XTINE has never been one to shy away from vulnerability, but with her new single “Nobody Stays,” the rising alt-pop artist doesn’t just bare her soul—she weaponizes it. The track is a gut-wrenching, gorgeously orchestrated plunge into the stormy waters of mental health, specifically borderline personality disorder, and the quiet dread of abandonment that shadows it.
Clocking in at just under four minutes, “Nobody Stays” is both grand and intimate. It opens with sweeping strings and builds into a storm of glitchy synths and haunting melodies, evoking a sense of unease that never quite resolves—and that’s by design. XTINE’s voice is the emotional anchor here, shifting from a whisper to a cry without ever losing control. She doesn’t just sing about pain—she transmits it.
Lyrically, the song unpacks the push-pull dynamic of deeply personal relationships strained by emotional instability. The refrain—“Will I keep you, or will I end up pushing you?”—is not only poignant but painfully relatable for anyone who’s ever struggled with fear of abandonment or the guilt of emotional volatility. Rather than wrapping these themes in metaphor, XTINE opts for raw honesty. It lands like a bruise.
But what makes “Nobody Stays” more than just another sad pop ballad is its sonic ambition. Influenced by Sia’s vocal bravado, Sleeping at Last’s orchestral depth, and Björk’s avant-garde textures, XTINE merges genre with emotional clarity. This is alt-pop that feels like it belongs in a film—equal parts fragile and epic.