"Stay" is a song by German DJ/production team

Sash! Sash! (; stylised as SASH!) is a German DJ/ production team, fronted by Sascha Lappessen (born 10 June 1970) who works in the recording studio with Ralf Kappmeier, Karl Xander, and Thomas "Alisson" Lüdke. They have sold over 22 million albums ...

featuring American singer La Trec. It was released on 26 September 1997 as the fourth and final single from their debut album, '' It's My Life – The Album'' (1997). The song topped the dance charts in both Canada and the United States and reached the top 20 in more than 10 European countries, Australia, and New Zealand. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, "Stay" peaked at number six and in the UK, it was Sash!'s third consecutive number-two single.

Critical reception

The song was universally acclaimed across the music press. Scottish newspaper '' Aberdeen Press and Journal'' viewed it as "Sash’s better effort". Jon O'Brien from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

noted the "dramatic" spoken word intro, describing the song as "an epic slice of soulful

Hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and th ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

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'' wrote, "The time has come for this internationally acclaimed producer/musician to finally crack the pop charts. By drafting the belting skills of La Trec for this rare vocal track from his fine album, "'' It's My Life''", he offers his most viable mainstream contender to date. The track thumps with Euro-NRG intensity, while a swirl of colorful synths fleshes out the song's simple yet wickedly infectious melody. La Trec, a singer to keep a close eye on, struts across the groove with enough force to please clubheads, but with the sweet allure that popsters require." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated "Stay" four out of five, declaring it "another trancey

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stomper. Built around the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

-like uplifting vocals of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

-born La Trec." The magazine's Alan Jones constated that Sash! "are likely to get, their third consecutive smash", complimenting the singer's "gutsy femme vocal".

Chart performance

"Stay" was very successful on the charts on several continents and remains one of Sash!'s biggest hits to date. It made it to number one on both the Canadian '' RPM'' Dance/Urban chart and the US ''

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as ...

chart. In Europe, the single climbed into the top 10 in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom, as well as on the

. In the UK, "Stay" reached number two during its first week on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, on October 12, 1997. Additionally, it was a top-20 hit in Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. In Oceania, it peaked at number 12 in New Zealand and number 24 in Australia. The single earned a

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in Belgium, Norway and the United Kingdom.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for "Stay" was directed by Oliver Sommer. On

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some scenes in the video was left out from the original music video. Sommer also directed the music video for "

Encore une fois "Encore une fois" (; French for "One More Time") is a song by German DJ group Sash!, released in January 1997 as the second single from their debut album, '' It's My Life – The Album'' (1997). It features French vocals by German vocalist Sabin ...

". "Stay" was uploaded to

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in October 2016. As of September 2020, the video has got more than 6.9 million views.

Track listings

* German 12-inch single :A1. "Stay" (original 12-inch) – 5:54 :A2. "Stay" (Exit EEE remix) – 5:53 :B1. "Stay" (Magnificent 4 remix) – 6:01 :B2. "Stay" (2 Phunky People remix) – 5:54 * German 12-inch remix single :A1. "Stay" ( Armand van Helden remix 1) – 7:34 :A2. "Stay" (Armand van Helden remix 2) – 7:41 :B1. "Stay" (Exit EEE's Fly So High dub) – 6:15 :B2. "Stay" (Boris & Beck remix) – 7:10 * German maxi-CD single # "Stay" (single edit) – 3:29 # "Stay" (original 12-inch) – 5:54 # "Stay" (Exit-Eee remix) – 5:53 # "Stay" (Magnificent 4 remix) – 6:01 # "Stay" (2 Phunky People remix) – 5:54 * UK CD1 # "Stay" (original single edit) – 3:29 # "Stay" (Armand van Helden Remix) – 7:25 # "Stay" (Exit-EEE remix) – 5:53 # "Stay" (PowerPlant "Suck This" mix) – 7:46 # "Stay" ( Loop Da Loop's vocal mix) – 7:42 * UK CD2 # "Stay" (original single edit) – 3:29 # "Stay" (Eat Me edit) – 3:52 # "Stay" (The

Lisa Marie Lisa Marie or Lisa-Marie may refer to: People *Lisa Marie (actress) (born 1968), American model and actress * Lisa-Marie Long, British television presenter and actress * Lisa Marie Nowak, a United States naval officer and former NASA astronaut * Lis ...

Vocal Experience) – 8:37 # "Stay" (Magnificent 4 remix) – 6:01 # "Stay" (2 Phunky People remix) – 5:54 # "Stay" (original 12-inch) – 5:55

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Multiply Records singles Music videos directed by Oliver Sommer Sash! songs