Julia Cole Talks Turning Heartbreak Into Healing on New Album, ‘Love You To Death’

After Julia Cole went through a difficult season marked by a called-off engagement, she channeled all of the highs, lows, pain and heeling into her newest album, Love You To Death.

As the Texan explained to Country Now, this collection of 14 deeply personal songs is not a love song album, however there is a lot of love woven throughout as she reflects on the moments and people that led her out of that darkness and into the wiser, more confident and hopeful person she is today.

Even in the moments where she feel like life was completely crashing down on her, Cole had her family, her friends and her fans supporting her at every step of the way. She is now celebrating those relationships trough this album, paying tribute to her dad in “Daddy Daughter Dance” and the importance of female friendships on “At My Wedding.”

As fans dive into each of these tracks, they will discover a mix of high-energy, confidence leading anthems like the title track, “Love You To Death,” to stripped-down, emotional ballads such as “What It Takes.” In between Cole’s clever wordplay, powerful vocals is a newfound hope for the future that she will one day finally find the kind of love she always deserved.  

“The person I am today is going to have a much better chance at finding a man who can lead my family in faith than me five years ago,” she noted.

In celebration of the new project, Julia Cole is taking her “Sisterhood Country” movement on the road with her headlining Love You To Death Tour. The run is set to launch May 28 in St. Louis, MO and continue through October.

Keep reading to learn more about Julia Cole’s personal new project, the loved ones who inspired the songs and what to expect from her upcoming tour.

You have previously stated that Love You To Death is the most sure that you’ve felt in yourself with a project. So what changed for you this time around? 

This album is one that I’ve written over the past couple of years after a called off wedding engagement that I went through and I just really had so much to say. I mean, this is the project where I got to talk about getting through this breakup and what to do with the diamond ring. And then I also got to talk about the people who helped me get through it, “Daddy Daughter Dance” and “At My Wedding.” The folks in my life that I know I wouldn’t have survived it without, I got to put so much of my love for them into the project too, that it feels really special because I’m so secure in having love still and it’s because of those people. It’s not a love song album, but there’s a lot of love in the album for those people who are in my life that have helped me through everything I’ve gone through and I know I would help them through anything they needed too. It’s nice to know that even when your relationship doesn’t go well, that you still have other people. And that was part of the reminder of the album. And then also there’s a lot of hope in it of what I’m looking for and what I dream of…that’s the big picture view of it is experiencing something that was so hard and stressful, but something that I get to also paint the picture of healing through and what I’ve learned from it that I really am going to look for going forward. 

“At My Wedding” is such a great sisterhood anthem. Talk about the writing process behind this one and why you wanted to celebrate the importance of those relationships.

One of my favorite things whenever I post this song is to ask people, “does this describe your mom, your sister, or your best friends?” And you get all different responses, but some people are like, “It’s all three.” And for me, it’s all three at my wedding is about the women who I know are going to be standing there next to me at the altar, even though I have no idea who the groom’s going to be. And the way that these people become such rocks in your life is because you go through difficult times together and a lot of those difficult times have been breakups I’ve gone through that they’ve had to pick me up off the floor and say, “Hey, you’re going to be okay and we’ve got your back through this and you’re still loved even though that didn’t work out.”

“Daddy Daughter Dance” feels extra personal. What was it like getting to bring this one to life and share it with your family?

Well, I watched my dad walk my older sister down the aisle and they did their father-daughter dance at her wedding and it was so beautiful and I got to really process all of that. I had the title “Daddy Daughter Dance” saved and I wanted to write my dad a song for Father’s Day. We went through a difficult patch. He didn’t like my ex-fiancé. When we started dating, I kind of got the cold shoulder for a year from my dad because he was so not in support of the relationship. And anyway, we eventually were able to mend all of that and get through it. And I think me writing this song too was like a, “I know you were right and I love you for caring about me and trying to help.” And whenever I sat down with Rachel Wammack and Austin Taylor Smith, my co-writers, I mean, poor Austin, he just watched Rachel and me cry the entire time writing these lyrics about our dads. And we wrote tons of verses that didn’t even make the song because there’s just so much to say. But yeah, it’s an ode to the dance that obviously you do at your wedding, the daddy daughter dance, which is one that we did as kids growing up and the music video is a bunch of home footage of my family and my sister and my dad at daddy daughter dances and growing up together. But there’s a third daddy daughter dance that people don’t really think about and it’s navigating the relationship between these two people that think so differently do not understand each other, but who love each other and are both honestly trying their best. And one of the lines, “took growing up to understand” and I’m like, it did. When you’re a kid and your dad’s like, “You can’t watch PG13 movies until you’re 16.” And you’re like, “Why do you hate me?” But it’s all out of love.

