Even if you don’t know who Julia Michaels is, you most certainly would have heard one of her tracks by now. The pop superstar – who started her career at 16 – has written for some of the BIGGEST names in the industry. Think along the lines of Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes, and Britney Spears. But it is her own tracks where the true Julia gets to shine, and where – don’t mind the play on words – her inner monologue gets to spill out.

As the crowd packed into Emos on Friday night, the energy was palpable. The stage was set up with gorgeous lit-up flowers, and a sign that read:

Encouraged:

• Singing
• Dancing
• Jumping
• Feeling
• Laughing

Michaels then came out on stage to huge applause, busting straight into ‘Pink’. Her set was filled to the brim with pure hits like ‘I Miss You’ (her collaboration with Clean Bandit), ‘Worst In Me’, ‘Heaven’, ‘Uh Huh’, and plenty more. The crowd that came to see her was prepared and ready, with Julia herself commenting how loud and proud they sung her lyrics back at her.

Julia Michaels Not Only Gives Her Best But Cares For Her Fans

One of the best parts of the show was her emphasis on making the venue a safe space. This was a space where it was ok to cry, it was ok to dance, it was ok to be excited, and she would be all those things with us. A hallmark of Julia’s music is the fact that she is not afraid to talk about anxiety or depression, and she reassures the crowd that they are not alone, that they have her, and they have her music.

You could tell just how happy and excited she was to be there, and her set was a joyful mix of keytars, synchronized dancing, acoustic singalongs, and a surprising cover of CeeLo Green’s ‘Fuck You’.

For her encore, she started with ‘What A Time’, with Rhys Lewis filling in for Niall’s section, and then absolutely tore the house down with ‘Issues’ to close the set-off. ‘Issues’ may have been her first hit, but it was a perfect ending to a night where she encouraged the crowd to not be ashamed that they may have ‘issues’, with this lyric encompassing almost her entire ethos:

‘Cause I got issues

But you got ’em too

So give ’em all to me

And I’ll give mine to you’

Overall, the show was a performance that set itself apart from the expectation that I had. Julia Michaels is easily a star on the rise. With this being her first headline set in Austin, I can expect that they will only grow and become even more with time. I will be watching her career intently. This was a fun night for everyone!