"It's Raining Men" is a song by the American disco duo the Weather Girls from their third studio album, Success (1983). It was released as the album's lead single on September 10, 1982, through Columbia Records and CBS Records International. Paul Jabara wrote the song in collaboration with Paul Shaffer, and produced the song in collaboration with Bob Esty. "It's Raining Men" incorporates elements of soul and 1970s-style electronic dance music.

"It's Raining Men" was a number-one dance hit in the United States, and reached the top ten in various other countries worldwide. VH1 listed the song as one of the Greatest Songs of the 1980s as well as one of the Greatest Songs of the 2000s decade. At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards (1983), "It's Raining Men" received a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Development and production

thumb|upright|"It's Raining Men" was co-written and co-produced by [[Paul Jabara (shown here in 1972 at age 24)]]

Paul Jabara and Paul Shaffer wrote the song over the course of one afternoon in 1979, intending it for Donna Summer, who had scored a hit with "Last Dance" (1978).

As Shaffer later recalled, Summer had, however, recently become a born-again Christian and rejected the song as "blasphemous".

The song was then offered to Diana Ross, Cher, and Barbra Streisand, all of whom also declined it. post-disco It uses one minor chord, F minor, while the rest of the notes are major chords.

Commercial performance

"It's Raining Men" was a commercial success in the United States. The song spent a total of eleven weeks on Billboards Hot 100, ultimately peaking at forty-six on March 5, 1983. Although it had not yet been released to retail stores, the single gained much attention based on heavy rotation alone. On the chart dated December 24, 1982, "It's Raining Men" reached number one on the Billboard Dance chart and held the top position for a total of two weeks. The song spent a total of twenty-two weeks on the Dance chart. The song was also a huge success in the United Kingdom. The song peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and became certified platinum for sales and streaming figures exceeding 600,000 units in the United Kingdom. Due to limited support from Columbia Records, "It's Raining Men" was a low-budget video. Wash described the video's conception: "God, that was a cheesy video! We filmed it in an abandoned building [in NYC] in the dead of winter. There was no heat and everybody was wearing [winter] coats. That part in the video where we fall out of the sky, well, we landed on these mattresses and found out [the next day] they were infested with bugs. For days afterwards Izora and I were scratching [ourselves]! It was awful!" and also at number 35 in their "100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders of the 1980s" ranking in 2009. Paste magazine ranked the song number 12 in their list of the "60 Best Dancefloor Classics" in February 2017. Rolling Stone listed it number 90 on their ranking of "The 100 Greatest Debut Singles of All Time" in 2020 and number 88 on their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time" in 2022.

"It's Raining Men" has often been perceived as a gay anthem. A campaign was launched on Facebook on January 19, 2014, to get the song to UK number one in response to a UKIP councillor blaming recent UK floods and adverse weather on divine retribution for the British government's introduction of gay marriage. The campaign was reported widely by some press, and the Weather Girls' version reached number 21 on the first day of the chart week. The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart in 2014 at number 31. In 2017, Rolling Stone included the song on their "25 Essential LGBTQ Pride Songs" list. In 2018, Billboard magazine ranked the song at number 47 on their "50 Best Gay Anthems of All Time" list, while in 2025, they ranked it number 91 in their "The 100 Greatest LGBTQ+ Anthems of All Time" list. The Gay UK ranked the song at number two on their "Top 40 Gay Anthems for Pride" list. Time Out ranked it number 19 on their list of "The 50 Best Gay Songs to Celebrate Pride All Year Long" in 2022.

In 1983, "It's Raining Men" was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. In June 2017, "It's Raining Men" entered on the Spotify Rewind charts and peaked at number one.

Track listings and formats

Personnel

  • Izora Armstead, Martha Wash – lead vocals
  • Bob Esty – keyboards, synthesizer
  • Greg Mathieson – piano
  • Paul Delph – synthesizer
  • Lee Sklar – bass guitar
  • Michael Landau – guitar
  • Carlos Vega – drums
  • Stephanie Spruill, Julia Waters-Tillman, Maxine Waters-Willard, Zenobia Conkerite – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+19821984 weekly chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!scope="col"|Chart (1982–1984)

!scope="col"|Peak<br/>position

|-

!scope="row"|Australia (Kent Music Report)

|16

|-

!scope="row"|France (IFOP)

| 54

|-

|-

!scope="row" | Japan (Oricon)

| style="text-align:center;"|28

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100

| 1

|-

|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+2001 weekly chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!Chart (2001)

!Peak<br/>position

|-

|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+2013 weekly chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!Chart (2013)

!Peak<br/>position

|-

!scope="row"|Slovenia (SloTop50)

| 43

|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+2014 weekly chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!Chart (2014)

!Peak<br/>position

|-

|}

Decade-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Decade-end chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!Chart (19801989)

!Peak<br/>position

|-

!scope="row"|Spotify Rewind

Music video

The opening sequence of the accompanying music video for "It's Raining Men... The Sequel" features Wash and RuPaul as the news anchors of the Weather Center. The duo give a forecast prediction that it will rain men from the sky, with several field reporters also reporting similar information. Wash, as a meteorologist and weatherwoman, performs the song in front of a digital map. Several people from around the world start to feel the effects of the forecast and some women are even shown collecting men that fall from the sky into baskets. Several men also appear in the music video, dancing to the song.

