They say timing is everything. And this couldn’t be truer for 18 year-old singer/songwriter Julia Brennan. If only it didn’t take a broken collar bone to happen!
“We have this little vintage motorcycle that my brother rides around the yard all the time,” explains the Minneapolis-bred musician. “One day this summer, I jump on and just as I start going, I realize the hand brake was broken. I broke my collar bone and had to have surgery. I was stuck on the couch for a few weeks, and I said to myself, ‘Well, I have nothing to do. And I’ve been sitting on these three songs for months, why not put them out now?’”
This summer, Julia self-released her first few songs, including her heartfelt, piano-laced breakout track “Inner Demons.” “A week after I released the songs, I thought, ‘Oh, I should send them into local radio stations and see if they’ll play my songs.’” In just a few days, the pop radio station in Minneapolis (KDWB-FM) called Julia while on the air, talked to her about these songs, and played a minute of “Inner Demons.”
“It kind of happened almost too quickly for me to think about it,” she says. Julia had just moved into the dorms at the University of Minnesota to begin her freshman year of college as all of this was happening. “We had only put it on YouTube and iTunes for a very short time this summer, before radio got hold of it,” she explains. The feedback was so positive that she pulled up stakes from her dorm room the day before her first class. A few days later, she signed a recording contract with Columbia Records. Julia’s three-song Inner Demons EP is available now.
“I used to think you had to be chosen for this in advance or something,” she laughs. “It’s been a whirlwind.” But not something she’s entirely unprepared for. Having taken piano lessons since the age of 4, she was always drawn to music, and relished listening to powerhouse vocalists growing up. “I love Adele and I’m a huge admirer of Sam Smith’s singing style,” she says, but she also has been influenced by seminal artists with even deeper musical legacies. “I remember Elvis’ version of ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ really affecting me,” she says. “And Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ was a song I heard at 13 and just knew I had to learn on piano. It just changed me.”
“Inner Demons” was written by Julia and recorded in Nashville this past December, the singer/songwriter deciding to forge ahead with her career after gaining the confidence to tell her own stories. “I started really concentrating on my songwriting about a year ago,” she says. Her mom has also been an influence on her musical pursuits, experiencing the workaday side of the business as a successful wedding singer when she was younger. “She’s been incredibly supportive. I think I came from what you’d call a pretty normal background, but still there were times I felt a little awkward growing up—I think everyone has those times where you feel you don’t fit in; when you’re pushed out of your comfort zone. ‘Inner Demons’ comes from those fears we all have.”
Julia says the song was also sparked by her relationship with a friend who was experiencing family issues. “I would always try to comfort her, and then feel bad that I couldn’t do more. We all have demons. This song says it’s okay that you’re not feeling okay, sometimes we have to admit things are hard and we need help.”
Invited by KDWB to play the Minnesota State Fair, Julia marveled at the range of people who came up to her after her performance to embrace the song’s message. “From 13 year olds to 40 and 50 year olds,” she says. “I get comments on social media, constantly, opening my eyes to how many big and small things people go through every day, often suffering in silence. I hope the song helps provide a voice.”
