To mark 10 years after the release of his hit single, Stay With Me, Sam Smith has recorded a new version of the song, editing portions of the lyrics. He sent an email note to his fans early this week, hinting them of the update.
“This song is truly so special to me, so for the 10-year anniversary, I re-recorded the track, which will be available on all platforms and physical…Including the updated lyric ‘but I still need love, baby understand’ which felt really important to me. It’s beautiful to know that sometimes, we can change the past,” he wrote in the mail.
The song’s original lyric had Smith saying “…still need love because I’m just a man.” Sources close to Sam say he had constantly edited the lyrics of the song at live performances; therefore, the official update announced recently is not entirely surprising.
In the mail, Sam Smith also reflected on the writing and recording process of Stay With Me, thanking his collaborators for “helping express complicated feelings through music.”
“When [we] wrote this song, none of us would’ve expected it to become what it has in the world…The chords and this song still stir me in the same way to this day. I’ve never once got sick of singing it,” the email note said.
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Release in 2014, Stay With Me became an international hit for the then [underground] Smith. It debuted at No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 shortly after its release, and steadily climbed to a No. 2 peak in August, marking a sort of career breakthrough for the singer.
In April this year,Too Good at Goodbyes, Sam Smith’s 2017 exceeded two billion streams on Spotify, according to independent monitoring outlet Spotify Data. The song is said to be Sam Smith’s second song to reach that milestone.
Too Good at Goodbyes was released on September 8, 2017, through Capitol Records. It was the lead single on Sam Smith’s second studio album titled The Thrill of It All. The official YouTube video for the song, released six years ago, crossed 1.6 billion views as of March 28, 2024.
The song recorded commercial success, reaching number one in the UK and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. In addition to platinum and gold certifications in Brazil, Canada, and Germany, the song also received massive endorsement in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and other countries.
