Zedd and Alessia Cara have now announced the track release tomorrow! Please find a generic interview done with Zedd and Alessia below.
Zedd
When did you first meet?
We first met at rehearsals for the HALO awards where Alessia, Daya and I performed together. I’ve loved her songs before but realized that she’s an unbelievable talent when we started rehearsing together so I asked her if she was interested in making music with me.
When did you start working together?
She happened to be in LA for promo and we scheduled a day in the studio together to record “Stay”.
How was the process of working together?
It was honestly such a pleasure to work with her. She’s not just a sweetheart but also insanely talented and very easy to work with.
Who wrote the lyrics?
There were a few people in the mix for lyrics. Between Alessia herself, Noonie Bao & Linus, Sarah Aarons & Anders Froen everyone contributed a bit.
Talk about the different mix of styles of music on the track.
On the music side I really wanted to create a song that is not about the drop or any other part of the song. I wanted the song to be a SONG. Every part is equally as important for me and I really wanted to shift the attention away from it all being about “the drop”. Sonically I wanted to create a moody, partially dark atmosphere with uplifting parts in contrast.
The beginning of the song is almost haunting, which is a contrast to the more upbeat chorus. What inspired you to start the song in that way?
This entire song is fairly minimal on the production side. I took everything out that I thought didn’t contribute to the quality of the composition and the intro just gives me goosebumps without anything but the haunting vocal so I didn’t see the need to add more to it.
There are many references to time passing by in the song – “waiting for the time to pass me by,” “the clock is ticking,” “we don’t have to grow up, we can stay forever young,” and there’s even a clock ticking in the chorus. Is this feeling of time going by too quickly something you strongly identify with at this point in your career?
The interpretation of this is open to the listener. To me personally, I can say that the last 6 years of my life went by faster than the 3 years prior to that. When you plan your life a year ahead and have very few days off, life is a rush.
What has been the reaction from your fans after you teased the collaboration on Saturday Night Live?
Although fans were only able to hear a few seconds of the intro of the song people were already freaking out. I was soooo happy to see their reaction. Everybody loves Alessia and I think fans were excited to see the marriage between our styles.
Are there any plans to perform the song together live?
I’m very sure that will happen in the near future but as of right now there’s nothing specific planned.
The track is a new direction for Alessia, was that an easy transition?
Honestly, the track is very new direction for me too; I think that’s the beauty of it. When you think of a collaboration you don’t wanna see a song that’s 90% pivoted to one artist or the other. I think this song is right in the middle between where Alessia is musically and where I am and that’s what’s so excited about this song. It’s new and exciting for both of us. I’ve been trying to knock down barriers around music genres and this is another step for me to walk towards a musical future where I can create any genre I want without people putting me in a box.
Alessia Cara
When did you first meet?
We first officially met at an awards show, but we had been talking virtually for a little bit.
When did you start working together?
Zedd sent me a piece of the demo a few months back and asked if I wanted to be part of it. I really liked the vibe of it so I said I was in.
How was the process of working together?
it was great. Zedd was really hands on and made sure I was involved in every part of the process, which is really cool.
Who wrote the lyrics?
I believe the original version was written by a number of different writers (Noonie Bao & Linus, Sarah Aarons & Anders Froen). Once I got it I re-wrote a bunch of the lyrics to fit my style a bit more.
Talk about the different mix of styles of music on the track.
This is definitely the most pop / dance song I’ve done but I think conceptually and even just melodically it’s still me. it was fun finding a happy medium
The beginning of the song is almost haunting, which is a contrast to the more upbeat chorus. What inspired you to start the song in that way?
That part was already in there when zedd showed it to me, but I like how it adds some vulnerability and moodiness to it because the lyrics are pretty vulnerable if u pay attention.
There are many references to time passing by in the song – “waiting for the time to pass me by,” “the clock is ticking,” “we don’t have to grow up, we can stay forever young,” and there’s even a clock ticking in the chorus. Is this feeling of time going by too quickly something you strongly identify with at this point in your career?
Absolutely. time is the most precious thing there is and I don’t think I realized how quickly it passes until I started going from place to place and just shooting through life so quickly. everything started feeling like I was struggling to hold on to little moments because they would pass so fast, and this song is reflective of that. everything seems to move faster during moments u don’t want to let go of, many of those being moments with someone u love.
What has been the reaction from your fans after you teased the collaboration on Saturday Night Live?
it’s been really fun to see everyone get excited. I haven’t released new music since the album back in 2015, so this should be interesting.
Are there any plans to perform the song together live?
for sure! I would love to do something live.
The track is a new direction for Alessia, was that an easy transition?
it was because it still feels like me, just an elevated pop sound. I also think it was easier because it’s Zedd’s song, and it’s about finding the middle ground. I don’t know that I would be this bold on my own stuff so it’s cool to try these things with collaborators.
