#36: Addison Rae
My boom boom bass, to die for.
I’ve never been a heavy TikTok user, preferring to torment myself with Twitter / X doomscrolling instead, so Addison Rae’s ascent to become one of the platform’s most followed accounts during lockdown truly passed me by.
My first exposure to the Louisiana native came via an ill-conceived segment on the Tonight Show, which led to accusations that she and host Jimmy Fallon were taking credit for the work of people of colour and “regurgitating it to the masses.”
Alongside forays into cosmetics and acting, Rae embarked on a music career in 2021 with the release of debut single ‘Obsessed’.
Drawing on ‘00s bubblegum pop, the track sounded like an offcut from a Hilary Duff or Heidi Montag record (complimentary), but it was roundly savaged by critics and music fans, who surmised she should “stick to lip-syncing” instead.
Maybe some poor choices had been made, but the intensity of the criticism felt a bit excessive for a first try, with Rae later saying the backlash effectively put the kibosh on any further musical aspirations.
She might have been ready to throw in the towel, but the internet had other ideas. Tracks from her scrapped debut album began leaking and pop fans, including those outside her core TikTok demographic, started to pay attention
Over time, the shelved album became mythologised, leading to petitions for its release. Eventually, in 2023, four of the leaked tracks, including a new version of ‘2 Die 4’ with a guest verse by Charli XCX, were shared through official channels as an EP called ‘AR1’.
Things cranked up another couple of notches this year. Following collaborations with AG Cook and Charli on ‘Lucifer’ and the Grammy-nominated ‘Von Dutch’ remix, she scored a bona fide chart smash hit with ‘Diet Pepsi’, sneaking into the Top 10 in both the UK and Ireland.
Latest single ‘Aquamarine’ extends her winning streak, with an accompanying ‘Arcamarine’ remix by Arca building on her associations with some of pop’s boldest innovators.
Even from the ropey SoundCloud leaks, you could tell that Rae was an artist with a strong pop instincts and good taste in collaborators.
She’s not the most distinctive vocalist, but there’s something about the knowing vapidity and campiness of the music and persona that provide a welcome reprieve from modern music’s overemphasis on authenticity.
Her transition from pilloried TikTok star to pop pop princess has been sort of remarkable and I’m excited to see if she can sustain the current momentum.
Listen to Addison Rae on:
Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal | YouTube
Connect with Addison Rae on:
Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Twitter
Pop Nuggets
Girls on film… A concert film from ‘The Girls Aloud Show’ arena tour will be broadcast on ITV this weekend. Ahead of this, they sat down with Ben Shephard to discuss their recent reunion and hinted at another future tour. Watch the interview.
Pop’s Powerpuff Girls Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan and Charli XCX are among the most nominated artists for the 2025 Grammys. Despite both being active in music for almost a decade, Chappell and Sabrina will duke it out for Best New Artist.
Fresh from a sold out show in Dublin this week, Sega Bodega called out a weird move by Lil Nas X to rip off his ‘Angel On My Shoulder’ artwork, without providing any credit, saying “It’s fine, I’d reference me too.” Read more on Stereogum.