Sorry, World, Addison Rae Is Here to Stay!
In 2019, a small-town girl from Louisiana started filming herself dancing on the newly rebranded social media platform TikTok. Despite criticisms and snarks, Addison Rae was her name, and this was only the beginning of her journey in the limelight.
Today, Rae is an online superstar and has released an EP titled “AR” in 2023, which highlighted her love of 2000s and early 2010s pop music. With influences like Britney Spears and Madonna, and a fantastic collaboration with Charli xcx, a rising pop star was ready to emerge.
On August 9th, 2024, Rae released “Diet Pepsi”, a sultry synth-pop tune that left people wondering, Will Addison Rae become pop’s next big thing? With appearances at Charli xcx and Troye Sivan’s SWEAT Tour, as well as two Coachella appearances with xcx and Arca, all in the span of less than a year, Rae’s popularity was on nobody's 2024 bingo list. Follow-up singles, such as “Aquamarine,” continued until her debut album’s release on June 6, 2025, titled mononymously as “Addison”.
Rae’s debut album was raved about by big names like Lorde and Lana Del Rey, but there was still a bad taste in people's mouths. People were trying to grasp the concept of a social media star trying to enter the music industry, as it has been done numerous times before with no “successful” results.
These ideas don’t faze Rae, however, as she has mentioned many times in interviews that she is simply fulfilling her passions and dreams. Dance and performance have always been a big part of Rae’s life, and now she has found her footing to express herself fully.
When it comes to being a woman, there have always been hardships put upon her, as men have often done what Rae has broken into with no criticism. Rae has proved herself many times that the art of making music is serious and fragile to her, as her debut album was written and produced by her alongside Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser, an all-female team.
At 24, Rae has already succeeded so much. With an ongoing world tour, opening dates with Lana Del Rey, and a 2026 date at Coachella, Rae is nothing short of what it is to be a pop star, and it will only continue to rise.
Written by: Andrea Mejia
Graphics by: Alyssa Cordova
