, the song discusses finding love when all hope was lost. Several media outlets speculated that "Rare" was written about Stefani's boyfriend Blake Shelton and his ex-wife Miranda Lambert. "Rare" received generally favorable reviews from music critics, some of which called the song "glamorous" and predicted that it would become a future "summer hit". Musically, "Rare" is an electropop and folk pop influenced ballad, that has "an acoustic guitar and galloping beat".[16] Lyrically, "Rare" discusses finding love in the "perfect" man, presumably Shelton.[17] Patrick Ryan of USA Today called "Rare" an "outright declaration of love for Shelton", summarizing the song as "a rare moment of vulnerability for the singer who, for the most part, keeps her emotions close to her vest."[18] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly declared the song a "sweetly smitten confessional".[19] Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times described the lyrics as "her shock to have found someone this late in the game",[20] while Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe felt that the lyrics observe "that 'only a stupid girl' would let the 'perfect' man go."[17]

After the release of This Is What the Truth Feels Like, several news outlets speculated that the lyrics of "Rare" may be written about Shelton's ex-wife, Miranda Lambert.[21] An article from Fox News reported that "the lyrics appear to be a slam at Lambert for letting Shelton go", particularly "You're rare / And only a stupid girl would let it go".[14] Andrew Leung of Music Mic, who described the song as "a mid-tempo love ballad", also thought that the same lyrics pointed towards Lambert.[22] Lauren DuBois of EnStars stated that "the song seems to allege that [Lambert] was the one who walked away from the relationship she had with Shelton, not the other way around."[23] Gossip website Hollywoodlife.com stated that in the song, Stefani praises Shelton but "totally disses Lambert". "Rare" received generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics. Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times enjoyed the closing track, calling it "tender".[20] Leah Greenblatt, writing for Entertainment Weekly, said that Stefani "sound[s] like the world's most glamorous high school sophomore, passing mash notes after study hall."[19] USA Today's Patrick Ryan praised "Rare" and declared the track "one dance remix away from being a certifiable summer smash."[18] Stephen Sears of Idolator called the track "elegant and even-keeled" and said Stefani "[will] buck modern radio" with "Rare".[16] Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic praised the song and called it an "album-closing ode to joy", further stating the track "uses its star's distinctive voice for moments of multi-tracked beauty or play; often there's a lovely sensation of floating upwards."[25] As the album's closing track, Nicholaus James Jodlowski of Reporter appreciated the "vulnerable side of Stefani" and noted how it slows the album's pace down.[26] However, Chuck Campbell of Go Knoxville gave the song a negative review, describing Stefani's vocals as "a pale facsimile of Ariana Grande".

Lyrics
You're a sapphire, you're a rolling stone You're a sparkle in a deep black hole You're like moon shine, when the curtains close You're my answer, one that no one knows

And I can't believe it, that you even exist You know I would be dumb to give perfection up How can I accept it, that this is so precious? You know I would be dumb to give perfection up

You're rare And I'm loving every second of it, don't you know? You're rare And only a stupid girl would let you go You're so good and you don't even know it You're so good and you don't even know You're rare And only a stupid girl would let you go, don't you know?

I am broken, I am insecure Complicated, oh yeah that's for sure I feel worthless, I've been hurt so bad I get nervous you won't love me back

And I can't believe it, that you even exist You know I would be dumb to give perfection up How can I accept it, that this is so precious? You know I would be dumb to give perfection up

You're rare And I'm loving every second of it, don't you know? You're rare And only a stupid girl would let you go You're so good and you don't even know it You're so good and you don't even know You're rare And only a stupid girl would let you go, don't you know?

Do you really think you wanna make some new memories? With me? Do you really think you wanna make some new memories? With me? Do you really think you wanna make some new memories? With me? Do you really think you wanna make some new memories? With me?

You're rare And I'm loving every second of it, don't you know? You're rare And only a stupid girl would let you go You're so good and you don't even know it You're so good and you don't even know You're rare And only a stupid girl would let you go You're rare And only a stupid girl would let you go You're rare And only a stupid girl would let you go, don't you know?