"Deja Vu" is a song by American rapper

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

featuring Canadian singer

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

. It was released through

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, 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 ...

as the fourth single from the former's debut studio album '' Stoney'' on September 9, 2016. The first collaboration between the two artists, they wrote the song alongside Matthew Tavares, Kaan Güneşberk,

FKi 1st Trocon Markous Robert Jr. (born November 20, 1989), better known by his stage name FKi 1st, $1T or 1st Down, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. He first became known as one half of the Atlanta-based production d ...

, Louis Bell, Carl Rosen, Julkeyz, & 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 Lorde for ''Melodrama'' ...

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''. Accessed on July 11, 2013. professionally known as Vinylz, is an American ...

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 (Justin Bieber album), Purpose'' (2015). The tour started on March 9, 2016, in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, and ...

, 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

church organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

that backs the track. Several critics made comparisons to

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

's "

Hotline Bling "Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake, which served as the lead single from his fourth studio album ''Views (album), Views'' (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made availabl ...

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

The Fader ''The Fader'' is a magazine established in 1999 as an outlet for Cornerstone Agency, a marketing and public relations firm established by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. History and work It is owned by T ...

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

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

, 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 advertis ...

''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 online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' 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 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 song with its ...

. "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 * Matthew Tavares – songwriting, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards * Kaan Güneşberk – songwriting, background vocals *

– songwriting * Louis Bell – songwriting * Carl Rosen – songwriting * Julkeyz – songwriting *

Manny Marroquin Manny Marroquin (born September 21, 1971) is a Guatemalan-American record mixing engineer. He has been credited on albums for high-profile pop, R&B, hip hop and rock acts. He has worked with artists including Rihanna, Kanye West, Katy Perry ...

– 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