The Meaning Behind the Song “Stay” by The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber
Both The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber wants their partners to stay with them in this collaboration song.
The song’s music video premiered on July 9th, 2021 and I wanted to do an analysis of the song lyrics and the music video. There’s two part to this analysis so feel free to skip to the part that you want to read.
1. LYRIC ANALYSIS
Based on LAROI’s first verse we can assume that he has a bad tendency to fall back into his old habits of getting “drunk” and being “wasted”. He struggles with giving them up and as a result constantly breaks his promise to his partner. She doesn’t understand his bad habits and why he keeps going back to doing them.
LAROI also adds that if he doesn’t have his partner with him there, he’ll be involved in an even more messed up situation than he already is in (based on the line “I’ll be f*cked up if you can’t be right here”).
During the chorus he pleads for his partner to stay with him despite his bad habits and him not being able to change, which shows how much she means to him.
In Bieber’s case he has trust issues and is constantly scared that he will ruin the relationship. He loves his partner and the way she makes him feel. And despite all these issues he wants her to stay in the relationship and also because of everything she’s done for him (“ain’t never left me empty-stranded”). So, for these reasons and his own commitment to the relationship he wants her to keep on staying in the relationship.
Both men wants their partners to stay but each have their own individual problems that may be pushing their partners to leave. LAROI admits he has bad habits of drinking and partying but his partner is the only one who can keep him under control. Justin Bieber has his own issues and doubts about relationships but his partner has changed his thoughts and ideas about love and that makes him love her.
The song has both men admitting their faults and issues, and it has them declaring their need of wanting their partners to keep on staying in the relationship.
2. MUSIC VIDEO ANALYSIS
Time ceases to exist in this music video. All things people, car, drinks, and things have all stopped moving mid motion.
When LAROI and Bieber are seen separately all their surroundings are stopped in time. In LAROI’s case he is seen in what seems to be his apartment, moving between his dark blue bedroom and his complete white furnished kitchen. The dark blue tone in his bedroom signifies his despair and sadness from being away from his partner. He can be seeing floating mid air signifying his feeling of freedom and also loneliness because even though being away from his partner allows him to do anything he wants to do it also means there isn’t anyone there to take care of him if he goes out of control with his drinking and partying as addressed in his lyrics.
The white tone in his kitchen signifies purity and starting over. He has come to a realization that he needs his partner and whatever happened between them in the past doesn’t matter because he still loves her and wants her to “stay”.
The coffee. I didn’t think much of it at first, but looking back I realize that the coffee in this music video has several meanings. 1) LAROI can’t fall asleep and has been awake reminiscing about his relationship with his partner 2) drinking coffee can make one feel energized and awake and if that’s the case here then LAROI has come to a realization that he needs her.
Bieber also has time stopped in his scenes. This shows that both men share the same feeling of wanting their partners to stay with them. However, in Justin’s case he is on top of the building which signifies that his situation is much better than LAROI’s. No female leads are seen with Justin which means that his partner and him haven’t broken up like LAROI and his partner has. Justin only wants his partner to keep on staying with him, he’s not begging for anyone but is instead reaffirming his decision of wanting his partner to stay with him.
Interestingly, when both men come together time doesn’t stop instead it speeds up around them. This shows that other people’s opinions and reactions towards their decision of wanting their partners to stay with them doesn’t matter. Only their beliefs and decisions does.
After making his decision of wanting his partner back LAROI goes to the location his partner is at. She is still stuck in time whereas he isn’t. So, even though he has moved on from their past and has made the decision to move forward and start again, she unfortunately is stuck in the past.
IN CONCLUSION, I think this is great summer, chill song that you can listen to with friends on a drive. The lyrics and the music video come together seamlessly. And I think the music video is what solidified the theories surrounding the lyrics and it’s meanings. One might think this is a toxic relationship scenario but it’s not. There’s grief, realization, acceptance, and action on Kid LAROI’s lyric part. And I think that represents growth in some ways. Relationships aren’t perfect and neither are the people in it. But accepting your own faults and mistakes is the first step towards making the relationship work.
