"Stay" by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber is a certified BANGER. And it is almost a perfect pop song. The verse leading up to the first chorus is just TOO short. Not surprising since it seems artists make shorter songs now to get more plays on streaming services. I also think this could be indicative of our instant gratification-obsessed culture. GIMME THE DROP AND CHORUS NOW, but there is no build-up of tension. The Kid drops a verse that is actually shorter than the chorus.
That's why Bieber's verse is legitimately perfect. His voice lingering on the words "love" and "stay" invoke feelings of vulnerability and desperation. He is begging for another chance, and his pleading climaxes in the song's second chorus, except for this time, the hook is earned.
Listening to "Stay" reminds me of a banger from way back - "Clarity" by Zedd ft. Foxes. In a way, they are very similar. Two songs about a potentially doomed romance with EXPLOSIVE choruses. However, "Clarity" is an 11/10 pop song. Zedd's production, Foxes' on the verge of tears voice, the wordless chanting looming in the background, all of this culminates in a dramatic drop that's takes you back down to the bottom, almost as if the song is indicating the romance is as doomed as Sisyphus pushing his boulder up the hill.
