"Issues" by Julia Michaels // Song Review

- April 07, 2025

"Issues" marked Julia Michaels' debut as a solo artist in 2017, which was the start of a bold new chapter in her artistic journey. By this time, she had been better known for her behind the scenes work co-writing some of the biggest tracks in pop music, including contributions to number one albums like Selena Gomez's Revival and Justin Bieber's Purpose, among others. With "Issues", she stepped into the spotlight for the first time, sharing her own voice and perspective.

It was the lead single for her debut EP Nervous System, which was one of my favorite releases of 2017 and remains such a great hidden gem of pop perfection. She wrote this song with her frequent co-writer, Justin Tranter. The song was also produced by Stargate and Benny Blanco, who she has collaborated with many times as well by that point too.

This song is very confessional and intimate, which made it difficult for her to give to another artist to record it. "It was never really a plan to keep it to myself," Julia said in her official commentary for Genius. "I had written the song after a fight with my boyfriend, and the song was just so personal that it felt kind of uncomfortable hearing someone else sing it. I just thought, 'No. I can't do that.'" This song is so deeply personal and its evident how much this song means to her just by the emotion in her voice when she performs it. It was written very quickly in a completely unfiltered form of expression.

"'Cause I got issues, but you got 'em too, so give 'em all to me, and I'll give mine to you, bask in the glory of all our problems, 'cause we got the kind of love it takes to solve 'em," she sings in the chorus. "Yeah, I got issues and one of them is how bad I need ya"

"I wrote 'Issues' in all of 40 minutes. There was no going back in and re-writing anything. I'm a very passive-aggressive person and a very non-confrontational person, so everything I want to say is here, subconsciously. I just can't say it," Julia added in her official commentary for Genius. "My body and my mouth just physically won't let me say what I want to say, which again is kind of great for lyrical content, because I spend all my time torturing myself trying to get the words out and then I can't. But then I put it on the piano and is like, 'Oh, okay. There it is. That's exactly what I want to say to you and I just can't.'"

The song ended up resonating with a wide audience and became the defining moment that launched Julia Michaels as a solo artist. To transition from working quietly behind the scenes as a lesser-known songwriter to suddenly having a massive hit with her own name attached is an incredibly rare achievement. Overnight, she went from being a hidden force behind some of pop's biggest hits to a celebrated artist in her own right.

"I always wanted to write a song that had an orchestra behind it, I was like, we have to bring that back." Benny Blanco said in a 2025 interview with the podcast Behind The Wall. "We started playing some stuff and 'Issues' just like fell out of the sky. It just happened so quickly. Everyone wanted that song, everyone wanted to sing that song. They wanted that song to come out as their project. Julia called me and she said, 'Benny, I think I want to become an artist and I think I want to use that song.' And I said, 'That's fucking amazing. Let's do it.' Some people didn't necessarily believe in that same vision...It just felt right in that moment. So many people were against it, she didn't even have a record deal yet."

While neither Julia or her collaborators have publicly revealed which other artists wanted to record "Issues," a leaked demo of Charli xcx could be indicative of one who the song may have gone to. I could easily imagine someone like Selena Gomez or Camila Cabello likely to be in the running for it as well. Above all though, it was the best choice for Julia to be the vessel for this incredible song. Her intimate, honest and raw delivery of the song's message makes "Issues" unforgettable. I still remember hearing it for the first time when it had just been released, long before it hit the radio or anyone knew about her, and it was immediately clear that this song was destined to be a massive hit.

"Issues" resonated with listeners worldwide and even earned her first two solo Grammy nominations for Song of the Year and Best New Artist, which are huge milestones for her debut as a lead artist. "This song that we did that nobody believed in for her to be the artist, they just wanted some huge artist that was already successful. For me, bringing a new artist with so much personality and identity to the world is so much better to me than just doing a song for a big person," Benny continued in the episode of Behind The Wall.

While "Issues" was her first release as a lead artist, Julia Michaels' impact on the music industry has continued to become more prominent in the years since. Both as a solo artist and a prolific and in-demand pop songwriter. "Issues" will always stand as a testament to her artistry and her ability to connect through music in a way that few others can.