"Issues" is the debut single recorded 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 ...

, from her third EP ''

Nervous System In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...

'' (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 and songwriter. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall ...

and

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

. Released by

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, 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 ...

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 ...

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 part of testing, inspection and certification and 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 attestatio ...

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. 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 actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

'', the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards,

Wango Tango iHeartRadio Wango Tango, commonly referred to as simply Wango Tango, is an annual day-long concert produced by local Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM. The concert series has been staged at various venues around southern California including Dod ...

, the 2017 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, the 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards, the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards and ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American 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 was the first of its genre on American television ...

''.

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 a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

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, Los Angeles, California, and Treehouse X Studio,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, United Kingdom. It was engineered 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 is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will ...

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

, New York City. Musically, "Issues" is a confessional

pop song. In terms of

music notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proces ...

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

A major A major 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 A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

, with a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 114

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. 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 versi ...

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, England. 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/o ...

(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. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

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

Music Canada Music Canada is a non-profit Industry trade group, trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to s ...

. 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 4× Platinum certification in New Zealand and Platinum certification in the UK. 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 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards on April 30, 2017, and at

on May 13, 2017. At the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, 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 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards 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 (Los Angeles, California) and Treehouse X Studio (

, United Kingdom) * Mixed at Mixsuite UK * Mastered at

(New York City) * 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, songwriting * Benjamin Levin – songwriting, production , programming, instrumentation * Tor Erik Hermansen – songwriting; production , programming, instrumentation * Mikkel Storleer Eriksen – songwriting; production , programming, instrumentation * Justin Tranter – songwriting *Dave Schwerkolt –

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

*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