High Fashion Meets Heart

The Influencer Nobody Took Seriously

If you had told me four years ago that I would personally declare that Addison Rae would release one of, if not the best albums of this year, nay, decade, I would have actually laughed in your face and jokingly asked, “the girl from the Netflix movie? The TikToker? Be serious.” Her status as a celebrity four years ago was derived from being a social media ‘influencer,’ and, until recently, held a string of continuous, seemingly random and sporadic business ventures across the beauty market, reality TV (including a Snapchat-based personal show and a guest appearance on The Kardashians), food and drink items, a podcast, lines of (mainly fast fashion) collaborative merchandise, and countless endorsements. As the public grew fatigued by what were deemed desperate moves to establish her as a figure in mainstream media, it became increasingly obvious that a drastic pivot was necessary to avoid being lost in the vast landfill of disposable internet figures who were unable to establish themselves in the cutthroat environment of Hollywood.

The Failure That Forced a Reset

While a music career was rumored among her short-lived ventures with the release of a generic pop song in 2021, “Obsessed” only confused the audience, who wanted more from Rae. With its self-centered writing and passable production for a person whose career centered around dancing and music, it seemed like this was a pitiful swan song and the beginning of the end of just another TikTok star. Yet, as one can see now, this was not the end of Rae’s attempt at long-term stardom, and she was determined to succeed, employing new strategies to be less active and garner publicity and mystique around her image. Instead of oversharing or chasing relevance, she went quiet. And somehow, that silence worked. In an era of popular culture where everyone is attempting to achieve one viral hit and make the most noise possible, Rae’s decision to retreat a little began to form the mystique she had been aiming for. Through creating such, she was better able to capture mainstream attention.

An Unexpected Art-Pop Arrival

After a series of leaked songs in early 2022 captured the attention of fans and critics alike, her 2023 EP “AR”—which was primarily received well among the art-pop sphere, included a personal stamp and feature from hyperpop icon Charli xcx on “2 die 4”, production from Andrew Goldstein (known for working with blackbear, Bridgit Mendler, 5 Seconds of Summer, MKTO, among other pop staples), and was co-penned mostly by Madison Love. The release spanned just below a 12-minute runtime and was mostly well-received by the public. Cementing herself as an underground pop icon was the new goal, and “AR” certainly helped her make a splash in a new genre. Socially, she was seen and began to be associated with other esoteric and venerated figures like Gabriette, Alex Consani, and Lana Del Rey, all mostly through her apprenticeship-like relationship with aforementioned collaborator Charli xcx. This unlikely friendship opened essential creative and cultural doors for her goal and added her name to the list of early collaborators on the Brat remix album (before the album’s release and subsequent explosion in the summer of 2024); with Rae and renowned PC Music producer A.G. Cook adding a charming, glamorous take to Aitchison’s “Von dutch”.

Pop Star in the Making

The track served as a predecessor to what later became the lyrical blueprint for Rae’s debut album: proof that she’d learned to turn internet irony and pop glamour into genuine artistic language through introspection and ingenious, meaningful writing. Addison was ready to debut a shimmering manifesto and era defined by cultivated artifice and glossy production value, where surreal luxury and digital intimacy blur into an intoxicating and captivating persona. 

Soon after the release of the “Von Dutch” remix, future smash-hit “Diet Pepsi” was teased and released under Columbia Records, which became the house under which she went on to release single after single in preparation for her new project. Later came “Aquamarine”, a deep-house track and take on Madonna’s “Ray of Light”, which was mentioned in the song’s lyrics, followed by a shortly spotlighted Arca remix on Aquamarine, aptly titled “Arcamarine”, which blended Arca’s signature boundary-pushing take on reggaeton and deeply rooted hyperpop-influenced style with Addison’s charming voice. “High Fashion” kicked off 2025 for Rae, an uptempo, synth-heavy track that rejects illicit activity, embracing just what the title suggests, with a declaration that she would “rather get high fashion” than be with you, whether that is a love interest or the listener is elusive. It is also arguably the most experimental and genre-explorative track on the complete project. “Headphones On” pays homage to Björk’s home nation of Iceland, and includes strong and feminine imagery, such as a striking pink wig that she sports while riding a horse, dancing in various shots, or chewing gum as she idles around, her expressions showing how she almost could be waiting for better times to arrive. It is an anthem that visually flaunts one of the symbols of mysterious pop stars, an iPod Nano with wired headphones, and discusses nostalgia and belonging in where she finds herself in the face of hard times in love, life, and the spotlight. In the song, she embraces the ‘pain’ that life brings her, and declares on a spoken word section on the track that: “the lows are what make the highs higher…life’s no fun through clear waters.” “Fame is a Gun” came a week before the album’s release, and, as this Last.fm description best puts it: “[Through] brandishing a weapon towards the reception her music receives, Addison Rae’s ‘Fame is a Gun’ is an electro-pop track that takes inspiration from Sheila E.’s 1984 cut, ‘The Glamorous Life’.” Serving as my personal favorite off the entire album and my most-streamed song of the year, the track is a reminder that it’s just ‘Addison’ now, shedding her last name from her image both metaphorically and to embody a new persona as she emerges from the cocoon of fame that had previously limited her. In recent statistics, the singles hold strong in terms of numbers and apparent demand for her music; Diet Pepsi is probably her most mainstream-approved move, currently standing at 548 million streams on Spotify alone. Together, the album’s pre-release singles have spanned around 920 million listens. Before the LP’s long-awaited release, fans applauded Rae and the team behind her at Columbia Records for having strung together such a strong run of singles, and eyes only lasered onto her, augmenting expectations for a shattering debut.

Conclusion

Finally, after months of expectation, on June 6th, 2025, she delivered her completed project to the world, “Addison”, including all previously mentioned singles and supporting track “Times Like These”. It must be mentioned that all of the tracks were produced by duo Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser, whom Rae credits with helping her establish a cohesive vision for the album, and celebrates the fact that women drove the album from its inception to its final touches. It sold more than 48,000 units in its first week, debuting at number 4 on Billboard’s flagship album chart. Receiving a merited and applaudingly high Pitchfork review score of an 8/10, critic scores on sites Album of the Year & Metacritic of 73 and 79 respectively, and a slightly favorable Rolling Stones score (of an ever-so unpredictable magazine) of 70/100, the album became a summer soundtrack for young people looking for connection, musical sincerity, and, as one of her inspirations Björk has said in the past: “defending the right to dance.” Soon after the album’s release, she held a set of Spotify-hosted release parties with performances that exuded timelessness and a deep knowledge and recognition of her predecessors; these mini-concerts were praised for such, and did not come with low demand, prompting the announcement of a 32-stop tour spanning North America, Europe, and Australia. On stage and in the studio alike, Rae does not shy away from lyrical honesty; whether it be through calling out her father in one of her songs and his previous controversial behavior, or slights her critics by confidently asserting: “the girl I used to be is still the girl inside of me!”
After wrapping a successful summer that included a surprise Coachella performance both at Arca and Charli xcx’s stages, an LP release after various positively received singles and even recently performing select tracks from her jaw-dropping debut record at the Grammy Museum—songs that discuss topics not limited to getting used to and loving the spotlight and constant critics on her, relishing her youth and her constant change-filled life, among others—it fully struck me that the general public, at least those entrenched in pop culture, have witnessed the explosive establishment of a tasteful, multi-hyphenate icon. What began as a punchline became the very stage for Addison Rae’s metamorphosis, allowing her to finally, unmistakably, become the star she always hinted she could be.