The Julia Show

Nicky Youre checked in with Audacy’s Julia to talk all about his music journey that ultimately led to his track “Sunroof,” which thanks to the powers of the internet, well primarily TikTok, has become a bona fide bop.

Nicky, who just started making music in his bedroom only 5 years ago, has had “such a good time hearing the reactions.. and seeing how,” his happy go-lucky song, “affects different people.”

After crediting his single “Sex and Lemonade,” to helping find the music lane he wanted to be in - Pop, Youre went on to share the unexpected inspiration that led him to create “Sunroof.”

“I was really sick one day, and I really wanted to make something that made me feel good and make me feel happy and like get out of bed, cause I was deathly ill, that’s when I made ‘Sunroof.’ I just started humming and found a melody and some lyrics that I liked and sent it over to my producer and we both were like really excited about how it was feeling. And then 20 versions later, a song came to be and we released it.”

Detailing one of the major changes out of the 20 versions of the track, Nicky noted that at one point the song was in a much lower key, “so the energy was a lot more boring, at least to me, and so 5 versions in we switched the key… which to me brings it a lot more energy,  and makes a lot more fun of a song.”

According to Nicky, one of his musical influences is Dominic Fike. “Cause I was doing all Electronic/Dance music stuff,” but by listening to Fike it helped him realize how cool Pop music could be.

Despite his young age of 22, and being a new artists, Nicky knows what’s up when it comes to seasonal appropriate songs. Revealing he has some summer smashes headed out way, and choosing to keep other tracks in hibernation until winter time.

Curious about his writing process, Julia asked Nicky to break down his methods. “I don’t really write too much based off intent, so I don’t think of like a story really… I base it off of how I’m feeling. It’s purely like, I will just say words until it makes me feel good, or makes me feel sad, and I kind of hone in the story a little bit there.”

“Now that I have some professional writers that are helping me out, I can focus on the feeling of songs, and they can help me write the story and put everything together so it it really feels like a full piece of work.”

With the success of “Sunroof,” Nicky admitted the looming expectations to churn out another summer smash hit did get to him, but he quickly realized “that’s a really bad way to think about it, because it just messes you up and doesn’t let you be inspired for new things.” That said, Youre “is definitely trying to stay in that similar lane for new music,” you know “fun, happy and easy to l ...

In celebration of the release of their new RED GREEN BLUE record, the Hanson brothers, Isaac, Zac, and Taylor dropped by for an Audacy Check In to talk about new music and their upcoming tour with host Julia.

Hanson's new album RED GREEN BLUE celebrates the brothers performing for 30 years together and features three solo-led projects featuring the band's unique voices together like never before. Each brother wrote and produced one-third of the album; Taylor for Red, Isaac for Green, and Zac for Blue. As for their RED GREEN BLUE World Tour, Hanson will perform various shows across the United States as well as Europe and the U.K. beginning in early June, followed by Latin American dates in October, and Australian dates yet to be revealed. 

With music and entertainment being so accessible these days, Taylor admits feeling good now that their ambitious new project has officially arrived "because we know we're about to actually be able to take it to a large tour, which the whole world has been in this weird place where they haven't been gathering as much in the last two years. So, there's a sense of something tangible now."

The new recording concept, where each brother produced a portion of the three-part album on their own, is "definitely a different thing, and that's part of the idea," says Zac. "I think we're at a different point in our career where those different kind of ideas are more and more appealing... we're at a point where you're really trying to deepen those connections and continue to tell interesting stories that really, not just effect the moment you're in, but shed light on the history of the band, the whole story of three decades of music that we've played together." Isaac adds, "Each of us basically treated it like a solo EP in a sense, and kind of said 'I'm in charge, get outta the way fellas!' We threw elbows."

"I think it would be a mistake to say the project was really about creative freedom," says Zac. "I think it's kind of the opposite. It's really saying, 'let's not stagnate. Let's continue to do things that challenge us. Because we're so comfortable working together, what happens when you take away some of that comfort and you put the strengths in different areas?"

Speaking of challenges, Julia spoke with AWOLNATION a few months back, where frontman Aaron Bruno discussed his newest covers project, on which Taylor Hanson is featured singing on his cover of Madonna's "Material Girl." Bruno, at the time, compared Taylor's voice to that of Michael Jackson's -- obviously an incredible compliment. "I will pay him later! That's very kind," Taylor says. "He's brilliant and a really good dude." Working with AWOLNATION was "fantastic," he says, although he admits "it's kind of unfair to say 'working,' considering it was all recorded and sent via email during the pandemic. We've known AWOL and Aaron specifically for quite a few years and talked about doing things. Again, the whole world has been in such upheaval; I know that project was, talking about mental health, something [ ...

Lizzo checked in with Audacy’s Julia to let us know that it’s about damn time we heard her new single “About Damn Time,” and after hearing it we’d have to agree. The track, which debuted less than 24 hours ago, brings us one step closer to Lizzo’s new era.

