Artist: Justin Gray
Title: Losing My Mind
Released: 2nd November 2017
Length: 3:36
Genre: Pop, Latin
Written By: D.Alexander, J.Gray, T.Newton, R.Nurding, A.Watt, J.Williams
Produced By: Frank Dukes
Label: Five Pesky Kids
From The Album: BRIGHTSIDE
Losing My Mind is a song by Australian singer-songwriter, actor and former ELMNT member, Justin Gray. It serves as his joint lead single alongside
Why Would I Lie?. The song is taken from his forthcoming debut album which is said to be titled;
BRIGHTSIDE. Musically, the track is a huge deviation from the material produced by his former band, ELMNT and also from the counterpart solo single. While retaining the same "laid back" and "retro" styling of
Why Would I Lie?,
Losing My Mind takes on the form of a Latin Pop number. The song was written by Justin himself alongside numerous other songwriters: Theresa Newton, Andrew Watt, Jason Williams, Roseanne Nurding and Darryl Alexander, during a writing camp session at Pesky. Production was handled by Canadian DJ and producer, Frank Dukes. This is the first solo track from any ELMNT member after their split on 8th November 2015, almost two whole years to the day.
Gray began working on his debut solo album in early 2016, inking a solo deal and remaining at Five Pesky Kids just weeks after ELMNT split in late 2015. Justin had been writing songs in his downtime for years prior to the disbandment or even the formation of the group. During the early stages of the album's conception, Justin preferred to write alone but after fears of putting too much pressure on himself and "tainting" the work, he allowed other writers to approach and work with him, often attending multiple sessions with big teams. As well as switching his writing methods, Justin began experimenting with many different production styles and genres. From "French house" to "trap", he worked on a variety of tracks to see what worked for him.
Losing My Mind was born out of one of these experimental sessions with famed producer Frank Dukes. Having many retro inspired songs under wraps at the time and realising that this was going to be the main direction of his album, Gray wanted a "throwback with a twist" in order to "shake things up" and create a song which both stands out yet works with the rest of the album. Dukes presented Gray with a Latin Pop inspired track which he loved and began working on with a team of writers the next day.
Unlike
Why Would I Lie?, the song was not written from Gray's personal experience nor was it conceptualised before any musical production took place. Gray and a team of writers began writing to the beat in February 2017. Due to working with many different people with multiple ideas and using a track that was unique among the bunch in his possession at the time, Justin decided that he wanted to "go all out" with the lyrics and create something "mad" and that he "wouldn't normally dare to write". The lyrics have drawn some criticism upon release as the song somewhat "glorifies" having an affair.
Losing My Mind discusses the topic of two best friends who are both in relationships, secretly yearning for one another and planning on committing adultery.
"I know I'm going to get some flack and raised eyebrows for "Losing My Mind" but it's just a song. You should be smart enough to know what's right and wrong, haha! Stuff like this happens in real life though and I wanted to go all out. Like with "Why Would I Lie?" I'm talking about things I never would've dared to in ELMNT. This one is just for fun, not to be taken too seriously and it was rather liberating to craft such an oddity of a song". The lyrical content of the song has also been noted for showing a more "provocative" and "adult" side to Justin as he swears multiple times in the record and refers to sexual intercourse. In ELMNT, Gray was known for having a far more conservative and "cute" image.
