Stay (Black Stone Cherry song)

"Stay"
Song by Black Stone Cherry from the album Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Released	May 31, 2011
Genre	Southern rock
Length	3:24
Label	Roadrunner
Writer(s)	Black Stone Cherry Joey Moi
Producer(s)	Howard Benson

"Stay" is a song by American rock band Black Stone Cherry, written by the band along with Joey Moi. Black Stone Cherry recorded it on their 2011 album Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, produced by Howard Benson.^[1]

Florida Georgia Line version

"Stay"
Single by Florida Georgia Line
from the album Here's to the Good Times
Released	October 7, 2013
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2012
Genre	Country rock
Length	3:19
Label	Republic Nashville
Writer(s)	Joey Moi Black Stone Cherry
Producer(s)	Joey Moi
Florida Georgia Line singles chronology
"Round Here" (2013) "Stay" (2013) "This Is How We Roll" (2014)

American country music duo Florida Georgia Line covered the song on their 2012 album Here's to the Good Times.^[2] It was released in October 2013 as the album's fourth single.^[3]

Critical reception

In his review of Here's to the Good Times, Billy Dukes of Taste of Country called it "the biggest dud on the album" and wrote that "it’s a clumsy beginner’s effort that only shows off FGL’s vocal flaws when they stray from the party jams."^[4] Matt Bjorke of Roughstock was more favorable, writing that "despite being a cover of a Black Stone Cherry song, it suits Florida Georgia Line and is emotional and features some nice mandolin and steel guitar work (though you'll have to strain a bit to hear the latter)."^[5]

Music video

The music video was directed by Peter Zavadil and premiered in October 2013.^[3] It stars Josh Henderson in the leading role.^[6]

The video starts off showing a sad woman sitting in front of a burned down house. A dog goes through the ruins, finds a shattered mobile phone, and gives it to her. The woman starts crying.

Then, the reason for that is revealed. When the song starts, a man is shown standing in the doorway of the house when it was still intact, while the band performs. The woman, revealed to be the man's girlfriend or wife, drives away in a car. The man then sends the woman some text messages, but the woman does not respond. The man loses his mind, and destroys his possessions, including vintage electricals and furniture, and a vintage television. This upset some people who knew the value of the items destroyed, including some YouTube users, who took to the comments, including one bearing the name of "Kat TheFanEnthusiast", who described the video as "yet another music video I'd want to ban [because of the destruction of vintage items]"

The woman then goes to have her phone replaced. When the man checks his phone again, there are still no new messages, so he sets fire to all his possessions, including the furniture, the house, his phone, and a picture of the man and his girlfriend, back when they were still in love. At the end of the video, the girlfriend drives over, only to see the band performing the sad song in front of the burning house. Then she steps out of the car, and the video ends.

Commercial performance

"Stay" debuted at number 57 on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay chart for the week of September 28, 2013.^[7] It also debuted at number 47 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of December 22, 2012. It also debuted at number 85 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of November 2, 2013. The song reached over a million in sales in the United States by April 2014.^[8]

The song also debuted at number 73 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of November 23, 2013.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2013–14) Peak position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[9] 39 Canada Country (Billboard)[10] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 28 US Country Airplay (Billboard)[12] 1 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[13] 1 Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position US Country Airplay (Billboard)[14] 97 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[15] 85 Chart (2014) Position US Country Airplay (Billboard)[16] 49 US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[17] 25

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/Sales United States (RIAA)[18] 2× Platinum 1,039,000[19] ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea". Allmusic. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
2. "Florida Georgia Line, 'Stay' [Listen]". Taste of Country. September 25, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
3. Conaway, Alanna (October 11, 2013). "Florida Georgia Line Release New Music Video for "Stay," Fourth Single Off Debut CD". Roughstock. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
4. Dukes, Billy (December 6, 2012). "Florida Georgia Line, 'Here's to the Good Times' – Album Review". Taste of Country. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
5. Bjorke, Matt (February 3, 2013). "Album Review: Florida Georgia Line - "Here's To The Good Times"". Roughstock. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
6. "Florida Georgia Line's "Stay" Video Now Airing on CMT". ABC News Radio. October 7, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
7. Morris, Edward (September 21, 2013). "Keith Urban's Fuse Tops Country Albums Chart". Country Music Television. Retrieved October 23, 2013.
8. Grein, Paul (April 16, 2014). "Chart Watch: "Happy" tops 4M". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo!.
9. "Florida Georgia Line – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Florida Georgia Line.
10. "Florida Georgia Line – Chart history" Billboard Canada Country for Florida Georgia Line.
11. "Florida Georgia Line – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Florida Georgia Line.
12. "Florida Georgia Line – Chart history" Billboard Country Airplay for Florida Georgia Line.
13. "Florida Georgia Line – Chart history" Billboard Hot Country Songs for Florida Georgia Line.
14. "Billboard Country Update for December 16, 2013" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 16, 2013. p. 21. Retrieved December 17, 2013.
15. "Best of 2013: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
16. "Best of 2014: Country Airplay". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
17. "Best of 2014: Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
18. "American single certifications – Florida Georgia Line – Stay". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved March 31, 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
19. Matt Bjorke (April 30, 2014). "Country Chart News - The Top 30 Digital Singles - April 30, 2014: More Gold And Platinum News". Roughstock.