"Stay" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Blackpink. It was released on November 1, 2016, together with "Playing with Fire", as the group's second digital single album titled Square Two, through YG Entertainment. The song was written by Teddy and produced by him alongside Seo Won Jin. Commercially, "Stay" peaked at number ten on the Gaon Digital Chart.

"Stay"
Single by Blackpink
from the album Square Two
Language
  • Korean
  • English
ReleasedNovember 1, 2016 (2016-11-01)
StudioThe Black Label (Seoul)
GenreFolk-pop[1]
Length3:50
LabelYG
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Teddy
  • Seo Won-jin
Blackpink singles chronology
"Playing with Fire"
(2016)
"Stay"
(2016)
"As If It's Your Last"
(2017)
Music video
"Stay" on YouTube
"Stay (JP Ver.)" on YouTube

Composition

edit

"Stay" was written by YG Entertainment's chief producer Teddy, with co-composition by Seo Won-jin who also handled the arrangement and production of the entire song. The song style of "Stay" is characterized as emotional pop with folk music as its main axis. It begins with the melancholic sound of the harmonica, combined with the lyrical repetition of the guitar and accompaniment of guitar strings, presenting "the loneliness and unease felt after being left alone", with a sorrowful and melancholic country-pop style. Each member's unique vocals accompany the entire song, expressing the anxiety of a lover possibly leaving sooner or later, and the earnest desire to keep the lover by one's side.[2]

Background and release

edit

On October 27, 2016, teaser images of all four members of Blackpink were released for the second title track "Stay" of their single Square Two.[3] On October 30, YG Entertainment released the behind-the-scenes video of the music video for "Stay".[4] The song and its music video were released on November 1 alongside "Playing with Fire".

Commercial performance

edit

"Stay" debuted at number ten on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, with 115,531 downloads (landing at number six on the component Download Chart) and 1,651,667 streams (debuting at number 28 on the component Streaming Chart).[5] The song sold 182,138 downloads in the month of November and 61,370 in the month of December, totaling 243,508 downloads sold in 2016.[6][7]

In the United States, the song debuted at number four on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, selling nearly 3,000 copies in its first week of release.[8]

Live performances

edit

Blackpink performed their comeback stage for "Stay" and "Playing with Fire" on November 6 on SBS's Inkigayo, and on Mnet's M Countdown on November 10, 2016.[9]

On October 23, 2021, Blackpink performed "Stay" as part of the YouTube Originals special Dear Earth, in which they delivered a speech about the importance of dealing with climate change.[10]

Music video

edit

The music video for "Stay" was directed by Han Sa-min, who previously directed "Gotta Be You" by 2NE1 and "Sober" by Big Bang.[4] It was released on Blackpink's official YouTube channel at midnight on November 1, 2016 KST. In 2021, it surpassed 300 million views, becoming Blackpink's 16th video to reach this milestone.[11]

Credits and personnel

edit

Credits adapted from Melon.[12]

  • Blackpink – vocals
  • Teddy – composer, lyricist, arranger
  • Seo Won-jin – composer, arranger

Charts

edit

Release history

edit
Release dates and formats for "Stay"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various November 1, 2016
  • YG Entertainment
[12]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Herman, Tamar (October 31, 2016). "BlackPink Releases Two New Songs on Halloween". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  2. ^ Herman, Tamar (November 1, 2016). "BlackPink Releases Two New Songs on Halloween". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  3. ^ "'자신감↑' 블랙핑크, 2연속 '더블 타이틀곡' 확정..'불장난'+'스테이'". Retrieved October 27, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "With Two Days to go Until its Comeback, BLACKPINK Reveals the Behind-the-scenes Video of its "STAY" MV". Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Gaon Digital Chart (November)". Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  6. ^ 2016년 11월 Download Chart [November 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  7. ^ 2016년 12월 Download Chart [December 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on June 17, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  8. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (November 9, 2016). "Blackpink Earn Second No. 1 on World Digital Songs, Debut on Social 50". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  9. ^ "[단독] 블랙핑크, 11월6일 '인기가요'+10일 '엠카' 연속 컴백 확정". October 29, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Iasimone, Ashley (October 23, 2021). "BLACKPINK Perform 'Stay,' Deliver Speech for 'Dear Earth' Special". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "El videoclip de 'Stay' de BLACKPINK supera los 300 millones de visualizaciones en YouTube" [Blackpink's music video for "Stay" surpasses 300 million views on YouTube]. Yonhap News Agency (in Spanish). December 12, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  12. ^ a b "STAY – BLACKPINK". Melon (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  13. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart (Week 45)". Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  14. ^ "Chart Search "Blackpink"". Billboard. Retrieved November 18, 2016.