[Annika Wells](https://www.instagram.com/annikawells/?hl=en) is officially stepping out from behind-the-scenes and proving her talents as a recording artist in her own right. With her incredibly strong pen game, the singer-songwriter has written for everyone from The Jonas Brothers to BTS to Illenium… even performing and opening for Illenium on his arena tour with stops at Madison Square Garden and Red Rocks.
Enthralled in music ever since she was a little girl, a 4-year-old Annika would start taking classical lessons after watching her older brother play piano, eventually enrolling in Berklee College of Music in Boston. Before dropping out, she wrote and recorded her first single ever titled “Break” in 2016, which captivated audiences all over the world.
When describing herself, Annika states, “I’m a bitch with something to say, and a lot of songs trying to say it. My sound is quirky and abrasive, pop-y and anti-pop-y, a mix of all the Avril Lavigne’s and Ella Fitzgerald’s and Coldplay’s that I grew up listening to.”
With her distinct tone, quirky personality, relatable lyrics, and contagious energy, Annika returns with her newest single titled [“F\*ck Being Sober,”](https://annikawells.lnk.to/FuckBeingSober) paired with a cinematic visual to match. Serving as her first major label release on Vol. 1 and Epic Records, the Los Angeles-based recording artist invites the hearts and souls of all music-lovers, unveiling a layer of herself and her story that has yet to be seen.
_Flaunt_ caught up with Annika via Zoom to discuss her sound, her upbringing up north, her first big placement, touring with Illenium, the inspo behind “F\*ck Being Sober,” performing Madison Square Garden, missing the stage, her dream collab, new single “Love Sux,” goals, and more!
**What was it like growing in Sleepy Hollow, outside of San Francisco?**
It was cool. It was nice. I have a bit of crunchy hippie in me because of my NorCal upbringing. I loved growing up in Sleepy Hollow. I ran around as a kid, digging up dirt, climbing trees, and writing music. \[laughs\]
**At what point did you realize this music thing was forreal?**
I’ve been writing music since I was 8 years old, I’ve always known that’s what I wanted to do. I’ve been singing since I was out of the womb and playing piano since I was 4 years old. I started writing poetry in 3rd grade and realized I can put them all together. I wrote my first song, it felt like a shock to my system. I’ve always known, there’s been no plan B. No doubt.
**What was your first big placement?**
I released this song in college called “Break” that I actually wrote as a homework assignment, then worked on with my friend Giulio Cercato who’s still my main producer. We both went to Berklee together. We worked on the song for a year, decided it was time to put it out, made a Spotify and SoundCloud account, and uploaded it. It randomly popped off. I started flying back and forth between New York and LA doing meetings and sessions. My second session I was ever in, I ended up writing “Crawl Outta Love.” I happened to sing the demo that day and Illenium asked me to keep my vocals on it. I said yes, that ended up jump starting my career right after moving to LA.
**You’ve written songs for The Jonas Brothers, BTS, PRETTYMUCH, Hailee Steinfeld, Noah Cyrus and Illenium. Fondest memories?**
It’s been amazing collaborating with other artists, writing music is my #1 love. It’s been really cool to help tell those artists’ stories and help bring them to life. I’m at a point where I want to tell my own story. I have a lot of experiences, a lot of things I want to say. There are so many times where I’d be in a session and want to say something a little too quirky or a little too weird—a little too whatever, insert here. Now I’m getting the opportunity to say whatever the fuck I want to say with my own music, it’s so awesome.
**How’d it feel to release your debut single,** [**“Break,”**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkKfz6lXR7w)**?**
It was cool, my life changed overnight. Literally nobody knew who I was. I’d made a SoundCloud and Spotify account, and an Instagram to upload that song. It randomly got on the Spotify Global Viral Chart. “Break” definitely changed my life. Now it’s very different from my current sound. My sound’s developed a lot in the last couple of years, but I’m really grateful for what that song brought me.
**How’d it feel to have the Illenium record blow up one year later?**
That was crazy. It came out of the blue. We originally wrote that trying song to pitch it to Demi Lovato, that’s how it got in the hands of Illenium. After that, I’d fly out to Colorado a couple times a year to work with Nick. We ended up forming a pretty strong friendship and a pretty strong musical relationship. I’ve done a ton of stuff with him, then it made sense for when he was going on his US arena tour. I’d written and was featured on the songs that I tagged along, it really changed my perspective on performance and artistry. It was so inspiring to be around him and all the other guys on tour. I began to shift my career, writing a bit less and really jumping into my artistry
**What did you learn from that Illenium tour?**
Being around all those guys was so inspiring. It’s really different writing a song in a studio and having that song feel so personal. Whoever I’m writing with or if I’m writing it alone, feeling like it’s my own little secret. I see my songs on Spotify and Apple Music have millions of plays, it’s really hard to conceptualize that number. Being on stage and singing these songs that I’ve written about really intimate things, then seeing hundreds of thousands of people singing it back was absolutely surreal. Oh my gosh, these people know all my secrets. They know all the words. It was incomparable.
**How’s it feel to release your new single, “F\*ck Being Sober”?**
It feels really good, a lot has built up to this moment. “F\*ck Being Sober” for me is an anthem for living your life to the fullest. The main message of my project and what I want to say is defy the status quo, do whatever makes you feel good, do whatever makes you happy. Do whatever the fuck you want with your life, we’re all gonna die one day.
