It’s the piano. That first, hollow chord hits, and suddenly you’re thinking about someone you haven't texted in three years. When Joji Glimpse of Us dropped in June 2022, it didn't just climb the charts; it basically colonized the emotional real estate of every person who has ever tried to "move on" while still being secretly miserable.
It’s a brutal song. Honestly.
Most breakup tracks are about the "break" part—the screaming matches, the blocked numbers, the crying in a car. But Joji did something way more uncomfortable here. He wrote about the "after." He wrote about being in a perfectly fine, healthy relationship with a "perfect" person, only to realize you’re just using them as a placeholder for a ghost.
The Anatomy of a Modern Heartbreak
Let's talk about the production. It’s sparse. Sparse is an understatement. It’s almost skeletal. Produced by Connor McDonough, the track strips away the lo-fi fuzz and "Pink Guy" irony that defined George Miller's earlier career. There are no trap drums. No heavy synths. Just a damp piano and a vocal performance that sounds like it was recorded at 3:00 AM in a room that hasn't seen sunlight in a week.
The song’s success wasn’t just a fluke of the TikTok algorithm, though it definitely dominated there. It tapped into a very specific, very taboo sentiment: the guilt of not being over an ex while someone new is giving you their world.
When he sings, "Said I'm fine and said I moved on / I'm only here passing time in her arms," it’s a confession. It's not a love song for the current girlfriend. It's an apology to her, or maybe a warning. He's looking for a "glimpse" of his past in his present. That’s a heavy burden to put on a pop song. It’s probably why it resonated so deeply with a generation that grew up on the melancholy of 88rising.
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Why the Music Video Changed Everything
If you haven't seen the music video directed by Dan Streit, it’s… a lot. It’s shot in a chaotic, "found footage" style that looks like a compilation of the worst weekend of your life. It features grainy shots of people destroying property, lighting things on fire, and general suburban mayhem.
There’s a weird disconnect. You have this beautiful, soaring ballad playing over footage of someone doing a burnout in a shitty car or puking in a parking lot.
It works because it visualizes the internal chaos. Grief isn't always sitting in a window sill watching rain fall. Sometimes grief is erratic. It’s ugly. It’s messy. By pairing a polished vocal performance with "trashy" visuals, Joji highlighted the gap between how we present our "moved on" selves and the absolute wreckage we feel inside. The contrast is the point.
The Viral Impact and Why We’re Still Talking About It
By July 2022, the song had already surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. For an artist who started as a YouTube comedian, that’s an insane trajectory. But beyond the numbers, the "Glimpse of Us" trend on TikTok became a legitimate cultural phenomenon.
People were sharing "before and after" photos of their partners, or filming themselves looking at their current SOs with a look of profound realization. Some people found it disrespectful to their current partners. Others found it deeply therapeutic.
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It’s rare for a song to spark a debate about the ethics of dating while still being in love with someone else. Most pop music stays in the "I love you" or "I hate you" lane. Joji parked his car right in the middle of "I’m with you, but I’m thinking of them," and everyone collectively gasped.
Breaking Down the Lyrics
The brilliance of the writing is in its simplicity. Take the bridge. It doesn't try to be poetic with complex metaphors about stars or oceans.
"Sometimes I look in her eyes and that's where I find a glimpse of us."
The word "glimpse" is doing all the heavy lifting. It’s fleeting. It’s not a full picture. It’s a trick of the light. He isn't saying he sees his ex; he's saying he's looking for a version of what they had. It’s a subtle distinction that makes the song ten times sadder.
The Legacy of the Ballad
Before this, Joji was known for "Slow Dancing in the Dark" and "Sanctuary." Those were great, but they still had a bit of that indie-R&B sheen. Joji Glimpse of Us stripped the mask off. It proved that he could carry a song on pure vocal ability and raw, unfiltered sentiment.
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It also signaled a shift in what we want from "sad music." We don't just want relatable sadness; we want the ugly stuff. We want the thoughts we’re ashamed to have.
There’s a reason people still bring this song up when discussing the best ballads of the 2020s. It’s timeless because the feeling is timeless. As long as people keep dating "rebounds" to escape the shadow of a former flame, this song will remain relevant.
What You Can Learn from the "Glimpse of Us" Phenomenon
If you're a creator, an artist, or just someone trying to understand why this song broke the internet, it comes down to three things:
- Subverting Expectations: Joji didn't give us a typical breakup song. He gave us a "stuck" song.
- Visual Contrast: The video didn't match the "vibe" of the music, which made it twice as memorable.
- Emotional Honesty: It’s better to be uncomfortably honest than safely generic.
If you find yourself relating too hard to these lyrics, it might be time for some radical self-reflection. Are you actually happy where you are, or are you just "passing time"? The song doesn't provide the answer, but it definitely forces you to ask the question.
To really appreciate the layers here, go back and watch the music video again, but ignore the chaos. Focus only on the lyrics against the grain of the film. You’ll see a story of someone trying to find meaning in destruction because their "perfect" life feels like a lie.
Check out Joji’s album Smithereens for the full context of this era. It’s a short, punchy project that feels like a fever dream, with this track serving as the undisputed emotional anchor.
Practical Next Steps
- Analyze the Lyrics: Read the full lyric sheet without the music playing. It reads like a confession note, which adds a completely different layer of intimacy to the experience.
- Watch the Director’s Cut: Look into Dan Streit’s other work to see how he uses "low-res" aesthetics to evoke high-stakes emotions.
- Listen for the Vocal Nuance: Pay attention to the second verse where Joji’s voice slightly cracks. It wasn't smoothed out in post-production, which is a deliberate choice to keep the human element front and center.