Dance in the Rain (album)

Dance in the Rain is the fourth studio album by Australian singer and songwriter Ricki-Lee Coulter, released on 17 October 2014 by EMI Music Australia. Coulter began working on Dance in the Rain shortly after the completion of her previous album Fear & Freedom (2012). Recording and production took place in various places around the world over two years. Coulter was the executive producer of the album and collaborated with many songwriters, including Brian Kierulf, Brian Lee, David Schuler, Ilan Kidron, Stuart Crichton, Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers. Musically, Dance in the Rain incorporates styles of pop, dance, R&B and reggae.

For other uses, see Dancing in the Rain (disambiguation).
Dance in the Rain
Studio album by
Ricki-Lee Coulter
Released17 October 2014 (2014-10-17)
Genre
LabelEMI
Producer
  • Ricki-Lee Coulter
  • Stuart Crichton
Ricki-Lee Coulter chronology
Fear & Freedom
(2012)		 Dance in the Rain
(2014)
Singles from Dance in the Rain
  1. "All We Need Is Love"
    Released: 2 May 2014
  2. "Happy Ever After"
    Released: 11 July 2014
  3. "Giddyup"
    Released: 3 October 2014
  4. "Mirage"
    Released: 31 October 2014

The release of Dance in the Rain coincided with Coulter's appearance as a celebrity contestant on the fourteenth season of Dancing with the Stars Australia. The album debuted at number 14 on the ARIA Albums Chart and became Coulter's second top-twenty album. It was preceded by its first two singles "All We Need Is Love" and "Happy Ever After". The former peaked within the top-forty of the ARIA Singles Chart, while the latter only reached the top-seventy.

Background and development

Dance in the Rain is the follow-up to Coulter's third studio album Fear & Freedom (2012), which debuted at number seven on the ARIA Albums Chart and became her first top-ten album.[1] Coulter began working on Dance in the Rain shortly after the completion of Fear & Freedom.[2] As executive producer of Dance in the Rain, Coulter had full control over the songwriters and producers she wanted to work with.[2] She also spent her own money to travel overseas to write and record material for the album.[2] Coulter intended for Dance in the Rain to be an honest album and wanted to avoid following a certain sound and concept.[2] She worked on it for two years in various places around the world, including Bali, Brisbane, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Nashville, New York City, Paris, Sweden and Sydney.[2] Stuart Crichton co-produced a majority of the album's songs alongside Coulter.[3][4] Speaking of the inspiration behind Dance in the Rain, Coulter stated: "Life throws so much at you and I write about it all ... I figured I had a lot to say and there were so many things I wanted to express – and I managed to pull it all together for this one album."[5]

Music and lyrics

Musically, Dance in the Rain consists of pop, dance, R&B and reggae styles.[3][6] The album opens with the title track "Dance in the Rain", which was described by Subculture Media as "dramatic and self-affirming".[3] The second single and second song "Happy Ever After" is based on Coulter's relationship with her fiancé Rich Harrison.[7] The album's first single and third track "All We Need Is Love" is a pop and dance song about encouraging people to support one another and spread love.[8][9] The fourth track "In the Mood" was described by Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun as "anthemic and athletic".[10] The third single and fifth track "Giddyup" is an R&B[10] and pop[11] song, with synth stabs, claps, and electro beats.[12] Adams noted that "Giddyup" sees Coulter channeling "her inner Beyoncé",[10] while Subculture Media noted that it features "some assertive and intoxicating sass throughout".[3] Nic Kelly of Project U compared the song's production to Coulter's 2007 single "Can't Touch It",[12] while Adams called it "the new 'Can't Touch It'".[10]

The album's sixth track "Criminal" is a reggae-pop song that features Barbadian recording artist Shane Free and was co-written by Coulter, Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers.[13] The ninth track "Until We Drop" is a "club-ready" song that features dubstep stabs.[3][10] Subculture Media described the tenth song "Diva" as "bangin' club-ready",[3] while Adams viewed it as a "high energy" song "tailor-made for a sweaty gay club".[10] Adams also noted that the "pace slows" on the twelfth track on Dance in the Rain, titled "Catch Me If You Can", which he described as "William Orbit-esque".[10] The thirteenth track "Mirage" is an "emotive ballad" that was co-written by Coulter and Harrison.[3][7] Adams noted that the ballad features "a torrent of honest lyrics and tangible pain".[10]

