The Kid LAROI is officially putting to bed any “misconceptions” regarding “Stay,” his smash 2021 duet with Justin Bieber.

“I wrote every single lyric on that song apart from Justin’s verse,” he said during his The Road to Before I Forget Twitch stream on Tuesday. “Justin wrote every lyric of his verse. 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. I wrote every single lyric of that punch-in style.”

“Stay” ruled the summer of 2021, reaching No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Global 200. In addition to its five wins at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, including top streaming song and top collaboration, LAROI and Bieber’s runaway hit became the first song in Hot 100 history to spend its 40 weeks on the chart in the top 10.

In a 2022 SiriusXM interview, Puth, who co-produced “Stay,” explained how he constructed the chords for the smash. Some online commentators interpreted the “See You Again” singer’s explanation to mean that he wrote the entire song without input from LAROI or Bieber.

“I definitely did get bummed when I started seeing people say I didn’t write [‘Stay’] because I was so proud of that,” LAROI reflected on-stream. “I was 17 years old. And I’m still so proud of that. … That’s an accomplishment and something to be proud of. … Like, ‘Damn, people think that this song was just given to me?’ That’s so crazy. 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.”

On Jan. 6, LAROI is set to drop his sophomore LP, Before I Forget. The new record is the follow-up to 2023’s The First Time, which reached No. 24 on the Billboard 200. LAROI has already shared a pair of songs from the forthcoming record, including lead single “A Cold Play,” which many fans speculate is about his former girlfriend, Grammy-nominated pop star Tate McRae.

In 2026, Puth will perform the national anthem at Super Bowl LX (Feb. 8), and Bieber will headline Coachella for the first time.

Check out some clips from The Kid LAROI’s The Road to Before I Forget Twitch stream below.

Sometimes, holiday songs become classics thanks to originating in a film – say, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” from 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis. And then you have those tunes that may have found a new audience because of their later use in a movie, like when Mariah Carey’s 1994 song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” was covered memorably in 2003’s Love Actually.

On the latest Billboard Pop Shop Podcast — and near the eve of Christmas — Katie and Keith are talking through a selection of unforgettable movies, and moments, featuring holiday music – including White Christmas (1954), Home Alone (1990), Elf (2003), Love Actually (2003) and Mean Girls (2004). Listen to the discussion below.

Plus, as it’s the final episode of the pod for 2025, the team also jingles their way through a chat about some of their favorite holiday movies that are essential viewing for them during the season. Some of those festive films include The Polar Express, Scrooged, The Muppet Christmas Carol and the original Miracle on 34th Street.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

Romeo Santos collects a 23rd No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with “Lokita Por Mí,” alongside Prince Royce, extending his own record for the most No. 1s among acts that primarily record tropical music. The track surges 5-1 on the chart dated Dec. 27. Royce, meanwhile, banks his 20th champ.

“Lokita Por Mí” was released Nov. 28 on I Love Amiguita/Sony Music Latin, as one of 13 bachatas on Santos and Royce’s collaborative album Better Late Than Never. The set debuted at No. 1 on the Top Tropical Albums and at No. 2 on the Top Latin Albums charts (dated Dec. 13).

“Lokita” rises to No. 1 after an 11% increase in audience impressions, to 8.2 million, earned in the United States on the Dec. 12-18 tracking week, as reported by Luminate. It sends Feid’s “Se Lo Juro Mor” to No. 7, after the latter’s 32% dip in impressions (to 6.1 million).

With the latest achievement, Santos strengthens his record for the most No. 1s among tropical acts, with 23 champs. This comes just eight months after his “Khé?” with Rauw Alejandro, claimed the top spot for a week in March.

Royce, meanwhile, holds the second spot among tropical acts with 20 No. 1s. He also ties with Karol G for the 10th-most No. 1s across all genres. Additionally, the song climbs from No. 3 to No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay chart.

Here are the 11 acts with the largest collection of No. 1s on the overall Latin Airplay chart since its inception in 1994:

Count, Artist
39, J Balvin
36, Ozuna
32, Enrique Iglesias
30, Bad Bunny
29, Daddy Yankee
25, Maluma
24, Shakira
24, Wisin
23, Romeo Santos
20, Karol G
20, Prince Royce

RainNao’s First: Puerto Rican singer-songwriter RaiNao, celebrates her first No. 1 on a Billboard chart as her collab with Bad Bunny, “Perfumito Nuevo,” claims the top spot on the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart. The track rises 4-1 after two weeks in the top 10.

“Perfumito Nuevo” secures the No. 1 spot with the Greatest Gainer honors, after registering 6.3 million audience impressions, up 30%, earned during the tracking period. Plus, the song flies 21-6 on the overall Latin Airplay chart for its first week in the top 10. For Benito, the new win adds a 37th top 10 to his ledger, RaiNao scores her first.

All charts (dated Dec. 27) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Dec. 23. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. Plus, for all chart rules and explanations, click here.