Angel Chen
“Take a bite of the Big Apple,” Addison Rae urges on “New York,” the opening track of her debut album, “Addison,” released June 6.
It’s an enticement, subtle and alluring like a fairy tale, yet also a major leap of faith. Referencing the city’s iconic nickname and its philosophy of ambition, Rae leaves no doubt about her willingness to do whatever she must as she takes New York City head-on. She devours the Big Apple as she steps further into a lifestyle of indulgence and risk.
Risk-taking is not a new concept for Rae. In 2019, she gave up studying broadcast journalism at Louisiana State University in order to pursue content creation in Los Angeles. She successfully used her history in dance to gain fame on TikTok. As of today, she is the sixth most-followed account on the platform.
Wanting more, the singer began taking vocal lessons before releasing her debut single, “Obsessed” in 2021. It was both a commercial and critical failure as its intended self-love message was interpreted by pop culture sources such as Popdust as “predictably terrible and self-indulgent.”
This caused Rae to quietly step back from music.
Still, leaked demos in 2023 caught the attention of skeptics and pop insiders alike, including Charli XCX, who became her mentor.
Hoping to try again, Rae returned with her debut EP, “AR.” The next year, she collaborated with Charli XCX and A. G. Cook on a remix of “Von Dutch.” She flaunted her rebrand, letting out an ad-lib scream that would accumulate millions of views.
Then came the lead-single, “Diet Pepsi,” a sensual, alt-pop song carrying notes of Americana kitsch and youthful lust. With lines like “When we drive in your car, I’m your baby (so sweet) / Losing all my innocence in the backseat,” Rae takes on a risqué persona. It’s a complete turnaround from the family-friendly TikToks that made her famous.
Not everyone understood the sudden switch. The release of “Diet Pepsi” triggered another wave of backlash. Rae was accused of trying to curate an aesthetic similar to that of Lana Del Rey, who, ironically, would go on to publicly cosign the track. She invited Rae to open for her U.K. and Ireland stadium tour, where the two sang the hit together.
The criticism mirrored the early backlash Del Rey also faced. Before her jump to fame, she was accused of being an industry plant but she, like Rae, has endured nonetheless.
“What’s funny to me is that people assume that these passions are new,” Rae told Elle magazine. “I grew up dancing and I’ve always loved to sing.”
Those passions fueled the creative direction for “Aquamarine,” a deep house track about transformation and reclaiming your narrative. In the music video, Rae embraces her roots within ballet, jazz and contemporary styles. She moves at the will of the beat’s pulsation and sings, “I’m not hiding anymore / I won’t hide / I’m free.” In this universe, to be free is to indulge in fantasy, feeling and excess.
The third track, “Money Is Everything” is a party-girl anthem that is glittery and shameless. Rae brings herself closer to those who inspire her by referencing legends like Lady Gaga and Marilyn Monroe. Rich in life and joy, the girl just wants to have fun, even if it’s reckless.
While the climb to stardom is undeniably intoxicating, the high comes with deep risk. It begs the question: How reckless does it get before it goes too far?
In the track “High Fashion” our attention is drawn to a society where couture is a stimulant, attention is a drug and everything else becomes a distraction. Removal from the outer world proves inevitable, and the result is a spiral into denial, desire and disconnect.
“High Fashion” seems to foreshadow “Fame Is a Gun,” which pivots the big apple of opportunity into an allegory of the forbidden fruit.
The music video sends the singer on a mission to confront a glamorized caricature of herself. She brandishes the gun of fame, pointing it blindly. The lyrics, “It never was enough, I always wanted more,” reveal someone who has lost control of her hunger and now carries it as a coping mechanism.
What makes “Addison” hit so close to home is that she’s just as uncertain about the future as we are. Fans get a front-row seat as she takes each vulnerable step toward reinvention.
Triumph or tragedy, the reward can only be revealed with time.