"Lost in Japan" is a song recorded by Canadian singer

Shawn Mendes Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (; born August 8, 1998) is a Canadian pop singer. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine. The following year, he caught the attention of artist manager Andrew Gert ...

. It was written by Mendes, Scott Harris, Nate Mercereau and

Teddy Geiger Teresa Geiger (born September 16, 1988) also known by her stage name Teddy Geiger, is an American artist, songwriter and record producer. Early life Geiger was born on September 16, 1988, to Lorilyn Rizzo-Bridges and John Theodore Geiger, I. Sh ...

, with production handled by Mendes, Mercereau, Geiger and

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, T ...

. The song was released by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

on March 23, 2018, as a second single for Mendes' self-titled third studio album. An official remix by German music producer

Zedd Anton Zaslavski (russian: Антон Заславский; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a Russian-born German disc jockey, DJ, record producer, and songwriter. Zedd grew up and began his musical journey in Kaise ...

was released on September 27, 2018.

Release

The song's title was first spotted in the background of Mendes' Instagram posts from when he was recording the album in Jamaica, leading to speculation on the possibility of Mendes releasing two singles, hence the two dates in an earlier teaser. He announced the song mere hours after the release of " In My Blood", writing on Twitter: "Wanted to give you another song".

Composition

"Lost in Japan" is a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, pop and R&B song, with "funky strings and driving bass" that bears resemblances to the work of

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

. During interviews, Mendes stated that he was inspired by all of the Timberlake songs he was listening to at the time, especially '' Justified''–and a dream. "I had this dream that I was lost in this country and I woke up the next day and we had this cool piano part and the song was birthed." Lars Brandle of ''

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 ...

'' wrote that the song "opens with a subtle spell of piano then changes gears with a fat bass sound and groove". It transformed from "a slow, piano-driven number" into "a passionate, hook-laden love song", according to

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

's Robyn Collins. Lyrically, Mendes offers to travel the globe in order to be closer to his love interest.

Critical reception

Mike Nied of

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

regarded the "atmospheric" song as "another solid gold bop", complimenting its ability "to present a new, more mature version of the superstar". Sam Damshenas of ''

Gay Times ''Gay Times'' (stylized in all caps), also known as ''Gay Times Magazine'' and as ''GT'', is a UK-based LGBTQ+ media brand established in 1975. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company now includes content for the LGBTQ+ commu ...

'' opined that the song "displays a saucier, funkier side" to Mendes. Jordan Sargent of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' praised the track, deeming it "notably well-made pop music" and "refreshingly spacious," despite being ambivalent towards his previous single "In My Blood". ''

'' named it the 22nd best song of the first half of 2018, ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' considered it the 2nd, while ''

Uproxx ''Uproxx'' (stylized in all caps) is an entertainment and popular culture news website. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater, and acquired by Woven Digital (later renamed Uproxx Media Group) in 2014. The site's target audience ...

'' listed it at No. 8 for the best pop songs of 2018.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. *

– vocals, background vocals, songwriting, production, guitar * Scott Harris – songwriting, guitar * Nate Mercereau – songwriting, additional production, keyboard, bass, guitar, percussion, piano *

– background vocals, songwriting, production, drums, guitar, percussion, programming *

– additional production * Harry Burr – mixing assistance, studio personnel *

Andrew Maury Andrew Maury is an American record producer, mixing engineer, and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. Career Maury has worked with artists such as Lewis Del Mar, Lizzo, Ra Ra Riot, Shawn Mendes, JP Saxe, Post Malone, RAC, Jeremy Zucker, M ...

– mixing, studio personnel * George Seara – vocal engineering, studio personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Zedd remix

A remix of "Lost in Japan" by

was released on September 27, 2018, and was sent to the US

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

on October 2, 2018.

Music video

A music video for the song was released on October 25, 2018. The video features both the original and remix versions of the song. The music video reenacts scenes from the 2003 film '' Lost in Translation,'' where Mendes plays the role of Bob (originally portrayed by

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

)''.'' It features guest appearances from Norwegian actress

Alisha Boe Alisha Ilhaan Bø (born March 6, 1997), known professionally as Alisha Boe, is a United States–based actress. She is known for playing Jessica Davis in the Netflix drama series ''13 Reasons Why''. Early life Boe was born in Oslo, Norway, to ...

(who plays

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

's character Charlotte) and remixer

. The music video was directed by Jay Martin and shot by Kai Saul.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

. *

– background vocals, songwriting, production, drums, guitar, percussion, programming *

– additional production * Harry Burr – mixing assistance, studio personnel *

– mixing, studio personnel * George Seara – vocal engineering, studio personnel *

– additional production, remixing, studio personnel

Charts

Release history

References

{{authority control 2018 songs 2018 singles Funk songs Island Records singles Shawn Mendes songs Songs written by Shawn Mendes Songs written by Scott Harris (songwriter) Songs written by Teddy Geiger Song recordings produced by Louis Bell Zedd songs Songs about Japan