Julia Wolf Interview

They say it takes years to be an overnight success. Julia Wolf who – at the time of writing – is on the European leg of Machine Gun Kelly's World tour, confirms this.

The last year has been a whirlwind for Julia, amassing an incredible resume of music industry wins. The New York Times named her an artist to watch for 2026, she collaborated with both Drake and John Summit, supported Halsey and PVRIS at their respective concerts, and her single “In My Room” hit the number one spot on the Viral US Charts, amassing an impressive 160 million streams to date. At first glance, one might assume this talented Long-Island born singer-songwriter hit the ground running, but the reality is a lot of hard work behind the scenes. And in the case of “In My Room”: posting on TikTok for over a year before it gained any real traction.

Julia grew up a self-described outsider with a tendency toward shyness. She took comfort in Twilight, the book-to-movie franchise she felt paralleled her adolescence in many ways (more awkward Bella Swan, less vampires, obviously). What she couldn't have known then was that the same series that got her through high school would eventually be what would help her blow up on TikTok.

Her music reads like pages torn from a diary: honest and vulnerable. Where many creatives feel pressure to double down on a niche, Julia resists being boxed in, instead leaning into contradiction: softness and grit, gloom and comfort. Her  sophomore album Pressure marked a turning point in that regard, a statement of creative freedom as much as personal growth. 

Talking to Julia over Zoom, it is clear she has a hunger to “make it” in what is already a tough industry, made tougher still by navigating it as an independent artist—a label she returns to throughout our conversation, and one that – in the industry's current climate – comes with very real barriers to visibility. And yet the past year alone feels proof that it is possible. Speaking with her is a reminder of why supporting independent artists matters. Her warmth is felt almost immediately, matched by a disarming humility that mirrors the same emotional honesty found in her music.

Speaking to her now, mid-tour and mid-momentum, it’s clear that this isn’t a fleeting moment, it’s the result of years of persistence, quiet self-belief and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. If the past year has been about arrival, the next feels like it’s about expansion. And if Julia has proven anything so far, it’s that she’s only just getting started.

BOBBI KATE HEWITT: Your new collaboration with John Summit just dropped. How did that collaboration first come about?

JULIA WOLF: John reached out out of the blue. And he said that he was a fan of my voice, and he noticed that I had never done a collab quite like that, so it would be sick to bring our worlds together. And then I was already in Florida, so we just drove down to Miami to his studio. And, yeah, it took some trial and error. You know, some of my lyrics may have been a little too sad to start off with, but we chipped away at it and we got there.

BOBBI: How do you find the collaborative process? Are you good at being able to “Kill your darlings”, so to speak?

JULIA: Yeah, it's hard. I was a little nervous, because my biggest weakness is writing on the spot. So especially in sessions like this, I tend to come pretty prepared with what I think is the right thing to do, you know? And so it was nerve wracking, but it was a good indicator that it's possible for me and that maybe I don't need to be so terrified of it.

BOBBI: You've also collaborated with Drake, which is epic. What does it feel like when artists you grew up listening to start to pay attention to your music?

JULIA: It feels insane. It's still very much a pinch me moment, when I got the Drake DM, we freaked out for four days straight. Because – especially since we're independent – it just feels so difficult to be seen and gain that exposure. It feels discouraging and impossible until these moments start happening, where then you can kind of snap out of it and are like, “Oh, wait, yes, we are good enough, there is room for us with these incredible people.” Just knowing that they even care about what I'm doing means the world, because I have nothing but respect for them and their careers.

BOBBI: Do you feel like you're at that point in your career now where you're over the imposter syndrome hurdle, or do you still feel like, “What the heck is going on?”

JULIA: I think I've just been this way forever, where I have that imposter syndrome. But of course, seeing these moments and getting to play these arena shows, I see the growth now. Before, it was so much like we just have to believe that we are good enough, and one day things will work. And now that it is starting to actually show in tangible ways, it does help for those moments. But of course, I have my down periods, and I think that comes from just always wanting to beat the last thing. The goal post is always shifting.

