Issues (Julia Michaels song)

"Issues" was written by Michaels, and Justin Tranter. A few artists, who Stargate 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 British singer Charli XCX 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, United Kingdom. It was engineered by Dave Schwerkolt and Chris Sclafani. 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 of range. ==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 (RIAA) certified it 5× Platinum, which denotes five million units based on sales and track-equivalent on-demand streams. On the Canadian Hot 100, "Issues" peaked at number 17 and was certified 6× Platinum by Music Canada. 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 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She also performed "Issues" at the 2017 Radio Disney Music Awards on April 30, 2017, and at Wango Tango 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 The Today Show in August 2017. ==Track listing==

Recording and management • Recorded and Tracked at Westlake Studios (Los Angeles, California) and Treehouse X Studio (Suffolk, United Kingdom) • Mixed at Mixsuite UK • Mastered at Sterling Sound (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 • Julia Michaels – 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 • 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 Nervous System liner notes. ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end chart ==Certifications==