Upon release, the song has received a mainly positive reception with few criticisms of its lyrical content and Justin's choice of a Latin inspired sound. Naomi Rankin of Entertainment Weekly described the song as
"sexy",
"shocking" and a
"surefire hit with its Latin spice". Writing for Billboard, Sophie Wells opined the track
"slinks its way into your brain in an unapologetic manner and will show no signs of leaving" before branding it a
"solid, unexpected pop debut" and
"a potential worldwide smash with crossover appeal". Much Music's Cody Lott gave a positive review, saying that
"Justin Gray surprises us all with his debut anthem, shedding his cutesy "baby of the band" image. He's dropping f-bombs, he has sex on his mind and he's about to steal your girl. If doing all of that over sexy Latin horns and a bouncy piano isn't the perfect way to debut then I don't know what is!". Sasha Geffen from MTV was more critical, calling the track a
"generic, lazy attempt at a hit" and that it lacked the
"creative genius" of the
"far superior" Why Would I Lie?. In The New York Times, Jon Pareles gave a highly negative review, calling the song
"wrong on so many levels. From the sensationalising of adultery to the Australian's use of Cuban inspired music in an attempt to cash-in on a market that normally wouldn't give him the time of day." He then went on to say that
"there's something so forced about a 5ft 6" Caucasian boy from Australia using terms such as "ballin'", "bossin'" and his extended "daaaaaamn's"."This ain't gonna be another song about a heartbreak,
A heartbreak, no heartbreak
Yeah I don't wanna hear no fucking song about a heartache,
A heartache, no heartache
Wanna spin you something slick and watch you go down,
Go down, yeah, go down
Then later on you could hop on through to my town,
My town, way downtown
And this ain't gonna be another song about a heartbreak
A heartbreak, no heartbreak
Yeah I don't wanna hear no fucking song about a heartache,
A heartache, no heartache
Damn, I'm losing my mind out here...Midnight thoughts spinning around in my head
Burning up in these sheets, working up a sweat
Feel like screaming out my lungs, can't control these notions
And how the fuck did I end up with all these emotions?
I, I, I wanna raise a flag, ruin this friendship
Know you feel the same so let's skip to the good bit
Oh look at us bossin'
Yeah, look at us blossom
Now wake up from that fairytale 'cause baby, we got a problem
He still thinks that you're awesome
And she's watching me with caution
Too red-blooded to think straight, another thing we got in common
I can't take you to the heavens if you're scared of getting high
But if I know you like I think I do, you're gonna love the ride
You got me out here doing things that I never thought I'd do
And whatever he is offering, know that I can do that better too
This ain't gonna be another song about a heartbreak,
A heartbreak, no heartbreak
Yeah I don't wanna hear no fucking song about a heartache,
A heartache, no heartache
Wanna spin you something slick and watch you go down,
Go down, yeah, go down
Then later on you could hop on through to my town,
My town, way downtown
And this ain't gonna be another song about a heartbreak
A heartbreak, no heartbreak
Yeah I don't wanna hear no fucking song about a heartache,
A heartache, no heartache
Damn, I'm losing my mind out here...I've seen all the pics you posted with your boyfriend
Yeah, I'm doing all that I can not to make a comment
Who listens to your troubles on all those whisky nights?
I know it isn't him, only posing for all those likes
He's too concerned trying to find the perfect angle
Forget vanity, I wanna wake up with you all in tangles
Oh we could be rockin'
Yeah, we could be ballin'
Living our best life but instead we're just wishing and stalling
You still come when he's callin'
I'm fighting through the exhaustion
Can we finally make it to the horizon? A new day is dawning
I can't take you to the heavens if you're scared of getting high
But if I know you like I think I do, you're gonna love the ride
You got me out here doing things that I never thought I'd do
And whatever he is offering, know that I can do that better too
This ain't gonna be another song about a heartbreak,
A heartbreak, no heartbreak
Yeah I don't wanna hear no fucking song about a heartache,
A heartache, no heartache
Wanna spin you something slick and watch you go down,
Go down, yeah, go down
Then later on you could hop on through to my town,
My town, way downtown
And this ain't gonna be another song about a heartbreak
A heartbreak, no heartbreak
Yeah I don't wanna hear no fucking song about a heartache,
A heartache, no heartache
Damn, I'm losing my mind out here...I know you love me, you got me, you're waiting for me
Slow and steady, you get me, now I'm so ready
Wanna come around and keep each other company?
Can you spare the time? I know you're hot property
Let's go do some things that I never thought I'd do
And all the things he does, I can do that better too
Don't think about it, don't think about it, leave him behind
Don't think about it, don't think about it, you'll lose your mind
This ain't gonna be another song about a heartbreak,
A heartbreak, no heartbreak
Yeah I don't wanna hear no fucking song about a heartache,
A heartache, no heartache
Wanna spin you something slick and watch you go down,
Go down, yeah, go down
Then later on you could hop on through to my town,
My town, way downtown
And this ain't gonna be another song about a heartbreak
A heartbreak, no heartbreak
Yeah I don't wanna hear no fucking song about a heartache,
A heartache, no heartache
Damn, I'm losing my mind out here...Can Be Compared To:
