Lost

About

Lost was released as the lead single from XXV on 5 August 2022. Written by Robbie Williams with Guy Chambers, Chris Heath and Ollie Swan, it was the only brand new song on the album and served as a bridge between Williams’s past and present. The track was produced by Chambers, Swan and Richard Flack, and recorded after the main orchestral sessions were completed.

Williams described Lost as a reflection on the darker years of his career, particularly the period from 1995 to 2001, when he battled addiction and mental health struggles. Its melancholy tone recalls the introspective quality of Feel, pairing piano and synth textures with a sweeping string arrangement. His vocal performance is intimate and vulnerable, carrying the weight of lived experience while offering catharsis through melody.

The song’s lyrics capture regret and resilience in equal measure: “Who am I fooling, well I got a list, I disappoint them only to exist.” Williams called the writing process “a cathartic revisiting of a lost place,” using the safety of middle age to confront the chaos of his past. Critics and fans alike praised the song’s honesty and emotional depth, describing it as a natural successor to his most confessional work.

“It’s about the times in my life when I abandoned myself to reckless behaviour. There’s something very cathartic about mentally revisiting that place with the safety of middle age.”Robbie Williams

Lost was accompanied by a video directed by Alex Southam, in which Williams played both interviewer and interviewee in a surreal television talk-show setting intercut with archival footage from his career. The track quickly became a fan favourite, its vulnerability resonating as a fitting addition to the reflective spirit of XXV.