Julia Wolf Is Songwriting and Spellcasting Her Way to Stardom
We caught up with the artist ahead of releasing her latest track, “Deep End.”
Julia Wolf is the punk-rock princess taking confessional lyricism to new heights and casting spells on the side. Carving out her own lane entirely, one filled with emotional spirals, TV references and brutally honest storytelling, we sat down with the artist ahead of her latest single release, “Deep End.”
When we hopped on the call with Wolf, she appeared fresh-faced and relaxed, ready to unpack her darkest secrets, something she’s become unexpectedly good at despite a surprisingly introverted childhood. The self-proclaimed “sensitive girl” has mastered the art of turning her deepest anxieties and emotions into brutally honest, sometimes haunting lyrics that say the things most people only wish they could articulate. Though she effortlessly moves between genres, Wolf’s sound remains rooted in alternative rock, layered with sharp pop instincts and emotional intensity.
If you’re not already familiar with Wolf, you may not realize just how far her reach extends. She’s toured with Machine Gun Kelly, landed on a track with Drake, stepped into dance-pop alongside John Summit and created the breakout track “In My Room,” now immortalized as the unofficial soundtrack to seemingly every Twilight fan edit circulating TikTok. (And yes, Wolf proudly counts herself among the franchise’s biggest fans).
From spells and superstitions to radically honest songwriting, we sat down with Wolf to discuss her latest track, future manifestations, that tattoo and even the possibility of a country-inspired release somewhere down the line. With Julia Wolf, nothing is off the table. Read on for the full interview.
For people who are just discovering you, how would you introduce yourself, and what first pulled you towards making music?
I would introduce myself as a very sensitive girl who writes very vulnerable, honest lyrics. My music is a culmination of all the genres that I love, but the foundation is probably alternative rock. I started writing music in high school, and it became a way of speaking for me at a time in my life when I literally did not speak at all to people; I couldn’t even make eye contact.
It was a very rough adolescence, I would say. Writing kind of became a way to get things off my chest without having to actually say them face-to-face to anyone. Then I went to college for music and kind of always knew that’s what I wanted to do.
You’ve mentioned that your lyrics are super honest and often quite dark and vulnerable. Would you say that this openness is something you’ve grown into?
Oh yes, yeah. I used to feel like being vulnerable was more of a weakness. In my early twenties, I had this way of thinking, “Oh goodness, I can’t reveal to people how insecure and self-doubtful I actually am because it’s just going to make people not believe in me or believe in what I’m doing.” So I needed to try and flip the script a little bit, but the older I get, the more I can’t keep shoving down this part of myself that’s hollering from the rooftops saying, “This is who you are, so just accept it.” So now I just write without a second thought of anyone else’s perception of me. I write from the heart.
How do you decide what stays private and what becomes part of the music? Or is everything on the table?
I think everything’s out in the open. I don’t think there needs to be anything that’s kept private because I’ve seen the way it helps people in real time. Being the person who’s saying the crazy thing really does help someone else feel a little less crazy in their own personal situations. I guess I had that to some extent growing up in high school and listening to my favorite artists who were also being vulnerable. I would feel so connected and understood by that one figure, and it really helped me get through some stuff, so I don’t think anything needs to be secret right now.
What would you say your earliest music-related memory is? Was there a moment when you realized music was what you wanted to be doing?
Yeah, that was very young for me. It would be at the first concert that I ever went to, I think I was 12, maybe. It was an Avril Lavigne concert. At that point, I had been going down into my basement every day after school, hollering, singing, belting Avril at the top of my lungs. It was way too hard for me to sing, but I was always doing that in secret. Seeing her on stage for the first time, this absolute rock star of a woman who was so comfortable in her skin and just the coolest girl I had ever seen, it made me want nothing more than to be her, and to somehow break out of my shell and do that one day. I didn’t admit it to anyone for many years, but I knew then that’s what I wanted to do.
That’s amazing, Avril Lavigne was actually my first ever CD. So, “In My Room” has been a defining moment in your career. Looking back now, what was happening in your life when you wrote that song?
Oh my gosh. It’s weird because I had kind of pivoted genres at that point, so it was still pretty fresh to be doing more of a rock-focused sound, but it felt so good. I was living in Queens at the time, went to my room, I’d just written the song, and it felt pretty special right away. I was like, “Oh, this to me seems like it can go places.” Of course, it didn’t for a whole year and a half of me posting it; nobody really cared except for my core little fan base at the time. But yeah, I immediately knew that it felt bigger for me.
I kept picturing these girls on TikTok lip-syncing it. I thought, “Oh my gosh, this is such an easy song to relate to.” I was really tooting my own horn about it, but I actually thought, “Wow, I’m very proud of this song.” I then started posting it with Twilight edits, and for whatever reason, it clicked. I had been posting Twilight way before “In My Room,” and it didn’t really connect, but then everything just came together.
It sounds like you kind of manifested that.
Yeah, I guess! To be fair, there wasn’t another song that I was really posting and putting all of my energy into as much as “In My Room.” I’d like to think it could have been another song of mine as well. But yeah, I think I manifested it, for sure.
