Double Rainbow (song)

"Double Rainbow" is a song recorded by Katy Perry for her fourth studio album, Prism (2013). It is included as the penultimate track on the album's standard edition. Having come up with its title during a yoga class, Perry wrote the song with Sia Furler and Greg Kurstin, who also produced it. The song references meeting someone and living a "magical moment" with that person.

Upon its release, "Double Rainbow" received polarized reviews from contemporary music critics, who were ambivalent towards its slow musical tempo and its placement on the Prism track listing. The release of the album also prompted strong digital downloads of its album tracks, including "Double Rainbow", who debuted at number 111 on the Gaon Download Chart with sales exceeding 1,838.^[1]

Background and composition

During an April 2013 interview with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Perry revealed that she had recently thought about the title "Double Rainbow" in a yoga class. She came back to the studio and said she wanted to record a track with that title.^[2] The song shares its title with a 2010 viral video, posted on YouTube by Paul "Bear" Vasquez.^[3] During a preview event for Prism, Perry revealed to industry insiders that writing and recording this track "allowed her to 'dump' pent-up emotions and gets [sic] things off her chest".^[4]

Perry co-wrote "Double Rainbow" with Greg Kurstin and Sia Furler. Kurstin produced the song and handled its guitar, keyboards, and programming. Audio engineering was helmed by Kurstin and Jesse Shatkin at Echo Studio, located in Los Angeles, California, with additional engineering handled by Alex Pasco. The final task of audio mixing was done by Manny Marroquin, who was assisted by Chris Galland and Delbert Bowers, at the Larrabee Sound Studios, located in Universal City, California.^[5]

Written in the key of C major,^[6] "Double Rainbow" is a synth-driven ballad,^[7] that is styled in the genre of pop.^[8] It has a length of three minutes and fifty-one seconds (3:51).^[9] Set in a 4/4 time signature at a moderate tempo of 96 beats per minute, the song carries a chord progression of C5—Gsus4—Am7—Fsus2. The tonal range spans from G₃ to G₆.^[6] Its melody line is resemblant of that of "Somewhere Only We Know" by band Keane.^[10] Lyrically, it is about "finding someone" and living a "rare, magical moment" with that person.^[11]

Critical reception

Sia Furler (pictured) co-wrote the song.

Upon the release of Prism, "Double Rainbow" garnered as lackluster by many reviews from contemporary music critics, who criticized its tempo and seriousness, while others dismissed its placement on the album tracklisting. In a negative review, John Walker from MTV Buzzworthy criticized the song as a whole and its title: "First, Katy names it after a meme ... that is more than three years old, [plus,] the song isn't even goofy to match the tone of the aforementioned viral video; it's vurrry [sic] serious, down-tempo, and ridiculously earnest". He went on to deem it a "bizarre standout" on Prism for "all the wrong reasons".^[12] Sam Lansky from Idolator described the track as "more of a whimper than a roar" and "curiously tepid", but wrote that its chorus was memorable.^[13]

Marah Eakin from The A.V. Club classified it as "lackluster" and its lyrics as "saccharine".^[7] Jason Lipshutz from Billboard classified the song as the "most precise pop track" on the album, commenting that in it, Perry sounds "supremely comfortable".^[14] HitFix's Melinda Newman described Perry's voice in the song as "soaring".^[15] Philip Matusavage from musicOMH described the song as "generic fare", though he recognized "Double Rainbow" as being the best of the Prism tracks that addressed love.^[16]

Chris Bosman from Consequence of Sound criticized its placement on the album tracklisting and thought that, along with "By the Grace of God", it "would stand out more if they hadn't been forced to rub elbows, thus stealing momentum and impact from each other".^[17] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine deemed it "pretty", though he wrote that it "would be easier to appreciate if it wasn't surrounded by even more saccharine material", referring to the album's last half.^[18] Nico Lang from Salon listed the song lyrics "'Cause I understand you / We see eye-to-eye / Like a double rainbow in the sky / And wherever you go, so will I / Cause a double rainbow is hard to find" among what he considered to be 2013's "17 most jaw-droppingly terrible lyrics". He commented: "Is Katy Perry aware that rainbows don't have eyes?"^[19]

Live performances

Perry performed "Double Rainbow" during The Prismatic World Tour on selected dates in Europe leg.

Credits and personnel

Recording places

• Recorded and engineered at Echo Studio (Los Angeles, California);
• Mixed at Larrabee Sound Studios (Universal City, California).

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Prism, Capitol Records.^[5]

Charts

Upon the release of Prism—on the week ending 26 October 2013—"Double Rainbow" debuted at number 111 on the Gaon Download Chart with sales exceeding 1,838.^[1]

References