Anella with Marco Richie

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Navigating the territory where country, R&B, pop, and hip-hop intersect, Anella Herim distinguishes his cross-genre fusion with a melodic flair and nimble, layered, concise productions that can suit a variety of different playlists. After emphasizing his hip-hop connections -- he signed with Def Jam in 2022 -- Herim shifted toward pop with "Tennessee Love Song," which dressed its country-inspired song structure with R&B accents and a prominent pop bent. He continued to move in a pop direction on 2024's Season 1: I Love You, the first in a series of style-specific EPs.

A native of Trinity, North Carolina, Anella Herim was born on November 22, 2001. The son of a worship leader, Herim started playing music at an early age, banging on drums when he was just four years old. Soon, he was playing drums in church and singing in the choir, discovering classic rock and pop acts through his grandmother, and picking up woodwinds and percussion in middle school. By the time he was a teenager, he'd escalated to creating his own music with GarageBand and posting selected songs on the internet. He started gigging while in high school, usually playing acoustic covers in local venues.

Herim released his first singles, "Old Emery" and "Pieces," in 2019 and ushered in 2020 with the Mixed Emotions EP. Shortly afterward, he caught the attention of Malik Clark, who was part of Definitely Out Grinding Records. The label issued "Stalling" and "Vibin'." Clark also helped Herim play the North Carolina festival No Stress. He opened the set playing an acoustic guitar for a hip-hop audience, sparking a creative frisson that extended to his original music.

Over the course of 2021 and early 2022, Herim released a flurry of recordings with D.O.G., including the 2021 EPs Lover Boy and Pray the Lord My Soul to Keep, and the 2022 LP Wake Up! Around this time, Herim started collaborating with DJ E Sudd, the DJ for 2 Chainz, and signed with Def Jam in June 2022. That November, "In a Mood" became his first single on the label, with "Let's Be Honest" -- a song featuring rapper 26AR -- appearing in January 2023.

"Tequila," his first solo single of 2023, showed Herim moving in a direction that was inspired by country but sounded like pop. "Tennesee Love Song," the first song he cut in Nashville, capitalized on that evolution and became a viral hit, leading to a remix featuring country singer Chase Matthew.

Herim launched 2024 with Season 1: I Love You, the first in a series of EPs structured as "seasons" containing three songs exploring a certain genre. I Love You concentrated on pop-leaning romantic music.