I am always on the lookout for lesser-known music artists that are doing creative things in their music or in their lyrics. I recently came across a singer/songwriter named Annika Wells who I believe is doing some incredible work when it comes to creativity.
Annika Wells is a 27-year-old singer/songwriter from Sleepy Hollow, California. She has worked with countless big-name artists including BTS, The Chainsmokers, and Steve Aoki among many others. I first heard music that she collaborated on with Illenium. She wrote Illenium’s hit “Crawl Outta Love” and collaborated on “Sad Songs” with Illenium and Said The Sky.
ILLENIUM - Crawl Outta Love (feat. Annika Wells) - Official Video
ILLENIUM, Said The Sky, Annika Wells - Sad Songs (Visualizer)
Good Things Fall Apart vs. Sad Songs (Audio)
She first got into music at 4 years old when she began taking classical music lessons. She eventually enrolled in Berklee College of Music in Boston but later dropped out. She had a fascination with Robert Frost and poetry early in her life and grew up constantly listening to Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson. These two combined in a collectivist approach with her lifelong love for music to help her begin songwriting and even more so storytelling through her music. She wrote and recorded her debut single “Break” in 2016 and it quickly reached 15 million streams on Spotify.
Annika Wells is also a great example of another concept that we have discussed: neurodivergence. Annika Wells has an extra neural pathway causing her to experience sonic earworms. Sonic Earworms are a rare phenomenon that causes her to have different melodies stuck in her head at all times. Annika Wells said “I have music in my ears 24/7,” “[b]efore I learned social graces as a kid, I’d just sing the melodies in my head. I never shut up!” (Bringin’ It Backwards). I believe this is a large reason for the creativity her music shows. I would be extremely curious to discuss how often she hears something and immediately knows all of a sudden that it is perfect for a song she is working on.
Annika Wells continuously collaborates with other groundbreaking artists and producers from a variety of genres, meaning that she is a part of many diverse genres. I believe this stems from her realization that, as Marcus Gladwell discussed in our third lecture, there is not always one answer to every problem because people all prefer different things. This pertains to music as well and Annika Wells has done an incredible job of recognizing that.
Sources:
Annika Wells's Biography And Facts' | Popnable
Bringin' It Backwards: Interview with Annika Wells - American Songwriter
Annika Wells | Here To Tell Her Own Story — Flaunt Magazine
Annika Wells - EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki
Luke, I thought this was a cool post about someone I've never heard of, and I especially liked how you related her sonic earworms to neurodivergence. That sounds like it is definitely a source of Annika's creativity, with her having music in her head all the time. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that sonic earworms were even a thing! How interesting. I can definitely see how that would help with her creativity. This is the second artist I've seen in this class that dropped out of Berklee, which seems a little strange. I guess if you're already good at songwriting you're wasting your money at Berklee.
ReplyDeleteAs soon as I read about sonic earworms, I had to google it. It is so interesting that something like that exists and that furthermore, there are people out there who utilize it to their creative advantage. I wonder if the sonic earworms ever played to her disadvantage or if it's something that she has gotten used to/gained control over. Either way, it is impressive for her to have gained as much attention as she has and to have worked with the big-name artists that she has collaborated with as well. Great post!
ReplyDelete