“Immortality is overrated,” sings Sam Creighton at the start of her duet with Will Jay, a bold statement since the concept of mortality has been an ever-present topic for the past two years. Yet, it was the darkness of 2020 that led to the shining light in “i would rather die than live forever.” In the new song, out today (Sept. 24), these two real-life loves unite their voices in a celebration of appreciating the fleeting moments they have together because they’re more valuable than the promise of eternity alone. “I know I wouldn’t choose any fountain of youth / if we only get so many years together / Tell me, what would I do in a world without you / there’d be nothing left that I’d want to remember / I would rather die than live forever.”
Ironically, the song is a tale that is as old as time (Romeo & Juliet springs to mind). The two share what inspired the song, telling HollywoodLife that ‘i would rather die than live forever’ combines two of our favorite things: love and existential thoughts. The past year and a half has given us time to step back and observe the human experience in an entirely new way. During the quarantine, we often found ourselves deep in conversation about the universe, time, immortality, and how fast technology advances; but we always came back to what is real – human connection.”
“We hope people will take the same away from the song – that regardless of how quickly everything changes, love (in all forms) remains real and true,” the duo adds. It’s a powerful statement about the value of humanity, despite its flaws and fleshy bits, in the wake of advancing technology. Who needs the singularity if you can’t spend it holding hands with your soulmate?
Will commemorated the release of this song with Sam (who happens to be his songwriting partner) with a sweet message on Instagram. “4 years! So many words come to mind, and none of them feel right to capture how profound and life-changing it’s been to get to love you. I’m just still so grateful we found each other & life is so much better with you. I love you endlessly [Sam],” he captioned the shot of them together.
The past four years have been the best of Will’s life, not just because of finding Sam but because of his success in the music world. The pop artist behind tracks “Gangsta,” “never Been In Love,” “Was It Even Real?” and “Please Don’t Get Any Older” has amassed over 35 million streams, 25 million views, and over 110k Instagram followers. 2020 saw him release his album, Perfectionist, and with “i would rather die than live forever,” Will continues this momentum into the next year – and beyond.