Songfacts®:

• This aching, low-key dance track was the first song Carly Rae Jepsen penned for Dedicated. She composed it in August 2016 with B-Roc, Jared Manierka, Kyle Shearer and Nathaniel Cyphert during a writing camp at Maderas Village, Nicaragua. A simmering reflection on fleeting romance, Jepsen knew as soon as she wrote it that it would set the tone for the record.
  
  "'Julien' is the song that taught me the heart and direction of this album," Carly tweeted. "Couldn't keep him for myself any longer."
• The song finds Jepsen reflecting on her longing for a former lover.
  
  It was more than a fantasy
  To the end
  To the last breath that I breathe
  I'll be whispering
  Julien
  
  Jepsen told I.D. that 'Julien' represents that one person that I always pine for, which is something I think a lot of people have."
• Jepsen did once have a boyfriend named Julien. However, this song isn't specifically about him; she borrowed his name because she feels it's so musical.