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The title track of Mariah Carey‘s seventh studio album Rainbow is an interlude that appears as the second to last song on the track list. It runs for just over a minute-and-a-half, but embarks on a hopeful mission: “I will be alright,” she sings. “If I can find that rainbow’s end.” More than two decades later, the musician has finally found a version of what she was searching for with “Rainbow’s End,” a new song released on the 25th anniversary edition of Rainbow.
When the Rainbow album was first released, the title track was a dream-like interlude that I felt was a hopeful ending to an emotional roller-coaster ride,” Carey wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I always hoped that one day I would get to find my rainbow’s end… I’m not sure if I have, but with #Rainbow25, I tried!”
There’s a subtle change in her goal on “Rainbow’s End,” with the singer now searching for the rainbow itself rather than its end. The altered version of the interlude is now the second verse on the new song. On the new opening verse, Carey sings: “And I do believe in all the things/That make me smile and make me sing/There is a rainbow, my only rainbow/I didn’t even kiss you on our last goodbye/I saw you as you drifted and I cried and cried/For a rainbow, a rainbow.”
Carey produced “Rainbow’s End” with David Morales, who helmed two remixes on the 25th anniversary release with Jermaine Dupri. The album also features a solo version of the album’s closing track “Thank God I Found You,” which originally featured Joe and 98 Degrees, as well as live recordings and acapella recordings. One additional new release includes “There For Me,” a previously unreleased song Carey wrote for her fans.
“Thank you for always being by my side, through the good and bad times,” she wrote. “This one’s a celebration! Happy #Rainbow25, Happy Pride! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜.”
