Julia Michaels, a name not known in the singing field gives you a taste of her singing potential

and the magic of her songwriting in her song “Issues.” Her simple, yet introspective lyrics gives

you an insight into her innermost thoughts while her ability to make a “pop” song more personal

gives the song an emotional connections to relate to her listeners. So do these “Issues” amount

to anything? Or is this just blatant millennial complaining?

Michaels wrote popular hits for people like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Hailee Steinfeld, ED

Sheeran and Fifth Harmony. In her singing debut “Issues”, she opens up possibilities to sing her

own songs and produce her own hits that reaches the top of the charts. This song is not only

about the struggles in a relationship but it’s also about one taking charge and not blaming

themselves for the faults in the relationship. She is trying to say that they both had faults in their

relationship, she says this in the song issues,“ But you don't judge me, 'Cause if you did, baby, I

would judge you too. No, you don't judge me, 'Cause if you did, baby, I would judge you too,Yeah, I got

issues And one of them is how bad I need you”. This is different from the song “Sorry” that she wrote for

Justin Bieber in which one person in the relationship takes the faults and apologize for it. Most of her

songs deal with relationships and how either one of the partners take the blame. I like this song because

she finally found a way to take charge in the relationship and voice her opinion instead of always taking

the blame. This is song is her way of giving voice to people who blame themselves.

Julia’s rusty but tender voice helps us her fans to see and connect to the pain in most of her

lyrics. I feel like when she writes she is trying to look for connections and her listeners feel

relatable with the story she is saying in her music. In her song Issues, she said “I got issues and

one of them is how bad I need you”. This is one of the issues that I have seen go on in a

relationships, when a partner’s feelings is hurt, instead of letting go for a while and try and figure

out their mistakes they jump in back to the feeling of lust and belonging.
Throughout the whole song, she kept on saying “ I got issues, but you got them too”. The

question is, Is she trying to complain about the issue in her relationship or is she just pointing

out the flaws of their relationship? Based on the worrisome tone of the song, it feels like she is

scared of letting him go, so she is trying to hold on to him even if she has to be at fault. The

lyrics states in the beginning I am jealous, am overzealous, when I am down I get real down,

when I am high I don’t come down”. This just shows her emotions during the relationship is like

a roller coaster of love and lust. Which is what most young people are dealing with and to hear

that a celebrity also has gone through that, that’s the point where we all feel closer.

This song is a heartbroken pop music that shows pain, confusion and deals with fear in general.

Knowing that Julia was a shy kid that didn’t even think she would be a celebrity right now if not

for her mother pushing her to help her older sister with her demo. We wouldn’t have seen this

side to her. We would have just heard her work from other artists but hearing her singing, is not

only an accomplishment of letting go of your fear and actually trying different things. It’s also

about sharing what you love with others. I love how she started with her flaws but still made it

clear that she is not the only one at fault. The structure of the lyrics thin measure to it in the

sense that you can understand what she is going through and also relate it to what is going on

in your life.

Michaels gives hope to a younger generation and shows listeners that it is okay to express your

voice and be yourself. Most importantly don’t let your fears stop you from reaching your goals

or expressing your emotions because that is a good way to connect with others. When Julia

expresses anger about her partner, she expresses the hardships she has to go through during

those time and that’s something a lot of young listeners can listen to. With a title such as

“Issues” one would expect going in to find ‘just” another pop song spewing lyrics about love, but

Michaels gives us more than that in her song, she gives listeners the freedom to express

themselves just as she has through her lyrics.