"Issues" is the debut single recorded by American singer and songwriter

Julia Michaels Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g ...

, from her third EP ''

Nervous System In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes ...

'' (2017). The song was co-written with Justin Tranter, and its producers

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is als ...

and

Stargate ''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien Einstein–Rosen ...

. Released by

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

on January 13, 2017, as the lead single from the EP, it is a confessional

downtempo Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may b ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

song. Lyrically, it is a raw ode to Michaels' anxiety. The song peaked in the top 10 of the record charts in Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Norway, Scotland and UK. In the US, the song peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Issues" is

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

Platinum or higher in twelve countries including Diamond in France. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Tabitha Denholm. It depicts Michaels hosting a party with a group of friends. The video premiered on March 7, 2017. "Issues" received a Song of the Year nomination at the

60th Annual Grammy Awards The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeong ...

. Michaels promoted the song in a number of appearances, including live performances at ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'', the

2017 Radio Disney Music Awards The 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards was held on April 29, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was shown on Radio Disney and Disney Channel the following night on April 30, 2017 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. (EDT). ...

, Wango Tango, the 2017 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, the

2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards The 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards (or simply the iHeartRadio MMVAs) were held on June 18, 2017, outside 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Canada. It was hosted by Joe Jonas and Alessia Cara. Initial announcements were made on April 2 ...

, the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards and ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

''.

Background and composition

"Issues" was written by Michaels, and Justin Tranter. A few artists, who

and Benny Blanco refused to name, laid claim to the song. However, Michaels refused to give the song away as it felt "too much my story to give to someone else. In 2017, a demo of the song by English singer

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

was leaked and revealed that she had recorded the song before Michaels decided to keep it. Recording sessions for "Issues" took place at

Westlake Recording Studios Westlake Recording Studios is a music recording studio in West Hollywood, California. History Westlake Recording Studios was founded in the early 1970s by the American audio engineer Tom Hidley under the name Westlake Audio. Hidley was experienc ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, and Treehouse X Studio,

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United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. It was

engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

by Dave Schwerkolt and Chris Sclafani. Mark “Spike” Stent mixed the track at Mixsuite UK with assistance from Michael Freeman and Geoff Swish. Blanco and Stargate, who produced the song, also performed all the instruments and programming. Tom Coyne and Randy Merrill completed the

audio mastering Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via met ...

at Sterling Sound,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Musically, "Issues" is a confessional

song. In terms of

music notation Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

, "Issues" was composed using common time in the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

, with a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 114

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. The song follows the chord progression of D- E- A/C-Dsus2 and Michaels' vocal range spans from the low note C₄ to the high note of E₅, giving the song one octave and two

notes Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versio ...

of range. Lyrically, Michaels has described the song as a raw ode to her own anxieties.

Critical reception

The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. A writer for ''Billboard'' praised the song, writing, "with blunt, honest lyricism and razor-sharp songwriting, Michaels' decision to choose minimal production proves to be wise, helping to frame her intriguing vocals expertly in order to give fans a delicious first taste of what is yet to come". Writing for Idolator, Mike Wass stated "it can be hard for songwriters to carve out a unique voice when they step out on their own, but it doesn’t look like that will be a problem for Julia".

Music video

The official music video for the song, directed by Tabitha Denholm, was released on March 7, 2017. It features Michaels experiencing the unknown that every relationship goes through. It portrays the singer in a "loving" relationship which "feels like it could fall apart any moment". The male role is played by Alex Koch. The official lyric video for the song was released after the music video on May 17, 2017. It was directed by Pedro Chaves and shot in

London, United Kingdom London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

. The video displays the life of several people and several backgrounds.

Chart performance

"Issues debuted at number 87 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 issued for February 11, 2017. The song peaked at number 11 in its 18th week on the chart and spent 29 weeks in total. The

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA) certified it 5× Platinum, which denotes five million units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams. On the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record ...

, "Issues" peaked at number 17 and was certified 6× Platinum by

Music Canada Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It ...

. The song reached number seven in France and was certified Diamond. In Sweden, it peaked at number 11 and was certified 4× Platinum. "Issues" was certified 3× Platinum in Norway and Australia, reaching number three in the former country and number five in the latter. In New Zealand and the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 11 and number 10, respectively, attaining a Platinum certification in both. It charted within the top 15 of national record charts, at number two in Belgium, number three in Denmark, number seven in Scotland, number nine in Czech Republic, number 11 in Ireland, Malaysia, Slovakia, and number 15 in the Netherlands. The song received a 2× Platinum certification in Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Platinum in Belgium, Germany.

Live performances

Michaels made her late night television debut on March 20, 2017, performing "Issues" on ''

''. She also performed "Issues" at the

on April 30, 2017, and at Wango Tango on May 13, 2017. At the

2017 Billboard Music Awards The 2017 ''Billboard'' Music Awards ceremony was held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 21, 2017. The list of nominees was announced on April 10, 2017. Non-televised awards were announced on ''Billboard'' website the same day as ...

, Michaels was selected as the T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist and gave a performance of "Issues" that was regarded one of the night's best by several media outlets. Michaels also performed the song at the

on June 18, 2017 and at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2017. The latter performance was cut short on TV as MTV decided to cut to a commercial break, which upset many people. The song was performed on ''

'' in August 2017.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Recording and management * Recorded and Tracked at Westlake Studios (

) and Treehouse X Studio (

) * Mixed at Mixsuite UK * Mastered at Sterling Sound (

) * Published by Please Don't Forget To Play Me Music/Administered by Universal Music Publishing (GMR), EMI Music Publishing (ASCAP), EMI Music Publishing (ASCAP), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) Thanks For The Songs Richard (BMI) All Rights on behalf of Itself and Thanks For The Songs Richard Administered by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp, Justin's School for Girls/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp/All Rights Administered by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp (BMI) Personnel *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

* Benjamin Levin – songwriting, production , programming, instrumentation *

Tor Erik Hermansen Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia S ...

– songwriting; production , programming, instrumentation * Mikkel Storleer Eriksen – songwriting; production , programming, instrumentation * Justin Tranter – songwriting *Dave Schwerkolt –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

*Chris Sclafani – engineering * Mark “Spike” Stent – mixing *Michael Freeman – assistant engineer for mix *Geoff Swish – assistant engineer for mix * Tom Coyne – mastering *Randy Merrill – mastering Credits adapted from ''

'' liner notes.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end chart

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2017 songs 2017 debut singles Julia Michaels songs Republic Records singles Songs written by Julia Michaels Songs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen Songs written by Tor Erik Hermansen Songs written by Benny Blanco Song recordings produced by Stargate (record producers) Song recordings produced by Benny Blanco Songs written by Justin Tranter Pop ballads