In your lifetime of appreciating music, you will probably come across hundreds of different artists that you enjoy listening to. Maybe even thousands. Thousands of musicians, singers, score writers, producers, and more who blend their talents together to deliver the sounds that make you dance, make you cry, remind you of lost love or chances destroyed. You may appreciate them as artists, or lose yourself in their live performances, or strike up witty conversations with them on Twitter. Because the music we love has a way of sneaking its way into every little fiber of our being sometimes.
But in that same span of time, I’d argue that you’ll only come across a handful of songwriters who manage to speak to your soul. For me personally, two of those writers are Lauv and Julia Michaels. (And a generous side of Justin Tranter.)
So you can imagine how blown away I was when this all-star team joined up together for a new track called “There’s No Way.” Two great storytellers, two powerful voices.
I didn’t write a review of their track the second it dropped, but don’t worry: I had my alerts on. I needed some time to sit with it. Not because I didn’t know immediately that I loved it, which can sometimes happen to me in a whirlwind of social media hype. When you hear a sick beat, or an infectious chorus, you can immediately declare it your jam. With lyrics, they are best appreciated when you let them sink in, and see how they change you.
“There’s No Way” makes me uncomfortable. The song is heavy with possibilities. It’s upbeat and fun, and it’s easy to sing along with. But it makes me feel regret, and loss. Like heartbreak, while there’s a smile still on your face.
Similarly, the “There’s No Way” music video is adorably cute and gut-wrenchingly sad, somehow simultaneously. Why do I let these two keep doing this to me?
Lest you think I’m the only one gushing over the combination of Lauv and Julia’s writing styles, please note that they’re saying the same things about one another too. Their songwriting process on this track was filled with just as much silliness as emotion, which is probably why we’re getting all that push and pull.
“Writing with Ari [Lauv] is equal parts funny and serious,” Julia shared in a press statement. “He’s the kind of person that can tap into an emotion and then say something random to break up the heaviness in a room. I love that about him.”
“Julia is an absolute legend not only as a songwriter but just as a human being,” Lauv added. “The first time we met we didn’t even write a song, we just talked about life and emo bands and stuff. A few days later me, her, Justin Tranter and Ian Kirkpatrick got into the room and wrote ‘There’s No Way’. For me the song is about meeting someone and immediately feeling that connection where you can’t help but have crazy chemistry, and though your lives don’t quite line up in that moment, you know someday everything could go down between you two.”
Your heart is never going to be the same.
(I don’t know if that’s a threat or a promise.)
Make sure to listen to Lauv and Julia Michaels’ latest song “There’s No Way” above, and leave us all of your reactions to the song below!