Having hooked us from the opening line “it’s bad b**** o’clock, yeah it's thick-thirty" - “About Damn Time,” is the perfect bop to listen to when you’re feeling your best, and want to quickly turn that around. Which is the exact reason why the song is so special to Lizzo.

For her, the song is a melodic cure for not just “being down and out about ourselves, but about life,” she tells Julia. "I think life had thrown some major traumas and hard experiences at us, especially globally these last few years. And I wanted to write a song that allowed us to take a moment and celebrate our survival, and celebrate how far we’ve come. And I think ‘About Damn Time’ does just that — it does it for me honey.”

As for how long the track has been percolating, Lizzo revealed that it’s actually the last song to complete her album, and she started working on it “about 2 months ago.” Before that however, as she noted, “my album was done in my eyes, and this was kind of like a Hail Mary song, because I didn’t really have anything on my album yet that felt like ‘Good as Hell’ to me.”

“When I’m on stage or having a bad day, I sing ‘Good as Hell’ and I immediately feel better, I wanted to write a song like that, and that's what ‘About Damn Time' really is.”

Being able to turn a bad situation or day into a good one with a song, is Lizzo’s love language. “Music is therapy for me, for sure,” Lizzo admitted, expressing that she’s always written, whether it be songs, stories, poems, it’s always been her form of escapism since she was a child up until now. Except now, “my escapism makes platinum records,” she added with a braggadocios laugh.

In case you missed it, yes Lizzo did in fact reveal that after having added “About Damn Time” to the tracklist, her album is now officially complete. So does that mean she’s ready to drop it? The answer to that ladies and gents, is a resounding uh-yes!

Answering Julia’s question of whether the album is complete, fully rounded and ready for us to hear, Lizzo responded, “Oh she round… she’s round, she’s think, she’s juicy, she’s curvaceous and she is REATTYY for the world.” Thursday, Lizzo revealed that the world would get to meet her new album on July 15 and her name, is SPECIAL.

Aside from getting her upcoming album ready for our listening pleasure, Lizzo has been staying busy working on her shapewear line Yitty, which she was wearing during the Check In btw, and is now officially available. With sizes ranging from 6X to XS, Lizzo’s curated designs are made to make anyone of any size feel ‘good as hell’ about themselves.

Latto joined Audacy’s Julia in the studio this week to discuss the success of her track “Big Energy,” collaborating with Mariah Carey, and to share some of her biggest wins since dropping her debut album, 777.

Since the age of eight, Latto has known she wanted to be a rapper. With support from her parents from the beginning and a love for writing and poetry in school, the artist said she began with a very solid foundation to build her career. The “Wheelie” artist shared, “I would write lyrics in my room and rap them for my dad. He took me to the studio and was like ‘you got it! Let’s do it!’”

Latto said that putting together her debut project, 777 was quite literally a “blood, sweat and tears situation.”

“I was so hard on myself, so it’s like a relief that it’s finally out,” said the Atlanta rapper. Now with the massive hit that “Big Energy” has become Latto realizes there are so many more listeners out there that she can “potentially turn into fans." She adds that she never expected the single to change her life.

Now that her album is out, Latto tells us she has learned “not to be so hard on myself and not to second guess everything. And the songs that I second-guessed and the lines that I second guesses, people love them!” Additionally, now that she is touring her new album the rapper has developed a great love for performing. Being able to see the crowd’s reaction the second one of her beats drops feels like a reward after all the time and energy she put into the project.

Regarding the features on her album, Latto tells us that every feature she requested for the project came back without fail. “It was artist-to-artist respect,” explained the “It’s Givin” rapper.

Between working with Mariah Carey and Childish Gambino, the artist said, “I was stunned at both, just agreeing to doing a song with me, but nonetheless just even knowing who I am.”

Latto noted that Mimi told her she watched her interviews and even saw her dressed as the iconic “We Belong Together” songstress for Halloween. At the time, when Latto was hearing this from Carey she said, “girl this is too much for me to process right now!”

“That whole process was crazy,” Latto explained as she discussed the “Big Energy” remix. She said the biggest challenge was keeping her collaboration with Mariah a secret until the remix dropped.

Check out Latto’s full Check In above!

Words by Marni Zipper Interview by Julia

As her new studio album, Familia, arrived Camila Cabello joined us for an Audacy Check In! 

Upon the arrival of her new project, Cabello told Audacy’s Julia that she has set the intention to enjoy this release as much as possible. Looking at her previous records comparing it to her current release, Camila said she was “a hot mess” when Romance debuted. “I think when it came out it was like the worst point of my mental health,” explained the “Bam Bam” singer. But she notes, “now I’m at my best point.”

