You know that feeling when a song just captures a specific, slightly messy era of your life? For a lot of us, that's exactly what the stay high habits remix tove lo version—officially the Hippie Sabotage remix—does. It’s been well over a decade since it first started bubbling up on SoundCloud, yet it still feels weirdly fresh.
Honestly, it’s one of those rare cases where a remix didn’t just change the vibe; it basically rewrote the song’s DNA. The original "Habits (Stay High)" by Tove Lo was already a raw, gritty pop anthem. But when the Sacramento duo Hippie Sabotage got their hands on it, they turned it into this hazy, slowed-down trip that somehow made the lyrics feel even more desperate and relatable.
The Weird Way It Actually Started
Most people assume this was some big-budget label collaboration. Nope. It was way more "Wild West" than that.
Back in early 2013, Tove Lo was a rising Swedish artist who had self-released the original "Habits." It was doing okay, but it wasn't a global monster yet. Meanwhile, Hippie Sabotage—brothers Kevin and Jeff Saurer—were just making "flips" and posting them online.
They actually found the track and released their remix as a free download in September 2013. Get this: Tove Lo didn't even know it existed until a friend showed her a surfing video that used the remix as the soundtrack. Imagine being an artist and finding out your song is blowin' up because of a version you didn't even authorize.
Luckily, she loved it. She reached out to them on Twitter, and the rest is basically history.
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The Ellie Goulding Boost
If we’re talking about why this song went from a SoundCloud gem to a radio staple, we have to mention Ellie Goulding. She shared the link to the remix, and it was like throwing gasoline on a fire. The track shot up the iTunes charts almost overnight.
- Original release (Tove Lo): March 2013
- Hippie Sabotage "Stay High" flip: September 2013
- Official Universal Music release: February 2014
By the time 2014 rolled around, you couldn’t walk into a clothing store or a bar without hearing those pitched-up vocals and that heavy, rhythmic bassline. It eventually hit the top 10 in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
Why the Remix Hits Different Than the Original
Tove Lo’s original version is a straightforward pop-rock/electropop track. It’s punchy. It’s about the chaos of trying to numb the pain of a breakup. But the stay high habits remix tove lo version? It’s atmospheric.
The remix takes the chorus, pitches it up to that "chipmunk" territory (which was huge in the mid-2010s), and then slows the tempo down. It mirrors the actual feeling of being in a haze. It's less about the "partying" and more about the "drifting."
"I eat my dinner in my bathtub, then I go to sex clubs, watching tidy people hook up."
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When you hear those lyrics over the Hippie Sabotage production, they feel less like a confession and more like a dream—or a nightmare you're too tired to wake up from.
The Chart Stats (Because the Numbers are Wild)
It’s easy to forget how massive this was because it felt so "indie" at the time.
The remix basically dragged the original song into the mainstream. While the original "Habits (Stay High)" eventually peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., it was the remix that conquered Europe and the festival circuits first.
On YouTube, the official video for the remix has racked up over 1.2 billion views. On Spotify? We're looking at well over 1.6 billion streams. For a song that started as a "flip" for a surfing video, that’s insane.
What People Get Wrong About the Meaning
There was a weird rumor for a while—mostly on Reddit and old fan forums—that the song was about a deceased husband. It’s not. Tove Lo has been pretty open about the fact that it’s about a real, living ex-boyfriend.
She wrote it during a time when she was staying at a friend’s place in New York during Hurricane Sandy. She was going through it. The "staying high" part wasn't just a catchy hook; it was her actual coping mechanism at the time. The remix just happens to make that coping mechanism sound a lot more "chill" than it actually was.
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The Legacy of the "Stay High" Era
Looking back from 2026, this remix was a pivotal moment for the "Alt-Pop" scene. It proved that you didn't need a massive radio push to have a hit. You just needed a SoundCloud account and a vibe that resonated with people who were tired of "shiny" pop music.
It also solidified Tove Lo as the queen of "dirty pop." She didn't shy away from the remix's success; she embraced it, often performing the remix version at her live shows because that’s what the fans wanted.
Actionable Insights for Music Fans
If you're still vibing to this track, here’s how to dive deeper into that specific era and sound:
- Check out Tove Lo's "Truth Serum" EP: This is where the song first lived. It’s a concept project that follows a relationship from start to finish.
- Listen to Hippie Sabotage's "Devil Eyes": If you like the production style of the remix, this is their other massive hit that carries that same psychedelic, laid-back energy.
- Explore "Queen of the Clouds": This was Tove’s debut album. It’s divided into three sections: The Sex, The Love, and The Pain. "Habits" is the cornerstone of "The Pain."
- Watch the 10th Anniversary Content: In 2024/2025, Tove Lo released a bunch of anniversary material, including the original music video that was private for years. It gives a lot of context to her headspace back then.
The stay high habits remix tove lo isn't just a nostalgia trip. It’s a masterclass in how a remix can breathe entirely new life into a story that had already been told.