Julia Michaels is Going To Do More Than Write You a Love Song, Actually

Pop’s stealth MVP just pulled back the curtain—again. On The Squeeze, the Lautners gush about Julia Michaels the minute the microphones go hot. “Not in Chronological Order is one of my favorite albums,” says Taylor (the wife). “I just love your songwriting and you as an artist and your voice.” 

The singer-songwriter wastes no time catching the Lautners—and listeners—up on her hectic personal life. When asked how she met her tattoo artist fiancé, Mat Rule, she reveals that she simply “slid into his DMs.” As it turns out, what started as a hunt for fresh ink turned into a whole lot more. 

Professionally, the glow-up is just as bold. “This is my first project independently,” Michaels says. “I started my own label. We are small and mighty, and we’re just out here doing it.” That DIY spirit powers her new six-song EP, Second Self, a reboot she calls her “second chance.”

Of course, glitter comes with a touch of grit. Michaels tells the Lautners her anxiety “started when [she] was, like, 18” right after signing her first publishing deal when a schedule of “three sessions a day, running off of coffee and barely any food” ended in a panic attack she swore was more serious.

In short, Michaels is done shrinking herself for pop music’s assembly line—and she’s ready to show every technicolor layer.

Julia Michaels is conquering anxiety, one panic attack at a time

“It definitely developed later in life. I started when I was 18,” Michaels recalls, picturing that first panic spiral on a friend’s kitchen floor. At 21—just as hits like “Good for You,” “Sorry,” and “Hands to Myself” raced to number one on the charts—she was petrified by “this fear that [she] was gonna walk into a room and people were gonna expect [her] to sh*t gold.” Therapy, stricter boundaries, and simple rituals keep her grounded now.

Romance, ink, and a DM resulted in a meet-cute with Mr. Right

“I slid into his DMs, actually,” Michaels grins, recounting an Inked Magazine cover shoot that led her to Rule’s surrealist tattoos—and, eventually, to Paris, New York, and matching Scorpio season birth charts. She calls Rule “so patient” and praises the relationship for finally giving her a partner who respects mental health boundaries.

Creative control means ditching the headshot and trusting the gut

Owning her masters lets her do more with her music, instead of singles. “This is the first time that I’ve had full creative control over everything, down to the music video,” she says, adding that she doesn’t want her face on any of the artwork. An indie illustrator now paints each song’s cover, matching guitar crunch or synth sparkle without a committee vote.

Songwriting is still her safe place, but the studio door is open wide

“My safe space will always be in a studio, in a dimly lit room, writing a song about whatever the hell I wanna write,” she says. Yet 15 years in, the “invisible shadow” behind pop’s biggest hooks has no interest in ego. “I don’t have a f*cking ego, I just wanna do what’s best for you,” she tells every collaborator.

Between wrestling anxiety, founding an indie label, and planning a wedding with her twin flame, Julia Michaels is rewriting the rules she once played by. She’ll still give us love songs—but now they come bundled with freedom, boundaries, and a pop star playbook that reads exactly like her life.