So you’ve just mentioned Twilight. We have to talk about your Twilight tattoo. Can you talk us through this?
Yes, this was an incredible day! It was my first show I’d ever done in Australia, and the promoter of the show wanted to make a day out of it for me. They set up all these little things that we could do, and the last one was getting a tattoo. The artist, my girl, made a flash sheet of all Twilight stuff. I was looking at it thinking, “Oh my god, of course the logo.” I thought, “How funny would it be if I just got that on my hand?” And everyone was like, “Hahaha, yes! So funny!” It just became so ridiculous that I had to do it. So, that’s how it happened.
I love that. How many times do you think you’ve watched it or read it?
Read it, I can’t even tell you because I was reading that every single day from like eighth grade to literally college. I wish I were kidding. It was such a big part of my life. Then the movie, forget it. I was watching it bootleg while it was still in theaters, and I would then go home and watch it bootleg on my computer almost every single night. Maybe 50, 60, 100? I don’t even know.
That’s amazing. Would you say you’re an obsessive person? Whether that’s in love or in life?
Yeah, very much so, to my detriment. When you’re a shy person like me, who’s very quiet, I just latch onto these characters and become so obsessed because it feels good to fill that hole. I’d start watching tutorials on how to dress like Elena Gilbert or Bella Swan, and it felt good to be so consumed by something and escape reality. But, oh my god, with relationships… [silence] Luckily, I’ve found someone who can deal with that now. But for a long time, it was a lot of mismatches, for sure.
What’s your best advice for getting over someone?
Oh gosh, am I the right person to ask about this? I think I just finally hit a point where I thought, “Okay, I know I need to be treated better, so I need to just let all of this go.” I focused fully on my career and kept the blinders on. I also started casting spells around that time just because it made me feel like I was calling my power back and giving my energy back to myself. Around that time is when I met my man, so I think you have to let it go.
Are you quite a spiritual person?
Yeah, I feel like I talk out loud to myself or my spirit guides, as TikTok likes to call them, literally all the time. Then things just line up so perfectly, so I don’t know, I do believe in these things. My life is just a combination of weird decisions that then led me to the right thing. So yes, I do believe in something out there.
You’ve crossed into so many different spaces, touring with Machine Gun Kelly, collaborating with Drake and then leaning into dance-pop territory with John Summit. What excites you about moving between genres, and is there a genre that you’d still like to explore?
I love listening to all of these different genres, but my default thought is, “Oh my god, I’m not cool enough to be a part of all these different spaces or these people. They wouldn’t want to work with me.” But then, when they do want to, they’re so accepting of me and just want to bring me into their world. It feels awesome to weave in and out of all these different sounds. Whenever I feel like I’m getting boxed into something, it starts to irritate me, and I immediately want to jump ship, so I think this is my way of quelling that and getting to still be myself while dipping into all these other spaces.
Next, I’m going for country music. I personally love it. I’m not talking like the pop version, I don’t want that. There’s this band I love called Ole 60… the more traditional country is where I’m going.
You’ve earned co-signs from artists like Billie Eilish as well. Is there a dream collaborator that you have?
A dream collab is always going to be Phoebe Bridgers for me.
How would you describe your personal style? Do you think it’s evolved alongside your music?
Yeah, it’s evolved, thank god. I think now more than ever, simple is good. I used to wear a tight shirt and skinny jeans, thinking I needed to be womanly or whatever to look good. I just don’t have that viewpoint anymore. I want to wear what feels good. I’m still always trying to give Bella Swan or Lorelai Gilmore, though. My references are always going to be TV or movie characters. My style also jumps around a lot, and I think that’s so fun because, like I said before, if I start doing one thing all the time, I then hate it. I like to play around.
What would you say is feeding your creativity right now? What are you obsessed with?
There’s a lot of stuff that I’m obsessed with currently. I love video games, and I just read a book called Heart the Lover, which was phenomenal. I’ve been going to Florida a lot; I grew up going there every winter, and I find that to be very inspiring. The calmness, the sunshine and the ocean, I think when I come back to a crazy place like New York, it starts turning up all the yearning in me, wishing I was somewhere else. I think that helps me write.
You’re set to go on a world tour, which is really exciting. Do you have any pre-show rituals or superstitions before you go out on stage that make you feel comfortable?
It’s honestly so chill before I go on. I would say I always stir my intentions into my tea, counterclockwise and start whispering into my tea, “I hope this show goes well.” And then I just take a shot of tequila, and say, “Okay guys, high five,” and then we go.
What are you manifesting for the next chapter of Julia Wolf? What can we expect from you in the future?
I’m manifesting a lot of stuff. I’m manifesting some pretty cool collabs and definitely some more of my own music. I don’t want to give too much away, but maybe something that’s a different format entirely. I have one very strong goal that I haven’t said out loud yet because I don’t want to jinx it, but a different format of creative expression, let’s say that.
I also have a song called “Deep End” that’s coming out at the end of this month. It’s about feeling out of my comfort zone, being in the deep end and the turmoil of trying to figure out how someone else feels. I guess I’m also manifesting that the music video comes out well because that was the worst day of my life, filming underwater. I hope learning how to scuba dive was worth it!
