"Stay the Night" is the lead single from English singer-songwriter

James Blunt James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount; 22 February 1974) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. A former reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War. After l ...

's third studio album, '' Some Kind of Trouble''. The single was released on 25 October 2010. The single received an exclusive advance-release in Austria on 10 September 2010. The song has been a success on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

, scoring his first top ten hit in Australia since 2005's "

Goodbye My Lover "Goodbye My Lover" is a song by the English singer-songwriter James Blunt, written by Blunt and British songwriter Sacha Skarbek, for Blunt's debut album, ''Back to Bedlam'' (2004). The song was produced by Tom Rothrock and Jimmy Hogarth a ...

Background

"Stay the Night" was first written after Blunt stated he was "tired of writing self-pitying songs". In an interview for STV, Blunt claimed: "After the last tour I tried writing at the piano, but I was repeating myself, writing sad songs about poor old me. I needed to get away from music for a while. My new songs, most prominently 'Stay the Night', are more optimistic. One thing I did learn is that your artistic credibility goes out the window when you have a big record. 'You're Beautiful' meant something to me, but to most people, it's a song they sing when they're drunk." The lyrics in "Stay the Night" feature a reference to

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

's classic "

Is This Love Is This Love may refer to: * "Is This Love" (Daryl Braithwaite song) * "Is This Love?" (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah song) * "Is This Love?" (The Fireman song) * "Is This Love" (Aiden Grimshaw song) * "Is This Love" (Bob Marley & The Wailers song) ...

" in the lines: ''Just like the song on my radio said / We’ll share the shelter of my single bed''. Marley is credited as a co-writer. The version released on the U.S. edition of the album is different than the original; it features a fade-in intro and runs for a length of 3 minutes and 25 seconds.

Live performances

Blunt performed the song live for the first time at the

Help for Heroes Help for Heroes (H4H) is a British charity which provides lifelong recovery support to British Armed Forces service personnel who have been wounded or injured in the line of duty, and to their families, originally only since 11 September 2001, th ...

Charity Concert in

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

on 12 September 2010. Blunt performed it on '' The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' on 9 February 2011.

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from critics, with many calling it one of the album's high points. Ryan Brockington of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' has called the song "very chipper and up-tempo", comparing it in sound to that of

Train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

's hit "

Hey, Soul Sister "Hey, Soul Sister" is a song by American rock band Train. It was written by lead singer Pat Monahan, Amund Bjørklund, and Espen Lind. It was released as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, ''Save Me, San Francisco'' (2009). The ...

". Matthew Horton from BBC Music said that: "The single Stay the Night is a deceptively bright introduction, a joyous bit of fluff that sees Blunt waiting to make his move at a California party ("We’ve all been singing

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

" – at least that's plausible, right?)". Molloy Woodcraft from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said: "The first single "Stay the Night" is a cheery, ramshackle workout reminiscent of David Gray or Natalie Imbruglia, quotes

's "

Three Little Birds "Three Little Birds" is a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. It is the fourth track on side two of their 1977 album ''Exodus'' and was released as a single in 1980. The song reached the Top 20 in the UK, peaking at number 17. It is one of Marl ...

" and name-checks "Billie Jean". Rick Pearson from ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' was also positive, saying: "There's the folksy skip of the opening number, Stay the Night, which showcases Blunt's keening vocal".

Track listing

; Promotional # "Stay the Night" – 3:34 # "Stay the Night" (Instrumental) – 3:34 ; Digital Download / UK CD Single # "Stay the Night" – 3:34 ; European CD1 # "Stay the Night" – 3:34 # "Stay the Night" (

Wideboys The Wideboys are an English electronic music duo known for club remixes and for their own song "Sambuca", featuring Dennis G on vocals, which reached number 15 in the UK in October 2001. Another top 40 single, "Daddy-O" featuring Shaznay Lewis, ...

Remix) – 6:05 ; European CD2 # "Stay the Night" – 3:34 # "Stay the Night" (Acoustic) # "Stay the Night" (Fred Falke Remix) # "Stay the Night" (Buzz Junkies Remix) # "Stay the Night" (Video) ; US Digital Download # "Stay the Night" (US Edit) - 3:25 # "Stay the Night" (Acoustic) - 3:30 # "Stay the Night" (Buzz Junkies Remix) - 4:50 # "Stay the Night" (Video) - 3:50

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2010 singles Songs written by James Blunt James Blunt songs Songs written by Bob Marley Songs written by Steve Robson Songs written by Ryan Tedder 2010 songs Custard Records singles Atlantic Records singles Number-one singles in Switzerland