Biography

Los Angeles' Julia Michaels is a gifted singer and songwriter with a bent toward R&B-inflected, dance-oriented pop. Before launching her performing career, Michaels had composed songs for Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Shakira, and many others. She then transitioned to feature roles, appearing on Jason Derulo's "Trade Hearts" and Kygo's "Carry Me." Michaels released her debut solo single "Issues" in 2017, which promptly went multi-platinum in the U.S., Australia, and Norway. Her first EP, Nervous System, arrived later that year, cracking the Top 50 of the Billboard 200. She also co-wrote and sang on Clean Bandit's hit single "I Miss You," which charted around the globe. Following a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, she issued a series of EPs titled Inner Monologue in 2019. She also earned a 2020 Grammy nomination for Song of the Year for her duet with JP Saxe on "If the World Was Ending." On the heels of that acclaim, she released her debut full-length, 2021's Not in Chronological Order. Born Julia Carin Cavazos in Davenport, Iowa, in 1993 she grew up in Santa Clarita, California, where she began singing and performing around age 12. By her teens, she had adopted the stage name Julia Michaels and was collaborating on music with professional songwriters Joleen Belle and Lindy Robbins. Along with Belle and Robbins, Michaels composed songs for such artists as Demi Lovato, Fifth Harmony, Selena Gomez, Ed Sheeran, Shakira, Linkin Park, and many others. She also launched her own performance career, appearing on songs like Jason Derulo's "Trade Hearts," Zedd's "Straight Into the Fire," and Kygo's "Carry Me," which she performed at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Michaels released her debut solo single, "Issues," in 2017. The song became a hit on charts around the world, going multi-platinum in the U.S., Australia, and Norway. "Issues" also appeared on her debut EP, Nervous System, which arrived in the summer of 2017 on Republic. The seven-song set peaked in the Top 50 on the Billboard 200 and earned Michaels Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Issues." In late 2017, she co-wrote and sang on U.K. electronic act Clean Bandit's hit single "I Miss You," which charted around the globe. The following year, she collaborated with American rapper Trippie Redd on her single "Jump." In 2019, Michaels issued the first in a series of EPs titled Inner Monologue, which included the tracks "Anxiety" featuring Selena Gomez and "What a Time" featuring Niall Horan. The second volume followed in June, with eight songs written by Michaels. That same year, she scored another hit in the romantic JP Saxe duet "If the World Was Ending," which also picked up Grammy nomination for Song of the Year. In January 2020, she joined Diplo and Morgan Wallen for a re-recorded version of their song "Heartless." Her own single, "Lie Like This," appeared a few months later. In April 2021, Michaels' delivered her debut full-length, Not in Chronological Order, which featured production by the Monsters & Strangerz, G Koop, German, and others. Along with "Lie Like This," the Billboard 200-charting album included the rock-driven single "All Your Exes." More singles followed, including 2021's "Only One" with Khea, Becky G, and Di Genius, and 2022's "Sorry to Me Too." ~ Matt Collar