Habits (Stay High)
"Habits " is a song recorded by Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo from her debut extended play, Truth Serum, and her debut studio album, Queen of the Clouds. It was written by Lo with Ludvig Söderberg and Jakob Jerlström, while it was produced by the latter two under the production name the Struts. The song was recorded from 2012 to 2013, at Warner/Chappell Studios, based in Stockholm, Sweden. Initially, the singer self-released the song under the title "Habits" on 15 March 2013 as her second independently released single.
After Lo was signed to Universal Music, the track was re-released on 6 December 2013 under the title of "Habits " as both the second single from Truth Serum and the lead single from Queen of the Clouds. Musically, it is a pop and electropop song which features a minimal and upbeat electronic instrumentation. Its lyrics delve into the singer's attempts to forget her previous boyfriend through substance abuse, drinking and other hedonistic practices. Consequently, some music critics and Lo herself noted a contrast between the song's production and its lyrical content.
"Habits " was well received by most critics, who commended its lyrics and production. The track became a sleeper hit; it entered the music charts in 2014, one year after its original release. The recording peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and became the highest-charting song by a Swedish artist on that chart since "The Sign" by Ace of Base peaked at number one in 1994. It was certified 8× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold over 2.6 million copies in the country. Additionally, the track topped the charts in Poland and Romania, and peaked within the top ten in Austria, Canada, France and Switzerland, among others.
Two music videos were filmed for the song, both directed by Motellet Film. The first version, released on 15 March 2013, featured the singer at a tea party while getting drunk with her guests. It reached half-a-million views on YouTube before it was made private one year after its release. It was made public again in March 2023. The second version was filmed at a Swedish club over three days and depicts Lo in a night of partying with her friends. The singer performed the single at festivals such as South by Southwest and the Hangout Music Festival, and included it on the set list of her tours, the Queen of the Clouds Tour and the Lady Wood Tour.
The single was awarded the Song of the Year award at the Grammis of 2015 in Sweden. A remix by record production duo Hippie Sabotage, titled "Stay High", was released as the third single from Truth Serum and reached the top ten in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe. The song has been covered by artists such as Vin Diesel, whose performance was a tribute to his late friend Paul Walker, and Kelly Clarkson, who performed the track on her Piece by Piece Tour.
Background and release
"Habits " was written by Tove Lo alongside Ludvig Söderberg and Jakob Jerlström, while produced by Söderberg and Jerlström under the production name the Struts. Initially, Lo signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2011, and co-wrote songs for Icona Pop and Girls Aloud. She later released her debut single, "Love Ballad", in October 2012, which drew the attention from some music blogs. This encouraged her to start a career as an independent singer so she could record her most personal songs.According to Lo, "Habits " is the song from Truth Serum that means the most to her because of its honest lyrics and extended writing process. Initially, the verses of the song were part of a poem written by Lo when she was going through a difficult time in a relationship. Later, Lo's boyfriend became part of a Buddhist movement but she refused to join, which led the relationship to an end. After that, she started using drugs and drinking in order to forget him. Months after the relationship ended, she was staying at a friend's apartment in New York City, during 2012's Hurricane Sandy. When the apartment lost electricity and heat, Lo went on to stay at her friend's studio in Midtown, New York City, where she wrote the chorus. The process of writing and finishing the song had taken around three years in total, Lo revealed in 2024 for Queen of the Clouds' tenth anniversary, as it went through five different versions of the chorus.
On 11 December 2012, she announced through her Facebook account that she did not get to finish some of the projects she was working on in New York and that she was collaborating in the studio with the Struts in Sweden. The singer decided to use the vocals she recorded for the demo on the song because her vocal performance "was really coming from the heart". The Struts co-wrote, produced and programmed the track, and additionally played the keys. Filip Runesson played the strings, with Lars Norgren mixing the song and Björn Engelmann mastering it. In an interview with Coup de Main magazine, Lo said that: " my way of getting through a hard time in 'the best' possible way. It's a big relief to just think 'fuck it all' for a while. We all have to be so perfect, and absolutely no one can live up to it." She later confessed to The Huffington Post that she recovered from the break-up after writing the song.
On 15 March 2013, the singer released the track, under the title "Habits". It was her second independently released single, after "Love Ballad". The song drew the attention of music blogs, which gained Lo an online following. Welsh singer Marina and the Diamonds and New Zealand artist Lorde praised the song through their Twitter accounts. Subsequently, the recording was re-released under the title "Habits " on 6 December 2013 through Universal Music as the second single from Lo's debut EP Truth Serum, as well as the lead single from her debut studio album Queen of the Clouds. It was made available for digital consumption in the United States on 14 January 2014. On 17 June 2014, it was sent to US contemporary hit radio. About the song's re-release, the singer explained in an interview with The Untitled Magazine that, after the attention the track gained from music blogs, she signed a record deal with Universal Music. Then, the label representatives decided to re-release it with proper promotion as they believe it still had commercial potential.
