20 Songs You Didn’t Know Julia Michaels Co-Wrote

Michaels cosigned Sabrina Carpenter’s teasing Short n’ Sweet single “Taste” after working with the Girl Meets World alum on much of Emails I Can’t Send, which saw the pair team up on “Tornado Warnings,” “Because I Liked a Boy,” “Already Over,” “Fast Times,” “Skinny Dipping” and “Decode.”

Her fingerprints are also all over the rest of Short n’ Sweet, with Michaels notching credits on “Good Graces,” “Coincidence,” “Bed Chem” and “Dumb & Poetic.”

Listen above.

One of the only cowriters Rodrigo trusted while making her sophomore album Guts — apart from her go-to producer and fellow writer Dan Nigro — was Michaels. The pair teamed up for one of the emotional high points of the LP, the ballad “Logical.”

Listen to “Logical.”

One of Conan Gray’s biggest hits had an assist from Michaels, who wrote “People Watching” with him and Dan Nigro. The trio also worked together on “The Exit.”

Listen to “People Watching.”

Once again, Michaels was recruited by a pop superstar to contribute her expertise. Co-written with Dua Lipa, Caroline Ailin and Ian Kirkpatrick, “Pretty Please” appears on Lipa’s almost universally-beloved second studio album Future Nostalgia.

Listen to “Pretty Please.”

By the time Gomez released her third solo studio album Rare, she and Michaels were good friends — and frequent collaborators. Michaels boasts three co-writing credits on the Billboard 200-topping album: for “Fun,” “Look at Her Now” and the single “Lose You to Love Me” — which just so happened to become Gomez’s first Hot 100 No. 1!

Listen to “Lose You To Love Me.”

“Nervous” was the first track Michaels and Shawn Mendes worked on together, and one of two collaborations between the two on the latter’s self-titled third album. They also teamed up for “Like to Be You” on Shawn Mendes, which billed Michaels as a featured artist.

Listen above.

With the help of Ed Sheeran and Benny Blanco, Michaels created the song equivalent of a patchwork quilt by tying in the hooks of late ’90s/early 2000s hits “…Baby One More Time,” “Oops!… I Did It Again,” “99 Problems,” “Bye Bye Bye,” “The Next Episode” and “Ride wit Me” into “2002” for Anne-Marie.

Listen to “2002.”

Not only did Michaels get to work with one of the world’s biggest pop stars on “Heal Me,” but she also got her name on the credits of one of the most acclaimed film soundtracks of 2018: A Star Is Born.

Listen to “Heal Me.”

On the rock front, Michaels had a hand in Linkin Park‘s “Heavy,” released prior to frontman Chester Bennington‘s shocking suicide in July 2017. The Kiiara-featuring track, released in February 2017, reached No. 2 on the Hot Rock Songs chart. But Michaels told Billboard she has a “hard time listening” to the track after Bennington’s passing. “He came in and was really funny and really warm, and had the biggest smile on his face,” Michaels recalled of working on “Heavy” with the cherished singer-songwriter. “He was just cracking jokes and having the best time.”

Listen to “Heavy.”

Michaels joined Benny Blanco to pen this rugged, guitar-led track off Ed Sheeran‘s Divide album, and her influence is clear in the track’s vulnerable, witty lyricism, as Sheeran croons about an indecisive lover.

Listen to “Dive.”

Michaels contributed her writing chops to Gomez’s chart-climbing “Bad Liar,” a minimal, Talking Heads-lifting track in the vein of her own single “Issues.” It wouldn’t be the first time they’d join forces in the studio — Michaels co-wrote six songs off Gomez’s Revival, including “Good For You” and “Hands To Myself,” alongside songwriting veteran Justin Tranter, as well as three cuts on Gomez’s 2020 album Rare, but more on that later.

Listen above.

Michaels played a major role in Gwen Stefani‘s third studio album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, co-writing a whopping 10 of the album’s 12 total songs. Among them was the album’s first official single, the emotional break-up track “Used To Love You,” which Michaels told Genius she put together after scanning Stefani’s diary for inspiration. Michaels also wrote the pop gem “Misery” for the album which, despite its title, is a bright, bubbly jam that muses on the beginnings of new love.

Listen to “Used to Love You.”

Another of Michaels’ most successful co-writes, Nick Jonas‘ deeply personal duet “Close” with Swedish singer Tove Lo notched No. 14 on the Hot 100. Michaels also offered lyrical assistance on Jonas’ “Chainsaw,” off the same album, 2016’s Last Year Was Complicated.

Listen to “Close.”

Writing lyrics for an artist as iconic as Britney Spears is likely a bucket list item for any songwriter. Michaels checked it off with “Slumber Party,” a track she co-wrote for Spears and R&B singer-songwriter Tinashe, who is featured on the track. Released as a single off Spears’ ninth studio album Glory in 2016, the track peaked at No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs charts.

Listen to “Slumber Party.”

Yep, if you’ve ever jammed out to Bieber’s absurdly catchy Purpose smash hit “Sorry,” Michaels is the one to thank. “We thought the chances of getting on Justin’s album were so slim but we were just like ‘F–k it, let’s do it,’” writes Michaels in the track’s official annotated lyrics on Genius. “We were just trying to capture that moment in a relationship, or a particular moment in your life, where you realize you made a mistake and you’re finally ready to admit it and apologize.” It worked — “Sorry” is one of Michaels’ most successful songwriting credits to date, notching 42 weeks on the Hot 100 and peaking at No. 1.

Listen above.

Back in 2015, Michaels linked up with Kelly Clarkson to co-write her Piece By Piece track “War Paint.” And while a country-pop star might seem to stick out among the other artists in Michaels’ catalog, the track about opening up to a significant other has all the depth and pop charm of a Michaels song –– “Face to face, but miles away / Building trenches out of empty spaces / Lay here, next to me / And close the distance in between,” runs the emotive first verse.

Listen to “War Paint.”

Michaels’ name is immortalized in a piece of One Direction history with her contributions to “History,” which reached No. 65 on the Hot 100 in 2015.

Listen to “History.”

Reaching No. 30 on the Hot 100, “Love Myself” is one of Hailee Steinfeld’s biggest hits — and she has Michaels to thank in part. The songwriter also worked on all three of the other tracks on the Edge of Seventeen actress’ debut EP Haiz: “You’re Such A,” “Rock Bottom” featuring DNCE and “Hell Nos and Headphones.”

Listen to “Love Myself.”

Let’s throw it back to the 2013 Demi track “Fire Starter.” This empowering song was one of the first songs Michaels co-wrote with notable songwriter Lindy Robbins, who helped kick-star Michaels’ career by introducing her to others in the industry. Never mind that Michaels was barely 20 years old at the time.

Listen to “Fire Starter.”