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

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

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

Teddy Geiger Teddy Geiger (born September 16, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer who first gained teen idol status with the song " For You I Will (Confidence)" in 2006. Geiger acted in the television series '' Love Monkey'' (2006) and ...

, 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, ...

. The song was released by

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

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 (; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a German record producer and DJ. His stage name, Zedd, was derived from ''zed'', the Z#Name and pronunciation, English pronunciation, barring American English, for ...

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 ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

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, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

. 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 advertis ...

'' 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's Robyn Collins. Lyrically, Mendes offers to travel the globe in order to be closer to his love interest. Sheet music for the song "Lost In Japan" is in the key of

B Major B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equi ...

and a tempo range of 104-108 beats per minute, while Mendes's vocals span from G3 to C6.

Critical reception

Mike Nied of

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolator or Idolater may also refer to: * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), a 2005 album by Blood Stain Child * ''Idolator'', a 1986 album by Ole Evenrud * "Idolater", a ...

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+ magazine established in 1984. Originally a magazine for gay and bisexual men, the company began including content for the LGBTQ+ comm ...

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

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' 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 may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'' considered it the 2nd, while ''

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

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

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

– 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 mixing engineer and record producer based in Brooklyn, New York. Career Maury has worked with artists such as Lewis Del Mar, Lizzo, Madi Diaz, Victoria Canal, Petey USA, Vagabon, Shawn Mendes, Post Malone, Colony ...

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

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, known for his deadpan delivery in roles ranging from studio comedies to independent dramas. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Bill Murra ...

)''.'' It features guest appearances from Norwegian actress Alisha Boe (who plays

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress and singer. The List of highest-paid film actors, world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has been featured multiple times on the Forbes Celebrity 100, ''F ...

's character Charlotte) and remixer

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

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. *

– 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