"Feels really great to be able to have creative control": Julia Michaels talks creative freedom after starting her own label

Julia Michaels says she is very happy with her music now. She started her own label, GFY Records, and left Republic Records in 2023, after more than seven years. She says this move gave her more power to do what she wants.

She told PEOPLE at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas that she gets to release songs again. She said,

"It feels amazing. I started my label last year, and it just feels really great to be able to have creative control, creative freedom, to be able to take my power back."

She further says,

"I get to release songs again. I get to make music videos again. I get to see my fans again, perform again. So it's just life-changing."

On September 19, 2025, she released a new single called No Heartbreak’s Killed Me Yet. She also dropped a video for it, which shows her walking around New York City. This song came after her EP Second Self, which came out in May 2025 under her label GFY.

What does creative control mean for Julia Michaels?

Julia Michaels explains what creative control means to her. It means she gets to make decisions about her music and her image. She can choose how songs sound, how videos look, and how things are shown to her audience. Before, she says, she did not always have those choices.

She said,

"I just felt like I was stuck on a label where there were maybe bigger priorities than me. It's really hard to get people to believe in you sometimes, and then in turn you start to not believe in yourself."

With her own label, she says she feels freed. She says she can explore all sides of her art. Sometimes fun, sometimes serious, sometimes vulnerable. She said,

"It took being able to leave my label for me to want to put music out again."

Julia Michaels has made her EP Second Self with this new freedom. It has six songs, and she has worked with people she trusts. She also used artists and directors she likes. She says making artwork, videos, and sound has felt more right to her.

New music, personal life, and what’s ahead?

One part of Julia Michaels's new music chapter is the single No Heartbreak’s Killed Me Yet. It came out with a video. The video, the song, and the visuals, she says they reflect what she wants. It shows her walking in New York, being expressive. It shows the freedom she says she has now.

Her EP Second Self came earlier in 2025. It is released under her own label, GFY. It features the songs Heaven II, Scissors, and other tracks. It also has a collaboration with Maren Morris.

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Beyond music, Julia Michaels has changes in her personal life too. She is engaged to tattoo artist Mat Rule. She shared photos of her ring and said she is excited for the future.

She says this time feels like a turning point. Not just career, but how she sees herself. She says taking risks and owning work feels worth it and that she wants to keep doing what is true to her. She wants to make what she loves and share it without fear.

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