Annika Catharina’s “Old Habit” Keeps Winning as Up All Night Nears
Breakout Canadian country artist Annika Catharina is celebrating her current single “Old Habit” which is on all streaming platforms.
Written by Annika and fellow artist Jada Leroux, “Old Habit” was produced by The Renaissance (Dan Botch and Garrett Ward). Powered by an up-tempo exuberant country swagger, the song uses the backdrop of bad habits to dive deeper into identifying takers in relationships and leaving them behind.
Annika says, “As we wrote ‘Old Habit’, Jada and I talked about ways that bad habits can affect us all. An old habit can be hard to break, but it’s that much harder when the ‘habit’ in question is a person you keep going back to. We used the imagery of smoking to tie these ideas together and in the studio, Dan and Garrett added a confident energy to the production that matches the feeling of moving on from what you know isn’t right for you.”
“Old Habit” is the lead-in single to Annika’s second EP, Up All Night, which arrives on July 31st.
To date, “Old Habit” has earned over 815K Spotify streams and placement on “North Country” editorial playlist. Apple Music celebrated the release by making Annika the face of the “Canada’s Country” editorial playlist while Amazon Music featured her as part of the “Just North of Nashville” editorial playlist.
The resounding success of “Old Habit” single follows the EP’s previous singles “Under Covers” (which earned her JR Country Artist of the Month honours), “Better Hands” (which reached 150K Spotify streams and was added by SiriusXM Top of the Country Radio), and most recently “Dancing with the Devil”, which earned over 330K Spotify streams and was supported by 6 editorial playlists across Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.
Annika’s prolific musical output over the last two years has been matched by a profound audience response and a wave of industry accomplishments.
Highlights have included a Billboard Canada Country Top 50 single (“Love and Hate”) which earned Annika iHeart Radio Future Star and Rogers One to Watch honours, over 3 million digital streams, 40+ editorial playlist placements (including the Apple and Amazon cover slots), Spotify RADAR Canada and Equal Canada nods, back-to-back #1 singles on SiriusXM Top of the Country radio, a semi-finalist spot in the 2025 SiriusXM Top of the Country Competition, a finalist nod in the 2025 Boots and Hearts Emerging Artist Showcase, and three 2026 BC Country Music Association Award nominations (Female Artist, Emerging Artist, Songwriter).
Review
Annika Catharina delivers a confident, radio-ready country anthem with “Old Habit,” transforming a toxic relationship into an empowering story of moving on. Using cigarette and smoke imagery as a clever metaphor, the song pairs emotional honesty with an infectious modern country sound that makes letting go feel liberating.
Co-written with Jada Leroux, the lyrics are sharp and memorable, with standout lines like “Got a list of excuses so long it could take you to Tennessee and back” and the powerful refrain, “I’m breathing in and letting you out.” The chorus is instantly catchy, balancing vulnerability with strength.
Backed by polished production and Annika’s charismatic vocals, “Old Habit” is both uplifting and relatable. It’s an addictive country single that showcases her growing confidence as a songwriter and further cements her place among Canada’s rising country artists.
Connect with Annika Catharina:
Website
Facebook
X
Instagram
TikTok