“Lost In Japan” is one of the best songs on Shawn Mendes‘ outstanding self-titled album. The playful, bouncy melody is a showcase for Mendes’ killer falsetto, and the lyrics are romantic, if a bit puzzling. (Where in the Pacific Ocean would Mendes have to be if he’s a “couple hundred miles from Japan tonight”?)
Both iterations of the song (the one on the album and the recently released single version featuring Zedd) are fan favorites. Mendes is known for having especially great videos, from the parking garage shadowboxing in “Stitches” to the twinkle-lit drama of “In My Blood.”
The video for “Lost In Japan” is finally here, and it lives up to the hype. Mendes arrives at a hotel in Tokyo and meets a young woman (played by 13 Reasons Why‘s Alisha Boe). The two have a whirlwind infatuation, with key scenes at hotel parties and in elevators. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s the plot to Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film Lost In Translation. The video pays homage to key visual moments from the film, like the Bill Murray character (played by Mendes here, of course) smiling at the camera while filming a whiskey commercial, and the pink-wigged love interest taking the microphone to sing at a party.
The video begins with the album version of the song, but about a minute from the end, Zedd appears at a party with Mendes and Boe, and the audio switches to Zedd’s remix of the song. If it sounds clumsy, it’s actually not, and it’s cool that the video can incorporate both versions of the song so seamlessly.
Watch the video for “Lost in Japan” above.
