"Anxiety" is a song by American singer and songwriter

Julia Michaels Julia Carin Michaels (''Birth name, née'' Cavazos; born November 13, 1993) is an American singer and songwriter. She has received six Grammy Award nominations, including twice for Grammy Award for Song of the Year, Song of the Year and Grammy A ...

featuring guest vocals from

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004), a ...

, from her fourth EP, '' Inner Monologue Part 1'' (2019). The song was written by Michaels, Gomez, Scott Harris, and its producer

Ian Kirkpatrick Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. Described as "supremely athletic, fast, fearless and with an uncanny sense of anticipation", Kirkpatrick is widely regarded as one of the greatest flankers ...

. It was sent to Australian radio on January 24, 2019 as the lead single from the EP and was the most added song the week after its release.

Background and composition

In an interview with

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

, Michaels said "I was like, 'I think it'd be really awesome to have a song with two women on it that struggle with the same thing, that are talking about something other than two women fighting for a guy's attention, or something like that. It's almost like a female empowerment song without it being a female empowerment song". Upon its release, Gomez said on

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: "This song is really close to my heart as I've experienced anxiety and I know a lot of my friends do too." "Anxiety" lyrically chronicles struggles with mental health. Musically, it is composed of "snaps and a razor-sharp guitar", as well as "an upbeat acoustic lick and earworm of a melody". Gomez and Michaels "trade cleverly arranged verses about the often-isolating experience of anxiety and depression".

Critical reception

Paul Fletcher from iHeart Radio said "The track is centered around a plucky acoustic guitar part that settles into a slick pop groove. Both Michaels and Gomez offer endearingly frank verses about grappling with depression and social anxiety, though their lyrics are also tinged with a bit of self-deprecating humor." Ashley Iasimone, writing for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', called the single "poignant".

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2018 songs 2019 singles Julia Michaels songs Selena Gomez songs Songs about anxiety Song recordings produced by Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer) Songs written by Ian Kirkpatrick (record producer) Songs written by Julia Michaels Songs written by Scott Harris (songwriter) Songs written by Selena Gomez Female vocal duets