Julia Michaels

Julia Michaels was born on November 13, 1993, in Davenport, a city on the Mississippi River in Eastern Iowa, United States, but grew up in Santa Clarita, a Californian city north of Los Angeles. Her parents are Juan Manuel Cavazos and Julie Scriven. She has an older sister named Jaden, who is also a songwriter. Michaels cites Fiona Apple, Lisa Mitchell, Laura Marling, Missy Higgins, Paramore, Juliet Simms, Sarah Blasko, and The Fray among others as the artists that inspired her.

Her father, Juan Manuel Cavazos, who is originally from Puerto Rico, officially changed his name to John Michaels in order to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles.

Michaels has been writing songs from an early age but it wasn’t before she turned 12 that she began singing as well. Following her meeting with Joleen Belle, they established a long-lasting professional relationship during which they wrote various memorable songs, including ‘Without You’, the theme song of ‘Austin & Ally’.

Active in the music industry since she was 16, Julia Michaels released her first collection of songs, a self-titled Extended Play, in 2010. Two years later, she put out her second EP, ‘Futuristic’.

When she was 19 years old, she began collaborating with Lindy Robbins. The famous songs they wrote together include ‘Fire Starter’ (sung by Demi Lovato) and ‘Miss Movin’ On’ (Fifth Harmony). She quickly garnered success in the music industry and made a name for herself as an up-and-coming songwriter.

She met her present song-writing partner Justin Tranter when she was 20 years old. At the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she performed ‘Carry Me’ alongside Norwegian musician Kygo.

In October 2016, she signed with Republic Records, a record label under Universal, releasing her debut solo single ‘Issues’ in January 2017. She later revealed that despite a significant interest from popular artists for the song, she kept it for herself. It garnered her much fame, making her one of the breakout artists of 2017. She was nominated for two Grammys at the 2018 Grammy Awards—Best New Artist and Song of the Year—for ‘Issues’. The song also brought her MTV Music Video Award, Billboard Music Award, and American Music Award nominations.

She recorded ‘How Do We Get Back to Love’ for HBO’s cringe-comedy series ‘Girls’. The track was put out in April 2017.