 In August 2010 , a demo of the song , sung by singer Selin Alexa leaked online . Becky Bain of Idolator called the song a " mature dance track " and said that it " wouldn ’ t entirely be out of place on a Sophie Ellis @-@ Bextor album . " It seems that it was first made for Leona Lewis . In an interview with MTV News , Gomez said that " A Year Without Rain " was the first song she recorded for the album . She also explained why she named the album for the song , commenting , " I feel like that song has a lot of meaning , and it also kind of was the start of what I wanted to base all the other songs around . " A Spanish @-@ language version of the song titled " Un Año Sin Ver Lluvia " was released through the iTunes Store on October 26 , 2010 . 
