"Stay" is a song by American rapper and singer

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

from his second studio album ''

Beerbongs & Bentleys ''Beerbongs & Bentleys'' (stylized in lowercase) is the second studio album by American rapper and singer Post Malone, released by Republic Records on April 27, 2018. The album features guest appearances from Swae Lee, 21 Savage, Ty Dolla Sign, Ni ...

'' (2018). He wrote and produced it with Andrew Watt, with Louis Bell also receiving a writing credit. The song is an acoustic ballad with lyrics that center on a falling relationship.

Writing and production

Post Malone and Andrew Watt started to work on "Stay" after the singer expressed his wish to create folk music and use live instrumentation. They met up at the

Henson Recording Studios The Jim Henson Company Lot, formerly A&M Studios, is a studio property located just south of the southeast corner of North La Brea Avenue and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Originally established by film star Charlie Chaplin, the property served ...

in Los Angeles where they wrote the song together. While recording its instrumental, they played two guitars at the same time, with Watt using a 1946

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

O-18 and Malone using a 1953 Gibson J-45. The working title of the song was "George Forever", a reference to

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian ...

. Before the release of ''

'', they decided to change the title to "Stay".

Music and lyrics

"Stay" is an acoustic

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. It is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (ma ...

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor an ...

, with a tempo of 88 beats per minute. Malone's vocals span from C₄ to G₅. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said of the track that it has a "1970s AM radio vibe" and described it as "a hybrid of

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the U ...

melody and emo bloodiness". Writing for '' The Line of Best Fit'', Ross Horton described the song's genre as

country folk Contemporary folk music refers to a wide variety of genres that emerged in the mid 20th century and afterwards which were associated with traditional folk music. Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from tradit ...

. The lyrics center on a falling relationship. Larry Bartleet of ''

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'' noted that Malone also sings about his bad habits and their effects, comparing this record to "Feeling Whitney", a bonus track from the artist's first studio album ''

Stoney Stoney may refer to: Places * Stoney, Kansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stoney Creek (disambiguation) * Stoney Pond, a man-made lake located by Bucks Corners, New York * Stoney (lunar crater) * Stoney (Martian crater) ...

''.

Release and promotion

On April 4, 2018, a preview of "Stay" was posted on

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's website. Later that day, Malone performed it on stage for the first time during a live show played in Nashville, Tennessee as part of

Bud Light Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in other ...

's Dive Bar tour. The performance was simultaneously

live streamed Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, bu ...

online. On February 10, 2019, Malone performed a three-songs medley during the

61st Annual Grammy Awards The 61st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 10, 2019, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys hosted. During her opening monologue, Keys brought out Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and fo ...

ceremony. He started by performing "Stay" on the main stage while playing an acoustic guitar. It was followed by a solo rendition of "

Rockstar Rock Star or Rockstar may refer to: Films * ''Rock Star'' (2001 film), an American film starring Mark Wahlberg * ''Rockstar'' (2011 film), an Indian Hindi-language film by Imtiaz Ali * ''Rockstar'' (2015 film), an Indian Malayalam-language fi ...

" performed by the singer in a smokey tunnel. He carried on by joining the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the main stage for a joint performance of the band's 2016 single " Dark Necessities".

Critical reception

Writing for ''

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'', Erin Vanderhoof praised the song's lyrics, calling "Stay" a "testament to Malone's skills as a songwriter". Beth Smith of ''

Melodic A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinati ...

'', wrote that it is "lyrically one of the strongest tracks of the album" and thought that it helped showcasing the singer's vocal ability.

Commercial performance

In the US, "Stay" debuted at 17 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming i ...

songs chart dated May 12, 2018. It was one of the singer's nine entries on the chart's top 20 that week, making him the singer with the most simultaneous top 20 songs, surpassing the record formerly held by The Beatles and

J. Cole Jermaine Lamarr Cole (born January 28, 1985) is an American rapper and record producer. Born on a military base in Germany and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Cole initially gained recognition as a rapper following the release of his d ...

. On March 13, 2019, "Stay" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for track-equivalent sales of one million units.

Cover version

A cover of "Stay" was recorded by Australian boys band 5 Seconds of Summer and released in August 2018 for Spotify Singles alongside a toned-down version of their own single "

Lie to Me ''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series. It originally ran on the Fox network from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The Lightma ...

". Most of the vocals were provided by Luke Hemmings and Michael Clifford. The band's drummer Ashton Irwin explained on Twitter that they chose to cover this song because they find it "beautifully written", comparing it to the work of The Beatles.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Post Malone 2018 songs 2010s ballads American country music songs American folk songs Country ballads Folk ballads Post Malone songs Songs written by Andrew Watt (record producer) Songs written by Louis Bell Songs written by Post Malone Song recordings produced by Post Malone