Track listings and formats

Charts

"It's Raining Men... The Sequel"

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+Weekly chart performance "It's Raining Men... The Sequel"

!Chart (1998)

!Peak<br>position

|-

!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)

| 64

|-

!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

| 46

|-

!scope="row"|Scotland (OCC)

| 16

|-

|-

!scope="row"|US Dance Single Sales (Billboard)

| 1

|-

!scope="row"|US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard)

Reception

Halliwell's version received positive reviews by music critics, experienced international success and hit the top ten in over two dozen countries around the world, going to number one in several of them. In the United Kingdom, "It's Raining Men" debuted at number-one on the UK Singles Chart and stayed there for two weeks. It became Halliwell's fourth consecutive number-one single in the UK, selling 155,000 units in its first week and 80,000 in its second week. Halliwell became the first solo British female artist to have four number-one singles in the United Kingdom, a record she held until 2014. Overall the single went on to sell 449,000 copies in Britain alone, becoming the 13th-best-seller of 2001 and Halliwell's most successful single worldwide.

The song was successful outside the United Kingdom. In Flemish Belgium, the song stayed at number one for four weeks and was the best-selling single of 2001. The single reached number one in France for five weeks, receiving a Diamond certification from the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP).

Live performances

thumb|Geri Halliwell performing "It's Raining Men" during [[The Return of the Spice Girls Tour in 2008]]

To promote the single, Halliwell performed the song on Top of the Pops, Comet Awards 2001, Musica Sí, Big Brother Germany, Party in the Park, Live & Kicking, Loft Story, Pepsi Chart Russia, CD:UK and Tickled Pink. Halliwell also performed the song on The Return of the Spice Girls world tour as her solo number.

Track listings

  • UK CD1
  1. "It's Raining Men" – 4:18
  2. "I Was Made That Way" – 4:45
  3. "Brave New World" – 4:10
  4. "It's Raining Men" – 4:18
  • UK CD2; Australasian CD single; Italian 12-inch single
  1. "It's Raining Men" – 4:18
  2. "It's Raining Men" – 4:47
  3. "It's Raining Men" – 3:46
  4. "It's Raining Men" – 6:55
  • UK cassette single
  1. "It's Raining Men" – 4:18
  2. "I Was Made That Way" – 4:45
  3. "Brave New World" – 4:10
  • European CD single
  1. "It's Raining Men" – 4:19
  2. "Brave New World" – 4:10

Charts

Weekly charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2001–2003 weekly chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!scope="col"|Chart (2001–2003)

!scope="col"|Peak<br/>position

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)

| 11

|-

!scope="row"|Canada CHR (Nielsen BDS)

| 19

|-

!scope="row"|Croatia (HRT)

| 7

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

| 2

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Greece (IFPI)

| 3

|-

!scope="row"|Hungary (Mahasz)

| 4

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

!scope="row"|Poland (Music & Media)

| 13

|-

!scope="row"|Poland (ZPAV)

| 1

|-

!scope=row|Portugal (AFP)

| 4

|-

!scope="row"|Romania (Romanian Top 100)

| 2

|-

! scope="row"| Russia Airplay (InterMedia)

| 1

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2024 weekly chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!scope="col"|Chart (2024)

!scope="col"|Peak<br/>position

|-

!scope="row"|Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)

| 41

|-

!scope="row"|Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)

| 69

|}

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2025 weekly chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!scope="col"|Chart (2025)

!scope="col"|Peak<br />position

|-

!scope="row"|Moldova Airplay (TopHit)

| 48

|}

Monthly charts

{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2024 monthly chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!scope="col"|Chart (2024)

!scope="col"|Peak<br />position

|-

!scope="row"|Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit)

| 54

|}

Year-end charts

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+2001 year-end chart performance for "It's Raining Men"

!scope="col"|Chart (2001)

!scope="col"|Position

|-

!scope="row"|Australia (ARIA)

| 34

|-

!scope="row"|Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)

| 37

|-

!scope="row"|Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)

| 8

|-

!scope="row"|Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)

| 73

|-

!scope="row"|Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)

|4

|-

!scope="row"|France (SNEP)

| 6

|-

!scope="row"|Germany (Media Control)

| 27

|-

!scope="row"|Ireland (IRMA)

| 6

|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)

| 39

|-

!scope="row"|Netherlands (Single Top 100)

| 25

|-

!scope="row"|Romania (Romanian Top 100)

| 31

|-

!scope="row"|Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)

| 14

|-

!scope="row"|UK Singles (OCC)

| 77

|}

Certifications