Julia Michaels is a hit singer in her own right, but first and foremost, she’s a songwriter. She’s proven that with the impressive amount of songs she’s written, with and for other artists, many of which have become chart-topping hits. Michaels is no stranger to the top of the charts herself, as her hit “Issues” helped make her a star. From a massive hit by Justin Bieber to Hailee Steinfeld’s empowerment anthem, here are four songs you didn’t know Michaels wrote for other artists.
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1. “Sorry” by Justin Bieber
Written by Justin Bieber, Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, Michael Tucker, and Sonny Moore
Julia Michaels’ name is one of the most famous pop hits of the last decade. She teamed up with Justin Bieber frequent collaborator, Justin Tranter, Michael Tucker, and Sonny Moore to pen this infectious pop track that became a massive hit for Bieber. “Sorry” spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and seven weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in Bieber’s native Canada.
2. “Hands to Myself” by Selena Gomez
Written by Selena Gomez, Julia Michaels, Max Martin, Justin Tranter, Mattias Per Larsson and Robin Lennart Fredriksson
Julia Michaels has had several cuts by Selena Gomez, one of which happens to be one of her biggest hits. “Hands to Myself” was released as the third single off Gomez’s 2015 album, Revival. She cited “Hands to Myself” as her favorite track off the album and was one of the last to be recorded.
“I felt like I was ready for the next chapter, whatever it is, and I just knew that it had this sass to it,” Gomez told Rolling Stone about the song. “It’s really different, and it’s fresh, and it’s kind of got this Prince-y vibe to it. I really appreciate that it’s kind of different from everything else.” The song was a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
3. “Love Myself” by Hailee Steinfeld
Written by Julia Michaels, Justin Tranter, Mattias Larsson, Lance Moreno, and Oscar Holter
Julia Michaels played an important role in actress Hailee Steinfeld’s music career, as she’s a co-writer on her debut single, “Love Myself.” “For me, it’s an empowerment record and it’s ultimately about taking care of yourself and indulging yourself, whether that be emotionally or physically or with material things,” Steinfeld explained to Pop Justice about the song’s meaning. “It just really shows how much power there is in being able to provide for yourself.”
In addition to receiving critical praise, “Love Myself” charted around the world, reaching the Top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 on the Dance Club Songs chart.
4. “Dive” by Ed Sheeran
Written by Ed Sheeran, Julia Michaels, and Benny Blanco
In addition to Justin Tranter, Ed Sheeran is another one of Julia Michaels’ go-to songwriting collaborators. She scored a deep cut on his wildly successful 2017 album, Divide, with “Dive.” Describing the song as a “belter” that’s “hard to sing,” Sheeran told Zane Lowe of Apple Music that he rented a house in Malibu, California, and already had several riffs ready for the track when he got into the room with Michaels and Blanco.
“The way Julia works is she’ll just hum a melody and then we’ll expand on it,” he described, calling the melody she came up with “a classic.” Despite not having been released as a single, “Dive” charted inside the Top 10 on the UK Singles chart.
Photo by Corey Nickols/Getty Images for IMDb
