The video for Shawn Mendes’ track “Lost In Japan,” which debuted Thursday night, is a cheeky homage to Sofia Coppola’s 2003 movie Lost In Translation.
The 20-year-old Canadian singer channels Bill Murray’s character while Norwegian actress Alisha Boe (13 Reasons Why) handles the Scarlett Johansson role.
Not surprisingly, the video relies more on Zedd’s remix of “Lost In Japan,” which was released last month (the Russian-born DJ has a cameo in the video).
The original version of the song, which Mendes co-wrote with Scott Harris, Nate Mercereau and Teddy Geiger, failed to catch fire when it was released seven months ago. It stalled at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 39 in his native Canada.
On social media, fans are noting that Mendes appears to already be in Japan when he sings "I'm a couple hundred miles from Japan" – and they're having fun pointing out that he shaves his already-smooth face.
Mendes sings about jetting off to hook up with someone he can’t get off his mind – but he has previously said it’s not based on a real-life experience. Mendes told Billboard the song was inspired by listening to Justin Timberlake songs.
“I had this dream that I was lost in this country,” he said, “and I woke up the next day and we had this cool piano part and the song was birthed.”
Check out the “Lost In Japan” video below: