Julia Michaels

The first song I remember hearing by Julia Michaels was “Issues.” I was in the awkward

throes of early high school and to me it was just another pretty-good pop song in the

background of rides to school, the pop station perpetually played at my weekend job, and the

occasional high school dance at which I was honestly less focused on the music and more

focused on how to wear heels without tripping in front of the guy I liked. It would be a while

before I dug deeper into the mind of the musical ethos of Julia Michaels. One thing that did

somewhat stand out to me was the honesty of the lyrics. At a time in my life when I thought way

too much about projecting the right kind of personality and feeling the right kind of feelings, Julia

sang about emotions like jealousy and resentment without disclaimers or, seemingly, shame. I

would later grow to appreciate her music because of the complex way she approached these

emotions and her introspective lyrics.

One of my most pervasive struggles in my project of self-acceptance has been my self-

judgment about feeling emotions I don’t think I should feel. Some of the classics include

resentment, envy, and anger. These feelings felt (to me) conspicuously absent from the

blossoming discourse that had begun to normalize many aspects of mental health. As I began to

listen more carefully to Julia’s music, I felt an immense gratitude for her willingness to unpack

her own difficulties around self-compassion, adulting, and the general struggle to feel whole.

She sang about being your own worst enemy in the project of cultivating a positive body image,

dating the wrong people even when you know better, and feeling bitter about other peoples’

happiness.

While Michaels certainly isn’t the first artist to divulge parts of her personal life for the

sake of music, to me her work has come to symbolize the power of opening up even when your

life is at its most difficult and you don’t know what’s coming next. Her musical style appeals to

me and I appreciate the songs she’s written for herself as well as for so many other artists.