Republic recording artist Julia Michaels was recently a guest speaker on campus for Curb College students, offering stories from her career along with performing a few songs for a packed house in the Johnson Theater. Michaels was joined by her manager and Belmont alumna Beka Tischker (2000, music business) for a Q&A, and her good friend Keith Urban also came by the event for a surprise duet of Michaels’ hit song “Issues.”
Tischker encouraged many of the young women in the audience who aspire to be in the entertainment business to keep moving forward in their careers. “If you’re doing what you’re supposed to do, everything will work out… I don’t focus on my gender. I focus on being the best that I can be.”
She also commented on the importance of mentoring other women and always keeping her focus on what is best for her clients, like Michaels, who she believes “…says things that people want to say, but don’t have the courage to.”
Michaels added, “I find that I feel better when people sing with me. It’s a really humbling thing when people sing with you and relate to your words… Don’t be apologetic. You’re here for a reason and your words matter.”
Michaels has solidified herself as an in-demand songwriters=, co-writing a string of Billboard Hot 100 hits alongside Justin Tranter—including Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” Selena Gomez’s “Good for You” [feat. A$AP Rocky], Hailee Steinfeld’s “Love Myself,” and more. Michaels signed with Republic Records and released her debut solo single in 2017, “Issues,” which peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her debut extended play, Nervous System, released in July 2017.