**Bring us back to that studio sesion, what was the vibe?**
I’d just come back from Thanksgiving, my aunt was grilling me about my career and asking me when I was gonna get a real job. I said “come on, I literally got back from performing at Madison Square Garden, the Staples Center… this is my real job!” It really inspired that angst to build up and spill out into that song. It was an amalgamation of pent up feelings and wanting to write about defying the status quo.
**You say you “still have daddy issues,” how is music a coping mechanism for you?**
Music’s my safe space to write about whatever the fuck I’m feeling or whatever I’m going through. It’s definitely a form of self-therapy for me. Sometimes I’ll sit down to write a song and not even realize what I’m feeling or if anything’s wrong until I start writing about it. It’s a safe space for me to confess my truth. What I really want to do with my project is open up the deepest, darkest, and most personal sides of myself so that other people can hear that and not be embarrassed or afraid if they share some of those things too.
**In the intro of the video, you guys made a bucket list. What else is on that list?**
\[laughs\] That’s a one-night bucket list, you saw everything we did on it. It was inspired by the bucket list that Kelsey, Amy, and I made throughout our lives. Since we met in high school, we’ve always been making bucket lists at different phases of our lives, to inspire each other to push ourselves and keep living life to the fullest. We have a shared Notes on our phone we’re always adding stuff to and crossing stuff off from. Some of it is pretty embarrassing. Some of it’s bold, some of it’s altruistic. We keep a well-rounded list to force ourselves to keep living.
**Best memory from that video shoot?**
When we were running into the water. The sun was coming up, it was so fucking cold. We’re exhausted, we’re so hungover, but there’s something so beautiful and unforgettable about that moment. Wrapping my arms around my two best friends in the spirit of making the video for this song that I’ve been wanting to put out for such a long time and saying what I really want to say, it felt like one of those moments I’ll never forget.
**How was it playing Madison Square Garden?**
It was nerve-wracking. It was our third show on the whole tour out of I don't know how many shows, like 50. It was only the fourth time I’d ever been on a stage. I’d only performed one other time with Illenium at the Electronic Music Awards a year earlier. Other than that, I’ve played in coffee shops as a high schooler but nothing else. \[laughs\] It was pretty nerve-wracking, the most nervous I’ve ever been in my entire life. We also had a whole pyro show. As I walked onto the stage, I said “Hey New York, what’s up?!” I stuck my hand out, and a fire cannon went off. I screamed into the microphone. I wouldn’t say the performance went extremely smoothly, but it was one of the proudest moments of my life. Proud of myself as I got off that stage, I really put all my emotions out there for the crowd to hear.
**How much do you miss concerts?**
So much, I want to get back on stage so badly. I’m really excited too because performing with Illenium was so amazing, I’m so grateful for that opportunity to get on a stage and do that. It’s gonna be a whole other caliber being able to design my own live show and call the shots. Have me be up on the stage as Annika Wells and really putting my whole heart and soul out there on my own tour. I can’t even describe how excited I am for that.
**Annika Wells is your real name, did you have a back up artist name?**
No! I debated that, but at the end of the day I want my artist project to be the truest version of me. I thought there’s no better way to do that than to stick to my real name.
**3 things you need in the studio?**
Snacks! Anything, I’m not picky. I need something to get me through. Rice cakes, trail mix, there’s usually a ramen break at some point. Ramen is my go-to food because it takes me 2 minutes to cook and fills my belly with warm happiness. \[laughs\] I need my phone. I’m constantly writing down lyrics and recording stuff on my Voice Memos app. I’m the person who very anally writes down every word that’s spoken in the session. If you look at any of the lyrics I have on my phone, I have every lyric of every song I’ve written. If you scroll to the bottom of each note, there’s all the reject ones. They’ll be hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of lines we end up not using, but I have a policy where I don’t delete anything. Another thing I need is a keyboard, I need to be able to play the piano.
**What do you feel when you play the piano?**
Love, happiness, joy. \[laughs\]
**What would you be doing if you weren’t doing music?**
Nothing, I’d be dead.
**What do you do for fun besides music?**
I like hiking, camping, backpacking. I like running. I’m pretty outdoorsy, rock climbing. I like arts and crafts. I’m always doing something like working with Clay or whittling spoons, or doing art projects here and there. Sometimes music is so all-consuming in my life and I’m working so much. I love it absolutely more than anything, but sometimes I need a creative outlet other than music. I’ll be sewing or doing some random shit with my hands.
**What can we expect from your forthcoming single, “Love Sux”?**
The song is heartbreaking. It’s sad, it’s happy, it’s hopeful. It was a confessional for what I was going through at the time. I’m really excited for everyone to hear it, it’s really honest.
**Talk about your dream collab with Alexander 23.**
Oh my god, Alexander 23 is always somebody I really admired. I absolutely love his music. I remember the first time I heard “Dirty AF1s,” it stabbed me in the heart. It’s really cool he produces his own stuff too, obviously is such a prolific writer. I really respect a musician who can make a piece of art alone. Contrary to that, I’d love to work with him.
**Goals for yourself as an artist at this point in your career?**
I want to put out my first album and go on my first tour. I’ve been working in the music industry for a couple years. I’ve been dipping my toes in the water by putting out features and going on some other tours, working with a lot of different artists and spending a lot of time in the studio with producers and writers, but I’m so ready to get my shit out there to the world.
**Something fans may not know about you?**
I’m pretty crunchy. My Norcal roots run strong. \[laughs\] I’m a hippie!
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