The songwriter behind the hits who finally kept one for herself

For years, Julia Michaels was the name in the small print. Born in Davenport, Iowa, she moved with her family to Santa Clarita, California, and began singing at twelve. At fourteen she met the songwriter Joleen Belle, with whom she wrote the theme to Austin & Ally, and by seventeen she had her first professional job: writing that Disney Channel theme. In 2012 she also sang background vocals on “Let It Go” from Frozen.

The partnerships multiplied. At nineteen she met Lindy Robbins, and together they wrote “Fire Starter” for Demi Lovato and “Miss Movin' On” for Fifth Harmony. By twenty she had found her main collaborator in Justin Tranter. Her credits now include Selena Gomez, Olivia Rodrigo, Ed Sheeran, Britney Spears, Shawn Mendes and Sabrina Carpenter, among others, and she co-wrote two Hot 100 number ones: Justin Bieber's “Sorry” and Gomez's “Lose You to Love Me”.

Then she made a decision about one song. In January 2017 she released “Issues” as her first solo single, even though, by her own account, many big-name artists had fought for it. She explained it was the first time she had written something that sounded so much like herself that she could not picture anyone else singing it. The song reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, was certified quintuple platinum by the RIAA, and led into her EP Nervous System later that year.

What followed was a mixture of recognition and modesty. She received six Grammy nominations, including two for Song of the Year and one for Best New Artist, and performed “Carry Me” with Kygo at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Her debut album, Not in Chronological Order, in 2021, was praised by critics, though not a commercial success. In 2023 she wrote songs for Disney's Wish. Her career is a good argument that the person who writes the song is sometimes the one who understands it best.