“Stay by My Side” is a Japanese song from Twice. This song was released under Warner Music Japan on October 22nd, 2018, as a single. “Stay by My Side” was also released as one of the lead singles from the repackaged album of BDZ. This repackaged album was released on December 26th, 2018, featuring two lead singles which are “Stay by My Side” and “BDZ,” the lead single from the original album. To promote “Stay by My Side,” Warner Music Japan released a making music video. This video was shot when Twice was recording this song in their studio in Japan. You can listen to “Stay by My Side” by clicking the making music video below.
Background of “Stay by My Side”: The Release of BDZ and Its Repackaged Album
On June 3rd, 2018, Twice first announced to Japanese Once that they would release their first Japanese studio album in autumn. The BDZ full album was released on September 12th, 2018. The BDZ repackaged album was released on December 26th, 2018, physically and digitally through various music sites. “Stay by My Side” was released physically also on that day. You can see the BDZ-Repackage Regular Version cover here. On September 21st, 2018, Asahi TV released a teaser of their newest drama titled The Guide to Late Night Bad Love (Shinya no Damekoi Zukan, 深夜のダメ恋図鑑). That teaser featured Twice’s upcoming single titled “Stay by My Side.”
Story of “Stay by My Side”: A Track Wishing For Someone To Stay by Her Side
The lyric writers of “Stay by My Side” were Fredrik Bostrom, Lauren Kaori, and Malin Johansson. Bostrom and Johansson also composed “Stay by My Side,” collaborating with Shimada Atsushi. Aside from being the composer, Shimada also arranged this song by himself. “Stay by My Side” lyrically describes a girl’s wish for her boyfriend to stay by her side always. She hopes that she can fill her days with him every day with courage. She also hopes that her boringness will go away if he’s with her every day.
MV of “Stay by My Side”
Even though “Stay by My Side” was released as a lead single for the BDZ Repackage album, there isn’t a music video for “Stay by My Side.” As a music video substitute, Warner Music Japan released a making music video for this song. This video is filled with scenes from when the members recorded “Stay by My Side.”
“Stay by My Side” Performance: Performed on Asahi TV, BDZ Arena Tour, and Twicelights World Tour
“Stay by My Side” was performed for the first time on September 21st, 2018, in an Asahi TV program. If you see the official release date of this song, you’ll realize that the members had already performed this song long before its official release day. The members performed the full version of “Stay by My Side” as a promotion song for 深夜のダメ恋図鑑. Twice performed “Stay by My Side” again during their first Arena Tour in 2018 titled BDZ. The BDZ Arena Tour was done in Chiba, Nagoya, Kobe, and Tokyo from September 29th until October 17th, 2018. You can see their performance during the BDZ Arena Tour by clicking a fan-made video here.
Twice performed “Stay by My Side” again during their Twicelights World Tour in 2019. At that time, “Stay by My Side” was performed as a compilation medley with “One More Time,” “Candy Pop,” and “Wake Me Up.” This medley was performed in seven cities in Japan from October 23rd, 2019, until February 23rd, 2020. Some of those seven cities were Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Shizuoka. Actually, Twice’s members should have performed “Stay by My Side” again on April 15th until 16th, 2020, at Tokyo Dome as a part of their Twicelights tour. But, unfortunately, those two stages in Tokyo were canceled because of the spreading Covid-19 pandemic.
“Stay by My Side” Achievement: 11th Position on Oricon Digital Chart
“Stay by My Side” charted on a few song charts. For more details, check the table below for the song’s peak positions on every chart.