Take us into the writing sessions “Love You To Death.” Where did the inspiration for this one come from?

I’m a very loyal person and I love with all my heart what I love. I think one of the things I’ve experienced through some of these past relationships is not getting that loyalty reciprocated and not getting that dedication and wholehearted love reciprocated. And so this song is kind of my clap back to that in the sense that it’s like, this is a love song technically. We’re going to be in love forever for the rest of your life and if you lie or cheat, you’re just going to not have that long of a rest of your life. The music video was so fun to film and there’s a lot of items we name in the song that you can use for either thing. You can use this item to be the best wife on earth, or you can use this item to be a murderer. There’s a lot of funny plays on actions in that sense and it was really fun to write. It was a good. We laughed really hard writing this song. 

Why was “Love You To Death” the right fit to be the right title of the project?

I try to keep strength and confidence at the core of the message I’m giving to people, even though a lot of the songs are about going through something hard. I try to always have there be this triumphant, “you will get through it” energy because we have to. We have no choice but to get through it. And it does have to be a choice sometimes when it’s the hardest thing in the world to do and you’ve got to wake up tomorrow and still go to work and still walk your dog and still do every single thing on your to- do list, even though you have a broken heart. As many songs as I can give people who are going through heartbreak or just got through heartbreak that they can kind of scream in the aftermath, I definitely try to. It felt like a good song to start the energy off with the power and taking back your own confidence and control of your life. 

What does it mean to you to see this community of fans you’ve built hear how these songs and seeing them touch their lives? 

It’s a very symbiotic relationship. I have been saved by the Cole team just as much as they’ve been saved by the music, from what they’ve told me. The messages that I’ve gotten from a lot of them have been, “I went through the same thing and now I’m with the love of my life. Everything happens for a reason. You’re going to be okay.” I’ve been brought to tears by messages I’ve read from fans. I mean, the way that music can bring people together who’ve never met each other before, but you just feel this connection, you feel this understanding because you both feel what’s happening in the song at the same core level. It’s so magical and it really does feel like a family. It is a lot of women, but the main reason that it’s a sisterhood is more because I feel like I’m such a sister and I feel like I can be that sister for everyone who needs one because my sisters have picked me up off the floor and saved me 10 billion times and it doesn’t have to be a by blood thing because I feel that same way about my best friends.

I was in a sorority and we called that our sisterhood too. It’s just your chosen family as well. And your sisters are who you cry with when you need a shoulder to lean on. They’re who you celebrate with when things are going well and who you scream with at the top of your lungs in a car when things are needing to be let go of. And I know that this music has turned into that shoulder to lean on for a lot of people. 

What are you most excited for fans to hear live from this project when you’re on the road this year? 

Everything. We’re in the set list still. And honestly, one of the hardest things is figuring out what songs to do because I can’t fit them all and the record’s not out yet. So some of the songs people haven’t ever heard. They can’t even be like, “Oh, we need to hear this one.” So trying to curate basically just an experience that people can leave the show feeling better than they came to the show feeling is my main goal. And I’m really the most excited to meet everyone who I’ve been connecting with. I mean, I’ve got three million besties on social media now and I get to finally go out there and start taking selfies with them and hanging out. 

How will these shows look different than your previous runs?

I think we’re definitely going to have a cooler show and we hired a great music director who’s helping us put together this really insane set. And I also just think when the music is so much more personal to you, the way that you’re able to deliver it just connects better. And I know the songs on this album, I cried writing so many of the songs, even the happy ones, like “Daddy Daughter Dance” and “Big Picture.” Those aren’t sad songs, but we were writing a “Big Picture,” I’m writing this song about my grandparents, grandy and granddad who have been together for … My granddad’s 92 and they’re still together and they’ve been just obsessed with each other for 65 years or whatever it is. And it’s like every year at Thanksgiving and Christmas, the family photo just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. I’m like, “How did they do this?” Even just finding the person feels like such a feat. They not only did that, but they created an entire world that is all their family. And it’s so amazing to me. That’s part of the hopeful side of the album.