Lisa Loeb & Walk Off The Earth Release New Version Of “Stay (I Missed You)” For Its 25th Anniversary
One of my earliest MTV memories is this bespectacled lady in an empty apartment, plaintively telling me, “You say/ I only hear what I want to/ And you say/ I talk so all the time, so.” That lady was Lisa Loeb, and the song was “Stay (I Missed You),” her breakthrough hit from the Reality Bites soundtrack. Its one-take video was directed by Ethan Hawke, the movie’s star and Loeb’s neighbor. “Stay” went all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the video became an MTV classic. I’m sure you remember it if you’re of a certain age, but if not, here goes:
Loeb would log more hits over the years. With her backing band Nine Stories, she cracked the Hot 100 again in 1995 with “Do You Sleep?” and in 1996 with “Waiting For Wednesday.” In 1998, she landed two songs from her Firecracker album on the chart, “I Do” and “Let’s Forget About It.” She also got some radio play with 2002’s “Underdog.” Her discography is deep, and her fan base is loyal. But the song most closely associated with Loeb remains “Stay,” that initial smash hit.
“Stay” will reach its 25th anniversary next month — on Friday, May 17, to be exact. To celebrate, Loeb has recorded a new version of the track with YouTube stars Walk Off The Earth. The track’s release also coincides with the launch of Walk Off The Earth’s tour tomorrow night in Tulsa.
As Loeb explained over email, Walk Off The Earth initiated the new interpretation of “Stay,” and she was all about it:
I love hearing covers of my song “Stay (I Missed You).” The song has always been important to me, so to hear that others connect with it so much that they want to record a cover of it, really means a lot to me. When Walk Off The Earth reached out to me about wanting to come up with their own version of “Stay (I Missed You),” I was thrilled, as I’ve been a fan of the mind-blowing arrangements I’ve seen and heard from them. They came up with a take on the song that’s unlike anything I could have come up with on my own, and I was just there to add a little personal connection back into it.
Walk Off The Earth added this:
We’re so happy to be working with Lisa on this re-make of “Stay.” We knew that the song’s 25th anniversary was approaching and being fans, we wanted to do something special for it.
She was amazing to work with and was so open to our ideas.
We wanted to make the track different than the original but still keep the magic of it. We decided to go with a more organic acoustic instrumentation and add a little swing. Having four singers to showcase, we added a lot more vocal pads and harmonies to the production which definitely separates it from the original.
Watch the video below, where you can also find Walk Off The Earth’s tour dates.
TOUR DATES:
04/26 – Tulsa, OK @ Osage Casino – Skyline Event Center
04/27 – Tampa, FL @ Busch Gardens – Gwazi Park
05/14 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
05/15 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks
05/17 – Kansas City, MO @ VooDoo Lounge @ Harrah Casino North Kansas City
05/18 – Maplewood, MN @ Myth Live
05/19 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Riverside Theater
05/21 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora Theater & Ballroom
05/22 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit
05/24 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
05/25 – New York, NY @ The Rooftop At Pier 17
05/26 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre
05/27 – Dewey Beach, DE @ Bottle & Cork
05/29 – Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
05/30 – Boston, MA @ House Of Blues Bostom
05/31 – Mashantucket, CT @ The Grand Theatre At Foxwoods Resort Casino
06/01 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore Philadelphia
06/25 – Wien, Austria @ Arena Wien Open Air
06/26 – München, Germany @ Tollwood GmbH
06/27 – Praha 8, Czech Republic @ Forum Karlín
06/29 – Berlin, Germany @ Columbiahalle
06/30 – Den Haag, Netherlands @ Parkpop
07/01 – Hamburg, Germany @ Stadtpark
07/03 – Abenberg, Germany @ Burg Abenburg
07/05 – London, UK @ Wembley Arena
07/06 – Zottegem, Belgium @ Rock Zottegem Music Festival
07/07 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Am Mercedes-Benz Museum
07/08 – Paris, France @ L’Olympia Bruno Coquatrix
07/09 – Bonn, Germany @ KUNST!RASEN GmbH
07/30 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
08/01 – Portland, OR @ Keller Auditorium
08/02 – Sandpoint, ID @ The Festival At Sandpoint
08/03 – Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre
08/22 – Lethbridge, AB @ Exhibition Park StagEX
