American popstar Julia Michaels performs at Seoul Jazz Festival

Julia Michaels, an American singer-songwriter who visited South Korea to attend the Seoul Jazz Festival, sat down for an interview with the Dong-A Ilbo. The 25-year-old popstar brought up a video recorded by her aunt in which Michaels, being a seven-year-old young girl, hums a song. When her aunt asks where she learned it, she says it just came from her head, Michaels said.

Michaels made her debut as a songwriter for TV animation series in 2012 when she was still a teenager. At the age of 20, she wrote songs for artists including Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, and Maroon 5. After having written music for others in studios for five years, she started her solo singing career by chance.

In recognition of her singing skills and unique timbre, labels proposed that Michaels debut as a singer. Following the release of her first solo single “Issues,” she was nominated for “Best New Artist” and “Song of the Year” awards at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

Michaels’ songs create a storm of emotions in the hearts of listeners. Her plaintive voice and breath are exquisitely blended into the melodies.

Such skills had been already proved before she officially debuted, when she appeared on the stage of the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

She said that she does not remember how her performance went on, other than that she was so nervous to stand before an audience of 90,000 people. When she finally collected her thoughts, she was eating pizza like mad in the waiting room, she recalled with a laugh.

“Stay true to yourself 100%, not blindly following the trends” was the piece of advice Michaels would give to aspiring songwriters.


imi@donga.com