LOS ANGELES, CA- Julia Michaels has always lived in that rare air where her name precedes her. Not just as a performer, but as one of the most successful songwriters of her generation. She’s penned era-defining pop songs for Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Sabrina Carpenter…. the kind of tracks that dominate charts and soundtracks of people’s lives. That kind of success could’ve locked her into an endless cycle of writing for others, but instead, it’s afforded her something much rarer: freedom.
Her new single, “No Heartbreaks Killed Me Yet,” is what that freedom sounds like.
From the jump, the track carries a breezy confidence, lightly dusted with the kind of Fleetwood Mac energy that instantly feels timeless. The guitar tones are warm, the rhythm unhurried, and Michaels’ voice rides it all with an unshakable ease. It’s not a song about wallowing. It’s a song about resilience, about smiling at the weight of heartbreak and realizing it never managed to pin you down.
The lyrics make the point sharp and simple:
“Well baby you gave it your best /
No really you should be proud of yourself /
Better luck next time I guess /
Cause no heartbreak’s killed me yet.”
It’s diaristic in the way only Julia Michaels can write, and it’s delivered with a wink. She isn’t pretending heartbreak doesn’t sting… “maybe there’s a sting in my chest / no wait that’s just a drink going down slow” … but she’s choosing to dance through it instead. You can almost see her spinning in that “little red sundress,” letting go of all of the “what ifs” and “what could have beens”.
What makes this moment special is that it feels unencumbered by the usual machinery of major-label pop. Too often, when an artist insists “this is the music I want to make,” it’s a line filtered through A&R meetings and recoupment schedules. With Michaels, the sense is different. Having already secured her legacy behind the curtain, she’s free to step fully into the light and tell her own story. It’s a story that doesn’t need to chase trends or bend toward radio. And it’s liberating.
I remember when she dropped her debut album Not in Chronological Order a few years back. That record proved she could carry her own songs and chart with them too, even as critics tried to box her into the “songwriter gone solo” narrative. But this new track? It feels more personal, more authentic, more Julia.
If “No Heartbreaks Killed Me Yet” is a sign of what’s to come from her next album, then we’re not just watching one of pop’s best songwriters release music on the side. We’re watching Julia Michaels step into the space she’s carved for herself: no compromises, no heartbreaks, just the sound of someone writing exactly the song they wanted to write.
Follow Julia Michaels on Facebook, Instagram and X.
