Wandered To LA
by Juice WRLD (featuring Justin Bieber)

Album: Fighting Demons (2021)
Charted: 59 49
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Wandered To LA" finds Juice WRLD detailing a true story about a hookup with a girl pal in a City of Angels hotel room. The experience is euphoric, but the elephant in the room is both the rapper and the woman are drug abusers. In fact, she's his drug dealer ("My girlfriend is the plug") and her hardcore abuse casts a shadow on their affair.
  • Justin Bieber croons a guest verse where he focuses on making his romance work. If he and his girl can work through their issues, they can return to the loving relationship they once had. It's likely the Biebs is referring to a breakdown in the friendship he had with his now wife Hailey. They briefly dated in the winter of 2015-2016, but broke up and hardly spoke to one another for the next couple of years. After reconciling, Justin and Hailey grew closer and married in the fall of 2018.
  • Juice WRLD first previewed a snippet of the track on September 18, 2018. He titled it "Hotel Room," with a rumored Post Malone feature. Juice WRLD passed away in December 2019 from an accidental drug overdose without releasing the song. Fans heard nothing else until Lil Bibby, manager of Juice's label, Grade A Productions, announced it as the second single from the rapper's second-to-be-posthumous album, Fighting Demons.
  • Grade A Productions released a trailer for the chilled-out track on Juice's YouTube channel on December 2, 2021. The short film shows the rapper opening up about his battle with anxiety and depression, hoping his struggles might help others. Meanwhile, Bieber talks about his own mental health journey and the consequences of dependence on substances.
  • Justin Bieber and Juice WRLD wrote the song with:

    Los Angeles songwriter/producer Omer Fedi (24kGoldn's "Mood," The Kid Laroi's "Without You" and "Stay," and Lil Nas X's "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)").

    Producer Louis Bell. His past collaborations with Justin Bieber include the singles "Hold On" and "Peaches."

    Bernard "Harv" Harvey, who started out playing bass in Justin Bieber's band. He began supplying the Biebs with beats and co-produced two tracks on Justice: "Peaches" and "Somebody."
  • "Wandered To LA" was already a song when Juice's team sent it to Bieber. After the Biebs wrote his verse he asked Harv to switch the production up because it sounded like a Juice WRLD cut by himself. He wanted it to make sense for him to be part of the track.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Marvin Gaye

Marvin GayeFact or Fiction

Did Marvin try out with the Detroit Lions? Did he fake crazy to get out of military service? And what about the cross-dressing?

Weird Al Yankovic

Weird Al YankovicFact or Fiction

Did Al play on a Beach Boys record? Did he have beef with George Lucas and Coolio? See if you can spot weird but true stories.

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"

Susanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"They're Playing My Song

The Prince-penned "Manic Monday" was the first song The Bangles heard coming from a car radio, but "Eternal Flame" is closest to Susanna's heart, perhaps because she sang it in "various states of undress."

Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root

Michael Glabicki of Rusted RootSongwriter Interviews

Michael tells the story of "Send Me On My Way," and explains why some of the words in the song don't have a literal meaning.

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.