Julia Michaels “FOOL”/Second Self EP

Julia Michaels is one of my fave songwriters. I just love her way with words, the emotions she brings to the table, etc etc. If you weren’t already aware, she’s worked with an extensive list of artists and is the lyricist behind many pop hits that I guarantee you’re familiar with, you can research her catalog if you’re interested. I’ll mention a few names to get you started…. Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, Sabrina Carpenter. And then of course there’s her appearance on the 50 Shades Free soundtrack. I became a fan of her through her solo projects and learned about her work with other artists afterwards. Her solo music doesn’t garner nearly as much attention, so I’m gonna draw some of it there today.

This song is called “FOOL,” which stands for “falling out of love.” Yup, I know, amazing. Are we seeing why I love her now? LOL. It’s from her new EP Second Self, which is a little different than her previous work. Her prior solo stuff is mostly a lot of sad songs, this project has more sass and playfulness. A bit more anger too if you will. I’m here for it. I love seeing all the angles of somebody.

“FOOL” is a catchy feel good song for when you’re out of a relationship that was clearly worse for you than you realized, and are getting over that person a little easier than expected. A weight is finally lifted off of you that you didn’t even know you were carrying. As she says, “nothing ever felt as good as falling out of love with you
Didn’t know I’d feel this good laying here alone, but I do”

I also like the lines:
“With you missin’
In an instant
It’s like I’m out of prison”

It really is an incredible feeling, when the person or situation was really shitty and you’re finally over it. You may have felt like a fool for falling in love with them, but now you can give a new, positive meaning to the word with this acronym. I also love how crisp, clear and up front she sounds on this track, it’s so great. Definitely my fave way to hear her voice. I really like the bridge as well. I know it’s very simple, but I like the way it builds, and it just stays in my head.

Check it out:

Also, here’s some of my fave quotables from the other songs on the EP.

HEAVEN 2:
“Balance on you like an acrobat, trapeze
Baby you don’t need a snack for that, have me”
And
“Baby, take pictures of me back to back, say cheese”
So fun. I like the rhymes and flow of those and just how she sounds delivering them.

SCISSORS:
“If you wanna cut ties, I’ll get the scissors”
I mean, how brilliant is that? LOL. The entire hook is catchy AF. I actually love it a lot.
And
“When I say I’ll see you, I mean in Nevuary”
LOL, ‘Nevuary.’ That’s a great word haha.

TRY YOUR LUCK:
“I’ll untie your tongue if your feelings get stuck”
That is such a cool line.

For the rhymes and flow I also like:
“I’m feeling generous, my plans are tentative
Hey, don’t use your friend like a personal representative”

GFY (another great acronym, stands for Go Fuck Yourself):
“I wanna be the bigger person, but I’m only 5 ‘4”
Haha.
And
“I thought that after all this time I’d, well, be in a better place
But you just have one of those faces, that’s so easy to hate”

LMAO. Listen, some people can’t be forgiven and don’t deserve it. So yes sometimes GFY is the best and only option. I like the song and funny lyrics but some of the processing just kind of bothers my ears a bit. For that reason I don’t listen to it a lot unfortunately. Also, fun fact, GFY is also the name of her new label.

TIME:
“I should have known we wouldn’t make it when we didn’t say, I love you
…At the same time”

That line just got me, even though I know, that doesn’t necessarily dictate a path. But I see how she got there. I also feel the sadness in her voice. My fave part is the pitch shifted vocal happening out of time to highlight how the love wasn’t in sync. Amazing production decision. Then the placement of those pauses after “I love you’ and after “at the same time” to accentuate the sadness, oof.

From the second verse, I love:
“You saw I was dying for love, and it’s almost like you said game time
I thought you were the one, thought we had a super great time”
Man, that hurts. It just really hits on the vulnerability of believing you were on the same page with someone, only to find out that you weren’t even close. It’s a crushing feeling.

I also like the intentionality of ending every line with “time” in the verses. She does make sure the words before rhyme, which I like and I think is necessary for something like this. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about the distortion on the chorus vocals, it was kind of weird at first but I got used to it. Overall though, the song is really emotional and is my second fave from the EP. It’s unfortunately relatable for many people.

Here, have a listen to this one as well: