Wandered to LA

Summary

"Wandered to LA" is a song by American rapper Juice WRLD and Canadian singer Justin Bieber. It was released on December 3, 2021, under Interscope Records and Grade A Productions as the second single from Juice's fourth studio album Fighting Demons, which was released posthumously. Juice and Bieber wrote the song with American record producers Louis Bell and Harv and Israeli songwriter and producer Omer Fedi; Juice had first previewed the song in September 2018, before Bieber was added to it.[1]

"Wandered to LA"
Single by Juice Wrld and Justin Bieber
from the album Fighting Demons
ReleasedDecember 3, 2021
GenrePop-rap
Length3:09
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Juice Wrld singles chronology
"Already Dead"
(2021)
"Wandered to LA"
(2021)
"Cigarettes"
(2022)
Justin Bieber singles chronology
"Lonely Christmas"
(2021)
"Wandered to LA"
(2021)
"Attention"
(2022)
Lyric video
"Wandered to LA" on YouTube

Composition and lyrics edit

"Wandered to LA" is a "glossy pop" song that is set in the key of C major with a tempo of 135 beats per minute. Writing for GQ, Grant Rindner felt that the song was "true to the artist Juice was becoming";[2][3] in the chorus and his verse, Juice details his love for consuming drugs, while Bieber details his effort to make a relationship work in his verse.[4]

Release and promotion edit

On December 2, 2021, what would have been Juice's 23rd birthday, his team announced the single's imminent release along with Bieber being added as the co-lead artist. A trailer video was also released on the same day, which details Juice and Bieber separately talking about their respective previous drug addictions and advising their fans to speak out about loneliness.[5]

Critical reception edit

Writing for Variety, A.D. Amorosi praised Bieber's verse on "Wandered to LA" and said that it was one of his favorites on Fighting Demons, stating "the gently jiving and soulful track is there to support Juice's jazziest-ever vocal line, with Bieber offering up a similarly slippery sing-song-iness," adding that "as a guest shot, Bieber and Juice sound as if they're playing off one another – the very point of what a dynamic feature should sound like, whether or not its host is living or deceased."[6] Kyann-Sian Williams of NME opined that over the "breezy guitar strums" of the song, the two artists "detail their relationships", acknowledged Juice rapping about "dark themes" in his verse ("Maybe it's because the lies, they fill her up / You see the ghost on her front porch"), but did not agree with Bieber's contribution to the song as the "lines and melodies" in his verse, "although sweet, don't fit in so well with such gothic tone of the song" (“Reminiscing about the days you broke my heart / Thankful that we worked it out – we come so far").[7]

Charts edit

Chart performance for "Wandered to LA"
Chart (2021–2022) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[8] 44
Australia Hip Hop/R&B (ARIA)[9] 12
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 29
Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 89
Global 200 (Billboard)[12] 44
Greece (IFPI)[13] 59
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 45
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[15] 20
Lithuania (AGATA)[16] 71
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 89
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[18] 4
Portugal (AFP)[19] 79
South Africa (RISA)[20] 78
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[21] 3
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 73
UK Singles (OCC)[23] 59
UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[24] 13
US Billboard Hot 100[25] 49
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 9
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[27] 32
US Rhythmic (Billboard)[28] 19

Release history edit

Release dates and formats for "Wandered to LA"
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various December 3, 2021
[29]
United States December 7, 2021 Rhythmic contemporary radio [30]
Italy December 17, 2021 Radio airplay Universal [31]

References edit

  1. ^ Brandle, Lars (December 3, 2021). "Juice WRLD Fights Demons on 'Wandered to LA' With Justin Bieber: Listen". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  2. ^ Rindner, Grant (December 20, 2021). "HBO's Juice WRLD Documentary Is an Intimate Showcase of the Rapper's Personal Demons". GQ. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  3. ^ Higgins, Jarad; Bieber, Justin; Bell, Louis; Harvey, Bernard; Fedi, Omer (December 3, 2021). "Wandered To LA". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  4. ^ Legaspi, Althea (December 3, 2021). "Hear Juice WRLD's 'Wandered to LA' Featuring Justin Bieber". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Juice WRLD & Justin Bieber - Wandered To LA (Official Trailer)". December 2, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ Amorosi, A. D. (December 10, 2021). "The Late Juice WRLD's 'Fighting Demons' Has Doom, Death and Duets With BTS' Suga and Justin Bieber: Album Review". Variety. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  7. ^ Williams, Kyann-Sian (December 10, 2021). "Juice WRLD – 'Fighting Demons' review: posthumous album deepens rapper's narrative". NME. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  8. ^ "Juice Wrld / Justin Bieber – Wandered to LA". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  9. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles for week of 20 December 2021". Australian Recording Industry Association. December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  10. ^ "Juice Wrld Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  11. ^ "Juice Wrld / Justin Bieber – Wandered to LA" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  12. ^ "Juice Wrld Chart History (Global 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  13. ^ "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 49/2021". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
  14. ^ "Official Irish Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas [ 2022/01/12 公開]". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "2021 49-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  17. ^ "Juice Wrld / Justin Bieber – Wandered to LA" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  18. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  19. ^ "Juice Wrld / Justin Bieber – Wandered to LA". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  20. ^ "Local & International Streaming Chart Top 100: Week 49". The Official South African Charts. Recording Industry of South Africa. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  21. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 49". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  22. ^ "Juice Wrld / Justin Bieber – Wandered to LA". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  24. ^ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  25. ^ "Juice Wrld Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  26. ^ "Juice Wrld Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  27. ^ "Juice Wrld Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  28. ^ "Juice Wrld Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  29. ^ "Wandered To LA - Single by Juice WRLD & Justin Bieber on Apple Music". Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Apple Music.
  30. ^ "Top 40 Rhythmic Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  31. ^ Vitali, Giacomo. "Juice Wrld 'Wandered to LA' | (Radio Date: 17/12/2021)". Universal Music Group. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Radio Airplay SRL.