The Tea Between Julia Michaels and JP Saxe
A relationship through songwriting
Hey everyone!
This playlist is a little different than most of my playlists in that it’s a timeline of the history between two singer/songwriters rather than epitomizing a mood or feeling.
I am sat for the drama unfolding between Julia Michaels and JP Saxe, and it surprised me that many people didn’t know who either of them was. I found myself starting at the beginning, explaining this tea to many other people- quoting their lyrics chronologically, pulling up old Instagram posts, and eventually, it got to the point where I just made a companion playlist to go with the narrative. You can listen as you follow along.
I want to preface this by saying I respect people’s privacy; however, all of these posts are being made publically on social media. I am merely an observer and enjoy the storytelling and processing of the relationship through song.
The Timeline
1. Pre-2020: Before collaborating, Julia Michaels and JP Saxe wrote beautifully tragic songs about their anxious attachments and destructive relationships.
You do shit on purpose
You get mad and you break things
Feel bad, try to fix things
But you're perfect, poorly wired circuit-Julia Michaels, “Issues”
Say no say no I’m tellin' myself
But then
I choose you over my mental health
Instead- JP Saxe, “Anyone Else”
During 2020: They collab on “If the World Was Ending” and sometime after, they began dating.
3. During their relationship: They write songs about how they’ve never been in secure relationships and how it feels weird but nice.
“You took a pessimist and turned me into something else”
- Julia Michaels, “Pessimist”
“Nothing's wrong, and it's not what I'm used to
Oh, does it surprise you too?
When it's simple, is it easier than it should be?”
- JP Saxe, “Hey Stupid, I Love You”
“Some people wanna switch it up
Like just one love could never be enough
But some people watch golf on TV
And neither of those things make sense to me”
- Lennon Stella, feat. JP Saxe, “Golf on TV”
“I think the thing that really got me with JP’s music is that his lyrics are so detailed and then after you meet him you realize that all of this information that you’re listening to is true. I know everything about his last relationship and so many details about his last relationship because it’s all right there in his music, which I think is so cool cause I feel like I write the same way. It’s very conversational and it puts you in a moment.”
- Julia Michaels, on writing with JP Saxe
4. September 9, 2024: JP posts lyrics to “When You Think of Me.”
“Cause I swear I loved you fully / And I'm sorry not for staying who we thought I'd be," continued Saxe. "When you think of me, am I just another man who leaves?”
5. THE NEXT DAY: Julia posts the lyrics of “I’m Sorry to Me Too” on her Instagram story.
6. September 15, 2024: Michaels posts a clip of what will become “I’m Sorry to Me Too.” Interestingly, the first lyric in the video are “Cus you're just another man,” which is the question at the end of Saxe’s new chorus.
7. Saxe then posted the lyrics to a second verse of "When You Think Of Me" to his Instagram grid, writing, "I hate myself for hurting you / but it would make it worse to fix it / I wish I'd figured out a way / of keeping myself in it."
He continued, "I hate how I lived up to / your worst fears / makes it worse / how it worked / so well for three years / and it could all be for the best in the end / but for now it feels like losing my best friend." (His Instagram has since been deleted prior to 2024, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.)
September 17, 2022: Julia Michaels posts on Instagram with the caption “The answer is yes.” (Presumably to the questions in Saxe’s song.)
September 21, 2022: Michaels posts on TikTok the lyrics of an unreleased song.
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September 23, 2022: Saxe released the full version of “When You Think of Me”. That fall Saxe released more sad songs and an album in 2023 titled “A Gray Area.”
End of 2024: Julia Michaels is free of her label and begins a new album cycle and releases “Scissors,” a song about how quickly and easily she can cut someone off.
March 7, 2025: Michaels releases a song called “GFY” about how she has tried forgiveness, and it didn’t work for her.
Oh, I've tried high and low
Gone down every street
And I've tried forgiveness
But I hate the way it felt
Down every path I go
I look for peace
But it turns out all roads lead
To go fuck yourself- Julia Michaels, “GFY”
Cut to the present. Last week, she posted this Instagram post about her latest single, “GFY.” She explains that the inspiration behind her new song “GFY” was an ex who “wrote songs about her,” definitely giving a nod to Saxe and all the songs he wrote about her.
I hope you enjoyed this recounting of Julia Michael and JP Saxe’s relationship. Here is the full playlist containing all the songs mentioned above and more. The playlist recounts the full rise and fall of their relationship. Happy listening!
How did I not know that they dated???
I wrote about "If the World Was Ending" song and my love for it in a recent post.