Annika Marie Wells (born February 16, 1996) is an American singer-songwriter from Sleepy Hollow, Marin County, California. After relocating to Los Angeles, Wells established herself as a prolific songwriter, collaborating with artists including BTS, the Jonas Brothers, Steve Aoki, PRETTYMUCH, ILLENIUM, Grey, Shawn Wasabi, Benjamin Ingrosso, The Chainsmokers, Hailee Steinfeld, Whethan, Emily Warren, Social House, Lennon Stella, Kennedi, Sabrina Carpenter, Tove Styrke, and Matoma, as well as songwriters Freddy Wexler and Jason Evigan. She has maintained ongoing creative partnerships with Maggie Lindemann and AJ Mitchell.
Career
Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Wells co-wrote ILLENIUM's 2017 single "Crawl Outta Love," which reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and was awarded the grand prize at the International Songwriting Competition. In 2019, she joined ILLENIUM as a featured performer on his arena tour. Their continued collaboration produced "Nightlight," which reached No. 1 on Dance Radio in November 2020 and was nominated for a Grammy in 2022. Wells released her debut EP, EAT DIRT, in November 2023.
In 2025, Wells released several singles under her own name, including "what a time," "the good," and "converse," with the latter two serving as lead singles for her second EP. That October, JVKE launched a TikTok open verse challenge for his song "her"; after receiving thousands of submissions, Wells was announced as the winner on November 11, 2025, and was featured on the official release. An expanded version featuring Kaden Hawke followed on November 25, 2025. On January 29, 2026, Wells released her second EP, Into the Undergrowth, comprising seven tracks. She promoted the release with the Slumber Party Tour, a co-headlining run with Rachel Bochner supported by Lyncs, which is scheduled to visit cities across the United States in February and March 2026.
baby blue
In August 2025, Wells announced she would no longer release electronic music features as a solo artist, citing streaming algorithm challenges that limited her visibility due to the stylistic range of her catalog. Instead, she launched baby blue, an alternative electronic duo with her partner, producer James Quick. Between them, Wells and Quick have accumulated over two billion streams across platforms through their respective solo work and collaborations with artists such as BTS, the Jonas Brothers, Baynk, Tinashe, and ILLENIUM.
The duo debuted with the single "u + me" in August 2025, followed by "Monster," a collaboration with William Black released on Lost In Dreams Records. "Monster" is structured as a duet exploring themes of toxic relationships from dual perspectives. baby blue further expanded their catalog with two featured appearances on Said the Sky's acoustic album Salt & Silence (January 2026): "Let Me Fall," a track that shifts from bright vocals into darker tones, and "Wings," a contemplative piece centered on healing.
Songwriting discography Year Artist(s) Song Album Comment 2016 Annika Wells "Break" Break 2017 ILLENIUM "Crawl Outta Love" Awake No. 30 on Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic charts2018 Liv Dawson "Bedroom" Bedroom EP Tritonal, Lourdiz "Love U Right" Love U Right Benjamin Ingrosso "I Wouldn't Know" Identification (Deluxe) BTS, Steve Aoki "The Truth Untold" Love Yourself: Tear2019 Broods "Everything Goes (Wow)" Don't Feed The Pop Monster BAYNK "go with u" Someone's EP IIReached the No. 1 spot on New Zealand radio charts Sigma, Louisa "Here We Go Again" Here We Go Again PRETTYMUCH "Phases" Phases - EP ILLENIUM with Said the Sky & Annika Wells "Sad Songs" AscendNo. 48 on Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic charts ILLENIUM with Anna Clendening "Broken Ones" AscendNo. 50 on Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic charts Rose Villain "Swoop!" Swoop! Eric Nam "You're Sexy I'm Sexy" Before We Begin The Jonas Brothers "Like It's Christmas" Like It's Christmas2020 Grey "For The Night" For The Night Midnight Kids with Annika Wells "Run It" Run ItSLANDER & William Black"Back To U"Back To U Shawn Wasabi ft. Kennedi "Lemons" Lemons Goody Grace "Used to Be" Used to Be ILLENIUM & Annika Wells "Nightlight" Fallen EmbersNo.1 on Dance Radio chartsStephanie Poetri"Selfish"AM:PMTwice (Jihyo, Nayeon, Sana, and Chaeyoung), Bekuh Boom, and Annika Wells as K/DA Ahri"I'll Show You"All Out2021 Annika Wells "Fuck Being Sober" Fuck Being Sober Maggie Lindemann "Different" ParanoiaAnnika Wells"Love Sucks"Love SucksAnnika Wells"The Bitter End"The Bitter End Arty "Take Your Time" Take Your TimeDabin & Trella"Starbright"Between Broken2022Said The Sky, ILLENIUM & Chelsea Cutler"Walk Me Home"SentimentAnnika Wells "Modern Art"Modern Artgnash with Annika Wells"granola bars"granola barsAnnika Wells"Stay High"Stay High2023ILLENIUM, Said The Sky & Vera Blue"Other Side"ILLENIUMAnnika Wells"Crying Over You"Crying Over YouExcision, Wooli & Codeko"Don't Look Down (Hold On)"Titans EPDabin & Trella"Worlds Away"Worlds Away2024Kai Wachi & Trella"Glow In The Dark"Glow In The DarkDabin, Said The Sky & Clara Mae"In The End"In The EndHALIENE"Memory Of You"Memory Of You2025 Annika Wells "what a time" what a time - Single Annika Wells "the good" Into the Undergrowth Annika Wells "converse" Into the Undergrowth JVKE feat. Annika Wells "her" TikTok open verse challenge winner JVKE feat. Annika Wells & Kaden Hawke "her" baby blue "u + me" Debut single as baby blue William Black & baby blue "Monster" Lost In Dreams Records2026 Annika Wells "carrot cake" Into the Undergrowth Annika Wells "atom bomb" Into the Undergrowth Annika Wells "into the undergrowth" Into the Undergrowth Title track Said the Sky feat. baby blue "Let Me Fall" Salt & Silence Said the Sky feat. baby blue "Wings" Salt & Silence Annika Wells "bathwater"
References