Release and promotion

On 19 September 2014, Coulter announced the release date for Dance in the Rain and revealed the album cover.[3][6] Following the announcement, Dance in the Rain was made available to pre-order on the iTunes Store.[3][6] Three of the album's songs, "In the Mood", "Dance in the Rain" and "Mirage", were also made available to download alongside the iTunes pre-order.[3][14][15] Fans who pre-ordered Dance in the Rain on iTunes would instantly receive these songs for free.[5][15][16] Prior to the album's release, Coulter performed "Happy Ever After" on The X Factor Australia (23 September 2014),[17] "In the Mood" at Nickelodeon Australia's Slimefest concert in Sydney (26 September 2014) and on ABC's television special, Friday Night Crack-Up (10 October 2014).[18][19]

Dance in the Rain was released both digitally[20] and physically[21] on 17 October 2014, to coincide with Coulter's appearance as a celebrity contestant on the fourteenth season of Dancing with the Stars Australia.[7] The deluxe version was released simultaneously with the standard edition.[22] It was available to purchase on Coulter's official website and included a signed lyric sheet of the title track and four printed photos of Coulter.[22] On the day of the album's release, she performed "Giddyup" on Sunrise.[23] The following day, she performed "Giddyup" and "Diva" at the Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney.[24] Coulter performed the title track on The Morning Show on 23 October 2014.[25] In an interview with Switched On, Coulter revealed that she would be planning to embark on a concert tour in support of the album.[26] However, no concert tour was ever announced.

Singles

"All We Need Is Love" premiered on Australian radio stations on 14 April 2014 as the lead single from Dance in the Rain.[27] It was released as a digital extended play (EP) on 2 May 2014, which featured the B-side track "Happy Ever After" and an acoustic cover of Avicii's "Wake Me Up".[28] Upon its release, "All We Need Is Love" debuted and peaked at number 39 on the ARIA Singles Chart.[1] "Happy Ever After" was later released on 11 July 2014 as the album's second single, and peaked at number 65 on ARIA Singles Chart.[29][30] The third single "Giddyup" was released on 3 October 2014, but failed to impact the charts.[6][7] "Mirage" was released as the fourth single from Dance in the Rain on 31 October 2014, and also failed to chart.[31]

Reception

Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun awarded Dance in the Rain three-and-a-half stars out of five and called it a "confident" album that sounds like "confessions on a dance floor".[10] Adams also complimented its various musical styles and viewed the track "Mirage" as a "career and vocal highlight" for Coulter.[10] Michael James of Q News called the album "her strongest release yet" and wrote that it "successfully manages to combine a strong personal narrative with catchy upbeat dance tracks".[32] For the issue dated 27 October 2014, Dance in the Rain debuted at number 14 on the ARIA Albums Chart and became Coulter's second top-twenty album.[33] It also became her third album to miss the ARIA top-ten and it failed to match her previous album's chart position of number seven.[33] In its second week, Dance in the Rain dropped 72 places to number 86.[34]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dance in the Rain"
3:51
2."Happy Ever After"
3:45
3."All We Need Is Love"
3:16
4."In the Mood"
2:40
5."Giddyup"
  • Coulter
  • Kierulf
  • Schwartz
3:01
6."Criminal" (featuring Shane Free)
3:51
7."Night Vision"
4:24
8."Only You"
  • Coulter
  • Crichton
  • Lee
3:49
9."Until We Drop"
  • Crichton
  • Kidron
  • Coulter
2:55
10."Diva"
  • Coulter
  • Crichton
  • Lee
3:15
11."Runaway"
  • Coulter
  • Nicholas James McGuinn
  • Schuler
3:30
12."Catch Me If You Can"
  • Coulter
  • Schuler
3:22
13."Mirage"
  • Coulter
  • Stephen Toulmin
  • Richard Harrison
3:46
14."You"
3:36