Composition
"Habits " is a pop and electropop song. In an interview with AP Entertainment, the singer stated that the song's lyrics describe her behaviour during the time she wrote it, when she was devastated and trying to overcome a former relationship. She also remarked that the main theme of "Habits " is the suffering she experienced despite her attempts to numb the pain. Echoing this thought, Lo further confessed that: "I can't lie. What I'm singing about is my life. It's the truth. I've had moments where has been a bigger part than it should be. It's hard to admit to, and I could filter it or find another metaphor for it – but it doesn't feel right to me."According to the artist, the songs on the Truth Serum EP talk about her most intense failed relationship. Following the narrative of the EP, Lo indicated that the track talks about the part when the relationship is over and she is trying to get on with her life in "not the healthiest way". The recording was also included in "The Pain" section of Lo's debut studio album, Queen of the Clouds, a concept album that describes the pattern of the singer's relationships.
The song is composed in the key of D minor and set in common time signature, with it having a dance pop tempo of 110 beats per minute. Lo's vocals span from the low note of B3 to the high note of C5.The song has a minimal and upbeat electronic instrumentation which consists of drums, bass, backup vocals and Lo's voice. The song starts with the words "oh oh", which repeat after every sentence of the verses. The song contains a total of 18 4-note millennial whoops, a vocal melody repeating on the fifth and third notes in a major scale. Some critics noted a contrast between the track's lyrics and production. Carrie Battan of Pitchfork stated that the song "contrasts a giant hook and chorus with snappy verses filled with quietly distinct, often strange imagery: of eating her dinner in the bathtub, getting drunken munchies, seducing dads on playgrounds". Chris Jordan of Asbury Park Press described "Habits " as a "synth-based pop song with a sweeping chorus", but noted that the lyrical content of the track was similar to that of Rock 'n' Roll music. The singer herself stated that: "You can feel the lyrics and the dark and sad but if you combine it with, brings a little to the dark humor as well. I like the thing of dancing along and then listening to what I'm actually saying."
The song's lyrics delve into Lo's hedonistic attempts to forget her former boyfriend. According to Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal, the narrator describes her attempts to overcome a failed relationship through binge eating and alcohol, as indicated in the lyrics about having the munchies, eating Twinkies, and throwing up during the first verse. In the chorus, she sings about drug abuse: "You're gone and I gotta stay high / All the time, to keep you off my mind". The singer confessed to iHeartRadio that the song's bridge is her favorite part of the track because "that just says everything song is about for me". However, Billboard Jeremy D. Larson considered the song's message untrue because "staying high does not keep anyone off your mind".
Critical reception
"Habits " was well received by most critics. Harley Brown of Billboard wrote that the track is "one of the most easily identifiable pop songs heard in recent memory: everyone's gotten high, maybe eaten too many Twinkies, and regretted life decisions, but not everyone makes a really superb song about it". Pitchfork's Carrie Battam stated that the track's hook and production make the lyrics "sound gracefully sad instead of tragic". In her review of Queen of the Clouds, Battam called it "a big, sticky song, but not so big that it stuns your senses or numbs you into enjoyment". Ewald Arndt of FDRMX said that "Habits " is "so fun to listen to" despite its sad themes. AllMusic's Heather Phares called it "the Queen of the Clouds's standout track, while Sam Lansky of Idolator stated that it "has a little of the texture of Kesha's no-fucks-given party-girl pop but with the languorous sadness of Robyn" and that "It'll get stuck in your head, which is right where it deserves to be." Nick Murray of Rolling Stone labeled it as Truth Serums best track, and compared it with the music of American rapper Kendrick Lamar.Bradley Stern of MuuMuse called it "the younger, more Swedish-sounding sister" to Sia's "Chandelier", while Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal considered it an "anthem of female empowerment". Alex Kritselis of Bustle opined that "Habits " was a dramatic song, but further stated that the "sadness, anxiety and terror" in the singer's voice were authentic. Michael Cragg of The Guardian called it the stand out track from Truth Serum and deemed it as "brilliantly frank". Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph considered it a straightforward song about hedonism with a "fantastic" chorus. However, some critics gave the song mixed reviews. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard said that "Habits " was one of the weaker tracks of Queen of the Clouds, while Jillian Mapes of the same magazine stated that it was "a little too same-y amidst artists like Lorde and Banks".