Addison Rae is a figure that a lot of us naïvely did not expect to see blowing up in 2025. Going from being most notable for her TikTok’s dancing to popular songs, to becoming an up-and-coming pop sensation and new ‘it girl’, she’s showing the world who she is as an artist. To be clear, this is not a rebrand – rather a reveal of her true self, full of bright colours, ethereal visuals and melodic harmonies.
Recently, Addison joined Charli XCX to perform their viral remix of ‘Von Dutch’ at Coachella – one of the most popular and star-studded festivals on earth. This significant step for her career has come after a period of quiet introspection for the singer. Addison Rae was largely out of the public eye in 2023, leaving many people wondering what she was up to. Well, what she was doing was preparing for her debut into a new era; one more creative, more original, more Addison. Having released songs like ‘Obsessed’ in 2021 that received mixed reviews, it was clear that the ex-TikToker needed a change of pace, one that felt more authentically her. From this, her single ‘Diet Pepsi’ was released in 2024 – a sultry, slow but captivating ode to new romance – which gained substantial popularity and proved her to be the next artist to watch out for.
Her self-titled upcoming album features 12 tracks, four of which have been released and are already receiving praise. The cover comes across as a love letter to the 2000s ultra-feminine mystique that is popular among so many women today; it’s a thank you to the influences that came before her, as well as an introduction to who she is now. The album title is straightforward – ‘Addison’ – but speaks volumes. Listeners are about to be let in on something intimate and uniquely herself, showing an personal take on her as an artist.
Before this month, Rae had been going rather under the radar for me personally. However, her new music video for ‘Headphones On’ came onto my YouTube recommended page, and I was intrigued. Whatever expectations I had going into the video were immediately dismantled – surreal imagery, dreamy vocals and a blissful narrative are just a few of the ways the video holds your devoted attention, and it never lets go. You, as the viewer, are taken through two worlds. One is of Addison as a shopworker in an Iceland store, and the other is her in a fantasy riding a horse and dancing along the coast of Iceland – creating an aura of beautiful irony. The strength of this music video is in its relatability. She captures the feeling of escapism granted through listening to your favourite song, touching upon the power of completely surrendering yourself to music.
It can be easy to dismiss Addison at first glance as just another ex-Tik-Toker trying to half-heartedly create music, and it is certainly something that I have been guilty of. However, her raw creativity and magnetic nature in both her music videos and lyrical prowess proves any previous assumptions had about her starkly wrong . It can be easy to feel disheartened with modern pop, but seeing Addison use her music in a way that has a fresh perspective, which explores themes like her own femininity, is making her stand out. To comment on her TikTok past, I believe it serves as a strength, because it shows her evolution whilst keeping her grounded and relatable – something that proved its popularity with Charli XCX’s ‘messy girl era’.
But what does Addison Rae reflect about the nature of online culture today? Once tied to the realm of Tik-Tok and social media stardom, to breaking out into the music world, she is on the rise with a uniquely specific aesthetic, as she flips the narrative and defies expectations. Rae is both highlighting the flippant nature of the internet and signalling an incoming wave of creative individualism in the pop industry. We are really getting to know the real Addison from her own creative, confident artistic expression – viewers are finally seeing the person that’s been there all along, and it’s compelling to watch.
Whatever ‘Tik-Toker’ box she was once placed into has undoubtedly been destroyed for good.
Words by: Ruby Davis
Cover photo courtesy of Elice Moore E, from Unsplash. No changes have been made to the image.