Charts
Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[33] 14

Release history
Region Date Format Edition(s) Label Catalogue Ref.
Australia 17 October 2014
  • Standard
  • deluxe
 EMI Music Australia 3799748 [20][21]

References
  1. "Discography Ricki-Lee". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  2. Coulter, Ricki-Lee (23 September 2014). "'I'm Gonna Dance in the Rain... No Matter What They Say!'". Ricki-Lee.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015.
  3. "Ricki-Lee Set To Release New Album". Subculture Media. 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014.
  4. "Tee Out of X-Factor". Out In Perth. 23 September 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014.
  5. "Ricki-Lee announces new album Dance in the Rain". Take 40 Australia. Authentic Entertainment. 20 September 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  6. "Happy Friday! Ricki-Lee Announces Release of Fourth Studio Album". The Hype. Yahoo!7. 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014.
  7. Adams, Cameron (22 September 2014). "Ricki-Lee Coulter to perform new single Happy Ever After in wedding dress on X Factor". The Daily Telegraph. News Limited. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014.
  8. Tell, Stephanie (19 May 2014). "Review – Ricki-Lee – All We Need Is Love". TheMusic.com.au. Street Press Australia. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014.
  9. Coulter, Ricki-Lee (2 May 2014). "All We Need Is Love!". Ricki-Lee.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2014.
  10. Adams, Cameron (16 October 2014). "Best new music: Karise Eden, Ricki-Lee, You + Me and more". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  11. "Giddyup (Lyric) – Ricki-Lee Video". The Hot Hits. Authentic Entertainment. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  12. Kelly, Nic. "Ricki-Lee's new single 'Giddyup' is properly amazing". ProjectU.tv. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014.
  13. Huxley, Matt (4 October 2014). "5 Minutes With Ricki-Lee". Moustache Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 October 2014.
  14. "MORNING! The title track of my album #DanceInTheRain is now available for download. Enjoy!". Twitter. 26 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
  15. "Pre-order my new album #DanceInTheRain on iTunes NOW and get 6 songs instantly including the JUST released #Mirage". Twitter. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015.
  16. Ricki-Lee – 'Dance In The Rain' Acapella. YouTube. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  17. "American Authors and Ricki-Lee: Top 7 Live Decider – Special Guests". The X Factor Australia. Yahoo!7. 17 September 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014.
  18. Knox, David (11 October 2014). "ABC Friday Night Crack-Up tickles the funny bone". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  19. "Ricki-Lee Coulter's wedding dress tease..." Ninemsn. 10 October 2014. Archived from the original on 10 October 2014.
  20. "Dance in the Rain by Ricki-Lee". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  21. "Dance in the Rain by Ricki-Lee (CD)". Sanity. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  22. "Dance in the Rain – Deluxe Bundle". Ricki-Lee.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2014.
  23. Ricki-Lee Live on Sunrise. Sunrise. Yahoo!7. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  24. "Blake Ferguson is back training but Roosters are yet to be given light for him to return". The Daily Telegraph. News Limited. 17 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  25. Ricki-Lee performs. The Morning Show. Yahoo!7. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
  26. Byrnes, Holly (24 September 2014). "Dancing with the Stars' Ricki-Lee Coulter felt like a 'crash test dummy' in rehearsals". Switched On. News Limited. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  27. "Ricki-Lee to support Jason Derulo on tour". Australian Associated Press. Yahoo!7. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 May 2014.
  28. "All We Need Is Love – EP by Ricki-Lee". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  29. "Happy Ever After (Radio Edit) – Single by Ricki-Lee". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  30. Ryan, Gavin (19 July 2014). "Madden Brothers Aren't Done Yet With No. 1 ARIA Single". Noise11. Noise Network. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  31. Ryan, Gavin (31 October 2014). "Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and Cat Stevens, New Music Releases For October 31, 2014". Noise11. Noise Network. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  32. James, Michael (29 October 2014). "Review: Ricki-Lee – Dance in the Rain". Q News. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014.
  33. "Australiancharts.com – Ricki-Lee – Dance In The Rain". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  34. Ryan, Gavin (1 November 2014). "Taylor Swift 1989 Tops ARIA Albums". Noise11. Noise Network. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
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