We were lucky to catch up with Julia Cole recently and have shared our conversation below.
Julia, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My parents instilled confidence in my sisters and me from as early as I can remember, and that is the most important piece of the puzzle in my opinion. A vast majority of my childhood was spent involved in athletics, which helped with the confidence and body positivity. All three of us girls are very tall and we found ourselves in an environment where that was praised instead of gawked at. I played soccer and basketball at an extremely young age, then picked up volleyball and track/ cross country when middle school athletics began. Performing under pressure to make a free throw or get my serve over the net at game point groomed me for a world of performing in front of thousands of people. I also know how to adjust in difficult situations, like when gear on stage stops working or I have food poisioning before a National Anthem performance in Cameron Indoor Stadium, much like we would shift from man to man to zone defense if things weren’t going our way in the paint. I think athletics taught us how important it is to work as a team, but also learn leadership skills. Our parents held us accountable for our actions, slacking in practice or not preparing for a game like we should have, but still always rewarded us for giving our best effort even if it ended in a loss. I’m extremely grateful for my family, the original #Coleteam.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I got my start in music singing national anthems for my own basketball and volleyball games. I write my own songs with the hopes of making people who hear my lyrics (the #Coleteam) feel empowered, included, and understood. This year has been amazing because I have truly reached millions of listeners who I hope were helped through difficult life experiences with my art. CMT named me a CMT Next Women of Country Class of 2022 member and invited me to walk their red carpet for the first time. The Grand Ole Opry invited me to make my debut a couple of weeks ago and it was the best night of my life. My first song got added to SIRIUS XM The Highway this year, and we are about to break 100 million streams online. I feel so blessed to connect with people on such a real, direct level.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of my career is 100% hearing from people on the #Coleteam who feel that one of my songs has helped them feel better or put the confusing feelings they couldn’t articulate in a melodic poetic way they can finally sing along to. I’ve been sent videos of people in hospital beds seeing a crazy boost in their vital signs after their favorite one of my songs plays. I’ve had people (men and women) say that a song of mine helped save their marriage or helped them finally gather the strength to leave a toxic relationship.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
The obvious pivot most people faced in the last few years was dealing with a pandemic cutting off our main revenue source. The entire music industry, including yours truly, felt this impact tremendously. I shifted from in person live performance to online virtual shows and social media focus. My videos on Tik Tok started to reach millions of people. I learned that being forced to change my strategies actually was the best thing that could have ever happened to my career.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.juliacolemusic.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/juliacolemusic
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/juliacolemusic
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/juliacolemusic
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/juliacolemusic
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/juliacolemusic
- Other: tiktok @juliacolemusic
Image Credits
Alejandro Medina III, Chris Hollo, Danielle Piazza