Cabello tells us her favorite track on the album is “Boys Don’t Cry.” The singer explained that her choreographers fell in love with the track, which sparked a “newfound obsession” with the song for Camila.

Cabello noted that “Boy’s Don’t Cry” was “inspired by one man in my life, but now I feel like I can relate it to my dad… and just seeing guys talk about it made me have a newfound appreciation for it.”

Speaking about her collaboration with WILLOW on “psychofreak,” Cabello said that she always knew she wanted the “transparent soul” singer to collaborate with her on the song. “I’m so grateful that she said yes to being on this song and working on it with me because I just can’t think of anybody better to collaborate specifically on this song with and also just in general,” explained Cabello. “I feel like working with her has inspired me to collaborate more.” Camila shared that when she got to watch WILLOW record her part of the song she enjoyed just being able “to be a music fan” at the moment.

For Cabello, “psychofreak” was the hardest song for her to write. “It felt so vulnerable to be talking about those things at the time,” revealed the artist. “I had been working through a lot of those thoughts, like paranoia and intimacy issues. It was the first time I really put those specifically in a song.”

While “psychofreak” may sound like a “cool vibey song” as Cabello puts it, she wants listeners to understand that the track paints a portrait of her mental health during that time. The song underscores her anxiety. She shared, “I hope people can feel the pain behind some of those words.”

Camila concluded, “this album was me realizing, nobody does anything on their own. Like we f***ing depend on… so many things that are outside of ourselves.”

Check out Cabello’s full interview above. Familia is out everywhere now.

Words by Marni Zipper Interview by Julia

Hot on the heels of the release of part two of their first album, Liberty : In Our Cosmos, the members of CRAVITY joined Audacy’s Julia  to share details about their new music and spoke candidly about what inspired their latest project.

Additionally, the group opened up about the making of their latest music video for their track, “Adrenaline.” The “Adrenaline” video also debuted alongside part two of their album.

Speaking about interacting with fans in person, CRAVITY explained that their face-to-face fan meet and greets have been limited. Hyeongjun shared that when he has had the chance to meet fans in real life it makes him and his band members deeply emotional. “It’s really touching.”

Check out CRAVITY’s full interview above!

Words by Marni Zipper Interview by Julia

Dove Cameron joined Audacy’s Julia for a Check In and discussed her foray into a solo Pop career and filled us in on what she has planned for the future.

Recently, Dove released her debut single, “Boyfriend,” which appeared in the second season of the hit HBO drama, Euphoria. While featured on the Descendants soundtracks, this is not the first time Cameron has lent her voice to Pop music. In 2021, the Liv and Maddie star was featured on Rezz’s track, “Taste of You.”

In an Instagram post last month the it girl shared her emotions surrounding "Boyfriend" and wrote, “emotional !!! will come back & speak on how much it means to me to write/release from a queer perspective and have it feel powerful & right and not as terrifying as i had always imagined, but for now i’m going to nap because this week was break neck !! i hope you love boyfriend like i love you . ps: we are all now legally boyfriends . see you in the morning please stream the s*** out of this, xxxxxxxxxx”

Cameron revealed that the journey since releasing “Boyfriend” has been “wild!” She explained that up until a few days prior to releasing the new track there were never any plans to release the song to the public.

Dove tells us that after coming off tour she had intended to write her debut EP, and after a studio session. She and her producer constructed “Boyfriend” in a matter of hours. After uploading the unfinished demo of the song onto TikTok the new track blew up overnight, immediately going viral.

“I didn’t expect anything to come of that ever,” noted the Descendants star. After going viral Cameron and her team hustled to turn the demo into a fully produced single. Without uploading her demo to TikTok Dove said, “I don’t know if it ever would have seen the light of day, or if it would have come out next year, or it would have been an entirely different song.”

Now the actress turned Pop artist is hammering out the creative for the song and figuring out details for a “Boyfriend” music video.

Cameron’s new track is a take on a Pop empowerment anthem with a sultry twist. The singer noted, “feminine sexuality, sexuality, power...
all of these things have always been a huge theme for me in my life.”

“For a lot of my young life I felt incredibly infantilized, not me specifically, but women, in general, are incredibly infantilized in a lot of our modern-day culture,” said Dove. “I really wanted to create a song that felt like main character, villain arch that tapped me into my unnamable magic.”

Check out Dove’s full Audacy Check In above!

Words by Marni Zipper Interview by Julia

Kygo and Joe Jonas (on behalf of DNCE) checked in with Audacy’s Julia to talk about their collab single “Dancing Feet," which they are “so excited” is finally out.

Sofia Carson joined us for an Audacy Check In and shared all the details about her latest single “LOUD,” and what’s coming next for the Descendants actress-turned Popstar.

Canadian TikTok star, singer, and dancer Tate McRae joined us for a special Audacy Check In, hot on the heels of the release of her newest single, "she’s all I wanna be."