"Stay" was originally conceived in 1990, at one point with the intent of selling it to Daryl Hall for a project he was seeking music for.

"Stay" received positive reviews from most music critics, who praised the lyrical and production side and the song's commercial potential.

The song was commercially successful in several other countries, including Canada, where it also reached number one, and in Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

At Brown, she and Elizabeth Mitchell formed a band named Liz and Lisa,[6] with future singer/songwriter and classmate Duncan Sheik as a guitarist.

The band, which was named after the book by J. D. Salinger, included Tim Bright on guitar, Jonathan Feinberg on drums, and Joe Quigley on bass.

[8] Loeb was discovered by actor and friend Ethan Hawke, who lived in an apartment across the street from her in New York City.

[10] As the single moved up the airplay charts, the title was changed to "Stay (I Missed You)" to avoid confusion with previous rock hits that had the same one-word name.

Loeb rants and rails through much of the song with barely contained emotion only to pull back for some tenderness in the refrain.

After the tentative opening, the pace and density of Loeb's roiling litany of self-recrimination increases; the personal pronouns pile up; the accents of the bass and backing voices grow unruly and insistent, like nagging, negative thoughts heaping on one another.

[14] According to Rhik Samadder, Loeb's guitar picks out a simple arpeggio as she admonishes: "You say I only hear what I want to," warning us that this may be the most self-involved song ever written.

According to Jim Beviglia of American Songwriter, "Loeb's lyrics definitely capture the breathless way of expressing oneself that was common at the time.

Yet in the midst of all of the breathlessness, she focuses enough to spin out several couplets that really nail the topsy-turvy feeling that romantic mind games can play on you.

With a vulnerable, determined delivery, Loeb's vocals recall the sweetness of the Sundays' Harriet Wheeler and the brashness of Edie Brickell.

"[15] In the UK, Alan Jones from Music Week stated that "its pleasing amalgam of semi-acoustic stumming and sublime vocals is attractive enough to do rather well.

While the basic folk-rock elements of the song are present, much of the material on the record doesn't sound like her breakthrough hit; there are some distorted guitars here and there, and she even rocks out a little bit.

"[14] Charles Aaron from Spin ranked "Stay" number 20 on his list of the "Top 20 Singles of the Year" in December 1994.

[23] After being featured in the film Reality Bites, "Stay (I Missed You)" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 in early April 1994.

[24] For over 19 years, Loeb was the only artist to have this distinction, until the achievement was matched in 2013 by American duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with their single "Thrift Shop".

[28][29][30] The song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 1994 for the shipment of 500,000 copies.

[36] In July 2024, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) awarded the song a gold certification for shipments exceeding 400,000 copies.

[38][39][40] The music video for "Stay (I Missed You)", directed by Ethan Hawke and released in 1994, begins with a cat on a chair, then zooms out to Loeb (wearing a forest green dress and tortoiseshell glasses)[41] singing the lyrics while walking around in the empty New York City apartment.

In 2007, it was covered by pop-punk band New Found Glory for From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II and featured Loeb on supporting vocals.