Blogs leaked tracks from Anniemal before it was released internationally, and publications from other countries soon praised the album for its blissful but melancholic sound.

In the late 1990s, Annie held a monthly DJ night called Pop Till You Drop with friend Frøken Blytt in her hometown of Bergen, Norway.

[2] Annie and Kroknes borrowed a small studio from downtempo duo Röyksopp to record her debut single "The Greatest Hit".

Rather than recording and selecting from a large number of songs, Annie stopped after around thirteen and compiled the track list.

I think there are too many songwriters writing sad, depressive songs, and I find it really boring, listening to music where people are just complaining.

The songs' styles span genres including bubblegum pop, electro, disco, R&B, dance-pop, and rock.

Annie considered excluding "Greatest Hit" from Anniemal to achieve this but ultimately included it because she felt it did not sound as if it were five years old.

[19] Scott Plagenhoef of Pitchfork referred to the songs as a "dozen slices of stylish, sophisticated electro-pop, crisp tracks that move between the fizzy and the woozy, all anchored by Annie's breathy (sometimes almost muted) vocals.

"[4] Rosen also contributed a review to Slate, where she noted that "other singers have made whole careers out of singles less winning than 'Chewing Gum,' but [Anniemal] includes several other superb songs".

[30] Kitty Empire's review in The Observer stated that the album's songs "boast a winning combination of innocence and experience, breezy blonde melodies and just-so productions".

[31] PopMatters' Pierre Hamilton called Anniemal "riveting" for how "it lacks the waxy sheen" that listeners were used to hearing in manufactured pop music.

[32] However, a second PopMatters review, written by Rob Horning, criticised the album for using a similar formula to previous generations of electropop, adding that the result was "exquisitely empty…enough to suck the feelings out of its listeners and leave them happily vacant, blank and unburdened.

"[21] Hua Hsu of Blender magazine made a similar comparison, proclaiming Annie the "Kylie Minogue hipsters don't have to feel guilty about liking".

[20] Barry Walters of Rolling Stone touted how the album "comes packed with both instant surface fizz and quirky finesse that sustains repeated listenings", and ending his review, "Goodbye, Britney.

[37] Rolling Stone ranked Anniemal number thirty-nine on its "Top 50 Records of 2005" list, exclaiming, "Hail the Norse goddess.

[41] Following the album's Norwegian release, the songs were leaked onto the Internet, and some appeared on year-end best-of lists in other countries.

[4] Annie stated that she had not expected North American publications to show interest in the album because she thought "the record sounds really European.

"[42] The songs reached an international audience through online blogs, message boards, and file sharing networks before they had been released outside Scandinavia.

[43] This was more common for independent bands, and Annie became the first European dance-pop musician to cultivate an underground fanbase this way.

[44] In support of the album, Annie opened for English alternative dance band Saint Etienne at several June 2005 gigs in the United Kingdom.

To promote the album, Annie performed a set of DJing gigs in the United States for the Anniemix Tour during late June and early July 2005.

It narrates a night of going to clubs with friends, using a beat symbolizing a heartbeat, which doubles its tempo when Annie's persona catches the attention of her romantic interest on the dancefloor.