Note: This article contains references to sexual assault.

Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande have both been in the depths of trauma, when it can be hard to believe that your wounds will ever scab over, that the tears will someday stop, that life will ever emerge from the darkness. In 2014, Gaga revealed that she was raped at the age of 19 and developed PTSD. She was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic illness that causes extreme fatigue and body pain and predominantly affects women. Grande’s grief has been more public: A homemade bomb killed 22 people at the Manchester stop of her Dangerous Woman tour in 2017, and one year later her ex-boyfriend and collaborator Mac Miller died of an accidental overdose. Though each powerhouse diva has explored healing on her own, their long-awaited collaboration “Rain on Me” unlocks newfound strength. Perhaps it is a coincidence, but the fact that the song was released on the anniversary of the Manchester bombing feels especially moving.

On “Stupid Love,” the lead single from Gaga’s upcoming album Chromatica, she channeled an earlier era of herself to less groundbreaking effect. “Rain on Me” draws its power from two women connecting on an emotional level; in a recent conversation with Zane Lowe, Gaga said that it felt restorative to mentor a younger female artist, something no one ever did for her. “I never asked for the rainfall/At least I showed up, you showed me nothing at all,” Gaga proclaims at the song’s beginning, with a bravado that would make Ally Maine shake. “It’s coming down on me/Water like misery.” Over a club-ready rush of early ’90s house pop courtesy of BloodPop®, BURNS, and Tchami, Gaga and Grande proclaim that it’s okay to cry, to stumble, to fall apart; these are necessary parts of survival. “Gotta live my truth, not keep it bottled in/So I don’t lose my mind,” Grande murmurs. Sure, they’d both rather be dry, but for the moment it’s okay to celebrate simply being alive.