“Wandered to LA”—the second single off Juice WRLD’s upcoming posthumous release, Fighting Demons—has officially arrived. The song, first teased on Instagram Live by Juice WRLD back in 2018, was originally rumored to be called “Hotel Room” and feature a guest appearance from Post Malone. Then, on December 2, Juice WRLD’s estate shared the official trailer for the track, revealing it would instead be a collaboration with Justin Bieber.
Alongside the release of the trailer, Juice WRLD’s mother, Candace Wallace, shared a letter she wrote to her late son, who would’ve turned 23 on December 2. In the letter, Wallace vows to use her Live Free 999 foundation, set up in the wake of his death, “as an avenue to normalize the conversation around mental health and substance dependency and help those who suffer in silence.” You can learn more about the foundation here.
Featuring production by Louis Bell and HARV, “Wandered to LA” marks the first time Bieber has appeared on a song with Juice WRLD. The pair trade off verses about a whirlwind romantic affair that takes place in a Los Angeles hotel room.
On the first verse, Juice WRLD sets the scene for the romance: two lovers bonded by their mutual love of drugs.
Maybe it’s the love, maybe it’s the drugs
Maybe it’s because my girlfriend is the plug
Cocaine strums like guitar chords
She loves drugs, she goes hardcore
Unsurprisingly, the love affair isn’t without its complications, which cast a shadow on their passionate affair later on in the verse.
She’s hidin’ from the truth, it’s under the rug
Maybe it’s because the lies, they fill the room
You see the ghost on her front porch
You see the blood at her front door
On the chorus, Juice WRLD still counts himself lucky to have found love at all.
I wandered to LA hopin’ to explore
Little did I know, I’d find a little more
Love at my hotel room door
The Biebs handles the second verse. He has faith that he and his girl can work through the issues at hand.
Say you gotta give me space and let me breathe (Let me breathe)
Say you gotta give me lovin’, that I need (That I need)
Still we gotta focus on the little things (Little things)
If I want to end up how we used to be (Used to be)
Set to drop on December 10, Fighting Demons will be Juice WRLD’s second posthumous studio album, following 2020’s Legends Never Die. While you wait for its arrival, you can read all the lyrics to “Wandered to LA” on Genius now.