BOBBI: Your sophomore album, Pressure, came out last year. Looking back now, what do you think that record represented for you?

JULIA: Creatively? Oh my gosh, that's like my statement piece and a real departure from my old music. I really needed to show how much I have grown since then, and also that I don't like to be labeled as one thing. A lot of people compare me to incredible artists who are fantastic, but I find that my music isn't just one sound, and so Pressure was a way for me to display all of my interests and love for different genres.

BOBBI: I feel like every creative feels such a pressure to fit into one niche. Everyone feels like they have to optimise for the algorithm, but no person fits into just one box, right?

JULIA: Yeah. I almost want to be the opposite of that, a little bit where I just want to be normal. When someone is super curated, I love that as a consumer, but for myself, if I try to do that, it just comes off inauthentic. There's so many things that I love and really, I'm just a normal girl, posting like anybody else and showing all of my things that I love.

BOBBI: Your song “In My Room” hit number one on the US viral charts and has racked up millions of streams, did you realise when you wrote it that it might resonate that widely?

JULIA: So I always say this, that song in particular, I felt in my gut that it could be the song to help push my career forward. It did take over a year of me posting to get any sort of traction, which is just the crazy part about music in general. Now it's like anything can pop off when it needs to. But yeah, I think I just always had a gut feeling that these lyrics are too honest to not resonate with a bunch of people, and it's cool to see how it has.

BOBBI: Is there anything you've written that feels almost too personal to release?

JULIA: No, there are topics that I have touched on in Pressure that I plan on diving deeper into with the next album. I feel like there's no topic that I wouldn't really get into. I've already been pretty revealing about a lot of stuff that people don't love to admit. And I think that vulnerability is my strength when it comes to connecting with my music.

BOBBI: Where do you think that bravery comes from, being able to be that publicly vulnerable?

JULIA: Getting older, my goodness. When I was younger, I equated vulnerability with weakness, and I thought people would just think less of me, but the older I get, the more I can't hide how I feel—and don't think I need to. I think I hit my breaking point with not being completely honest, and now I just spill my guts and can't stop.

BOBBI: You mentioned that it took almost a year for “In My Room” to pop off. What was your strategy behind posting?

JULIA: Oh my gosh. It was all Twilight. It was whatever I could do to not show my face and be anonymous, so that I wasn't bugging my audience all the time. But even those Twilight things, it was like, three times a day posting about Twilight since way before “In My Room”, too. And at first it was like, nothing, nothing, nothing, but I just loved it and I felt like one day it would work. And finally it did. But yeah, freaking picture slides.

BOBBI: Where does the deep obsession with Twilight come from?

JULIA: Literally, in like eighth grade, eating lunch alone every day, I just couldn't find my people yet. And my mum was like, “There's this book that everyone's reading!” And oh my god, I read it and it took over my life. You know, I’m eating lunch alone and so was Bella. I found so many similarities between my life in high school and her high school experience, where we're both blushing at anything and can't talk to people. So yeah, I would watch it on Bootleg on my computer every day—it became my life.

BOBBI: Speaking to that, what made you feel like an outsider at school?

JULIA: I don't know. I just was always so, so quiet and very afraid of speaking my mind. But I just remember going red if anyone would even ask me for a pencil, or, like, God forbid, the teacher called on me. It was just this fear of being seen by people, so I just tried to disappear all the time.

BOBBI: And how do you feel about being seen so much now? How have you grown?

JULIA: I wish I could say my skin has gotten tougher since those days, I think what honestly helps is I try to not look at the comments section and just create my own space when it comes to the internet—because that will send me back to my high school self. And I will ruminate on comments and not sleep from them, and just kind of get into that bad cycle. But I think the need to create music overpowered the shyness, and that's why I was able to start releasing stuff. I'm a sensitive girl, and I just had to put it out there. And then it just gets easier the more that you do it really.

BOBBI: Finally but most importantly, Jacob or Edward?

JULIA: Bobbi, it's Edward. Always.