"Deja Vu" is a song by American rapper and singer

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

, featuring vocals from Canadian singer

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

. It was released through

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

as the fourth single from Malone's debut studio album, '' Stoney'', on September 9, 2016. Malone and Bieber wrote the song with producers

Frank Dukes Adam King Feeney (born September 12, 1983), better known as Ging and by his former stage name Frank Dukes, is a Canadian musician, record producer, and songwriter. A prolific producer, he has worked with artists including Camila Cabello ("Havana ...

and

Vinylz Anderson Hernandez (born September 2, 1989),Rys, Dan (July 11, 2013)"‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ Behind The Scenes: Five Producers Who Helped Craft The Album". ''XXL (magazine), XXL''. Accessed on July 11, 2013. professionally known as Vinylz, ...

alongside

Matthew Tavares Matthew Adam Tavares (born September 15, 1990), also known as Matty, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and music producer. He is best known as a founder of the instrumental group BADBADNOTGOOD, with whom he released five studio albums and prod ...

, Kaan Güneşberk,

FKi 1st Trocon Markous Robert Jr., better known by his stage name FKi 1st, 1$T or 1st Down, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. He is a member of the production and songwriting team FKi. FKi 1st's production has yielded 2 ...

Louis Bell Louis Russell Bell (born May 27, 1982) is an American record producer, vocal producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. Bell's work includes production for Post Malone, Camila Cabello, Halsey, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, 5 Seconds of Summer, ...

, Carl Rosen, and Julkeyz. It marks the first collaboration between the two artists.

Background

Before collaborating, Malone opened for Bieber on the

Purpose World Tour The Purpose World Tour was the third concert tour by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, in support of his fourth studio album '' Purpose'' (2015). The tour started on March 9, 2016, in Seattle, Washington, and concluded on July 2, 2017, in London, U ...

, to support Bieber's fourth studio album, '' Purpose'' (2015), which led to the two artists developing a friendship. Malone was halfway through recording ''Stoney'' producer

played him an unfinished instrumental that he had come up with. In January 2016, Bieber visited Malone in the studio, in which he heard the beat and wanted to get on the song. Bieber immediately took to the beat and ended up recording his vocals, what would become the finished version of "Deja Vu" in the booth, with him and Malone going back and forth with ideas. After Bieber finished, Malone put the song together with the help of Bell and the others who were involved. Bell referred to the session as a high-pressure situation that "kept imon istoes" while he engineered and recorded the track. "Deja Vu" leaked online a day before its official release.

Composition and lyrics

"Deja Vu" is a laid-back pop song with a deep R&B groove involving "wistful, detuned guitar riffs". It opens with a

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that backs the track. Several critics made comparisons to

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

's "

Hotline Bling "Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake, which serves as the lead single from his fourth studio album ''Views'' (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made available for digital download on July 31 ...

" in regards to the song's sound. In particular, ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

''s David Renshaw said it "has an almost 'Hotline Bling'-esque tempo", while Madeline Roth of

MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...

, Danny Schwartz of ''HotNewHipHop'', and ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Colin Stutz noted similarities between the two with the song's start. In a different comparison, Dana Getz of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' wrote that it "features a slow fizz, cha-cha inflected beat akin to a drowsier take on Drake's '

One Dance "One Dance" is a song by Canadian rapper and singer Drake from his fourth studio album ''Views'' (2016). It features guest vocals from Nigerian afrobeats artist WizKid and British singer Kyla. The artists co-wrote the dancehall and afrobeats son ...

. "Deja Vu" is about an on-and-off-again love where "Malone helms sluggish, lovesick verses". An echoed coo accompanies Malone and Bieber as they sing the hook, with the latter repeating before delivering his verse: "Tell me is that deja vu? / 'Cause you want me and I want you."

Credits and personnel

– lead vocals, songwriting *

– featured vocals, songwriting *

– production, songwriting, programming, percussion *

– production, songwriting *

– songwriting, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards * Kaan Güneşberk – songwriting, background vocals *

– songwriting *

– songwriting * Carl Rosen – songwriting * Julkeyz – songwriting *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is an American mixing engineer.Daley, Dan (May 2005).Manny Marroquin. ''Sound on Sound''. Retrieved February 10, 2007 He has received ten Grammy awards for his professional audio work. Life and career M ...

– mixing * Louis Bell – recording * Alex Pavone – other contributions

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

Lyrics of this song at Genius
{{authority control 2016 singles 2016 songs Republic Records singles Post Malone songs Justin Bieber songs Songs written by Frank Dukes Song recordings produced by Vinylz Songs written by Vinylz Songs written by Post Malone Songs written by Louis Bell Songs written by Justin Bieber Song recordings produced by Frank Dukes Songs written by Matthew Tavares