Her music career started in late 2005, when Annie, sitting bored at home, started humming a melody. She met a music arranger through a friend, who helped her compose the very simple, yet catchy song "Mahiya". Annie was encouraged by family and friends to take it a step further. She got in touch with a record company and preparations for an ordinary video were made. The video was soon released in Pakistan. With her simple rendition and style of singing, along with catchy lyrics, the song became an instant hit. It started getting ripped from the video to be sold separately. Bollywood cinema directors Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt expressed their desire to use Annie’s song Mahiya, for their movie Awarapan, which consequently gained her more fame and fan following. On 25 November 2010, Khalid released her UK Debut single "Be My Baby" along with the remix of the track done by the UK’s Top DJ Judge Jules. Khalid collaborated with the English–Norwegian boy band A1 for a single "Just 3 words" which they unveiled on a performance in 31 October 2011 at the O2 Academy in London.