The Kid Laroi has addressed misconceptions about the authorship of his 2021 hit 'Stay' with Justin Bieber. During a Twitch stream, he explained that he wrote nearly all the lyrics himself. The clarification comes ahead of his upcoming sophomore album.
The Kid Laroi is setting the record straight on the creation of 'Stay,' his chart-topping 2021 duet with Justin Bieber. Speaking on his Twitch stream 'The Road to Before I Forget' on December 23, 2025, the artist emphasized his contributions to the track, which was co-produced by Charlie Puth.
"I wrote every single lyric on that song apart from Justin’s verse," Laroi said. He added that Bieber penned his own verse, countering rumors that the song was pitched to them fully formed. "There’s been some, like, misinterpretation somewhere along the line that the song was pitched to us. People think Charlie [Puth] wrote the song and gave it to us. That didn’t happen."
The misconceptions arose from a 2022 SiriusXM interview where Puth described constructing the song's chords, leading some to believe he wrote the entire track. Laroi, who was 17 at the time, expressed disappointment over the narrative. "I definitely did get bummed when I started seeing people say I didn’t write [‘Stay’] because I was so proud of that," he reflected. "That’s an accomplishment and something to be proud of."
'Stay' dominated in 2021, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Global 200. It made history as the first song to spend its entire 40 weeks on the Hot 100 in the top 10 and earned five wins at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, including top streaming song and top collaboration.
Laroi acknowledged the team's efforts: "Shout-out to everyone who worked on that song. There was a lot of work that went into [it]; not trying to make it sound like it was just me. Equally, everyone contributed, but every single lyric on that was me."
This clarification precedes the January 6, 2026, release of his sophomore album, Before I Forget, following 2023's The First Time, which peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard 200. Laroi has teased tracks like 'A Cold Play,' speculated to reference ex-girlfriend Tate McRae. Looking ahead, Puth will perform the national anthem at Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026, while Bieber headlines Coachella.
