Additional Coverage:
- Addison Rae knows what you were expecting (latimes.com)
Addison Rae: From TikTok to Grammy Nominations, Defying Expectations One Hit at a Time
Burbank, CA – Sliding into a booth at the iconic Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank, Addison Rae, the multi-hyphenate talent, orders a classic black coffee and a chocolate milkshake – a nod to filmmaker David Lynch’s famous order. At 25, Rae, clad in tight jeans, heels, and a Harvard hoodie, twirls her drawstrings as she discusses a recent meeting where her mention of watching “Wild at Heart” garnered stunned reactions.
“Is this not just one of the things you should know if you’re in this business?” she quipped, highlighting a common thread in her journey: exceeding expectations.
June saw the release of Rae’s debut album, “Addison,” recorded in Sweden with producers Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser. The LP, described as “crisp but languid, sensual yet slightly sinister,” evokes a unique blend of Britney Spears and Lana Del Rey.
Its “aqueous electro-pop jams” have resonated, earning rave reviews and hundreds of millions of streams, with the single “Diet Pepsi” alone boasting over half a billion streams on Spotify. For Rae, who harbored dreams of moving to Los Angeles from Lafayette, Louisiana, the album’s success marks a significant stride in a showbiz career that began with viral TikTok dance videos, where she now commands over 88 million followers.
The album has also garnered her admiration from tastemakers, many of whom might have missed her in the 2021 Netflix teen comedy “He’s All That.” This February, Rae will compete for the coveted Best New Artist prize at the 68th Grammy Awards, facing off against, among others, Alex Warren, a fellow alum of the once-dominant TikTok collective Hype House.
Navigating Low Expectations and Gatekeepers’ Praise
When asked about the overwhelmingly positive surprise surrounding her album, Rae candidly admitted, “I’ll take a win where I get it.” She’s grown comfortable with the idea that her endeavors are often met with low expectations, only for her to “do something better than that and them being surprised.” She believes this perception will eventually shift.
Addressing the root of these low expectations, Rae dismissed the notion of it being solely due to her gender as “boring.” She also acknowledged the “TikTok of it all,” admitting that while she initially used the platform to bypass traditional show business gatekeepers, earning their praise has been “very flattering.”
Despite convincing herself she didn’t care about such validation, she now sees it as a positive shift, particularly for her album’s creation. “People were very skeptical – even people that are choosing to embrace me now.
Which is nice. I’m glad they’ve changed their mind.”
The decision to lead with “Diet Pepsi” as the first single was met with resistance from her label, who felt it wasn’t what people expected. Rae believes they envisioned her music as “bad or soulless or maybe just a little more shallow.”
She reflected on her 2021 single “Obsessed,” acknowledging it was based on an earlier artistic vision. “Thank God for the critics – without them, I maybe would’ve kept doing music like ‘Obsessed’ and not pushed myself to try things that people didn’t expect.”
Still, she holds out hope for “Obsessed” to have its “Stars Are Blind” moment, calling it a “fun pop song.”
The 2000s Pop Influence and Redefining Stardom
Rae’s friend, Rosalía, lauded her for “bringing the 2000s American pop star back to these days.” While Rae sees her music as very “now,” she admits the 2000s were foundational.
“I was a baby in the 2000s and grew up watching everything in the 2000s, so naturally that’s what I was raised on.” She reveres the era as one of “undeniable stardom – of pop being unafraid to be provocative and risky.”
Reflecting on the self-aware nature of 2000s pop stardom, Rae appreciates those who credit her with being thoughtful or strategic, though she doesn’t always see herself that way. “When you say you want to be a pop star, people reference someone like a Britney or a Gaga or a Rihanna – there’s an idea of what a pop star means.
I don’t really care about being a pop star. I just want to be a star.”
Grammy Nerves, Fake Emails, and Industry Rivalries
Regarding her Grammy nomination, Rae humorously denied any agenda to beat Alex Warren, stating, “I have no agenda going into this.” She described her shock at the nomination, recalling the pressure of managers wanting to watch the announcement and the thought of others filming their reactions.
“What if it didn’t happen? Do they have confetti and just don’t blow it?”
she mused. She opted for a “very chill” viewing at her managers’ office, her gasp being her only initial reaction.
She also addressed the widely circulated fake email thanking the Recording Academy, admitting, “By the way, people believed that. Maybe I would have too – I’m really gullible. Nobody has any idea what’s real.”
The Grammy nominations, particularly for Rae and Warren, have sparked conversations about the show’s embrace of artists from nontraditional paths. Rae believes that “when something deserves attention and conversation, it’ll get it, no matter where it came from,” citing Miley Cyrus’s long road to a Grammy win as an example.
On the topic of pop-girl rivalries, Rae acknowledged they can be “entertaining” and a “natural human thing to want to exceed a standard that someone else has laid out.” However, she’s not personally interested, believing it “takes away from the reason I want to do any of this stuff.” She alluded to “weird things” that happen behind the scenes, including production drama and “things sounding similar” to her own work with Luka and Elvira, a story she’s never publicly discussed.
Shedding Accents and Embracing a Broad Performance Path
Rae revealed her intentional effort to shed her Southern accent, attributing her success to a natural aptitude for accents. While her internal monologue is now without the accent, she admits it resurfaces when she’s around family or has “had a little too much to drink.”
Her initial move to L.A. was driven by a desire to sing, dance, and act. Her musical success hasn’t narrowed her ambitions, but rather affirmed her desire to “just want to perform, and wherever that finds its home is where I’m putting my energy.”
She sees acting even in the emotional demands of performing on tour. “I’m very ambitious in general.
I love chasing big dreams, and if that comes in the form of an amazing script or a director that I really love and trust, I’m 10 toes deep.”
Her interest in performance remains broad, drawing inspiration from icons like Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, and Marilyn Monroe. “I mean, she was doing it all.
I just think: Why would you not want to do it all?” Rae concluded, embodying her multifaceted approach to stardom.
Read More About This Story:
- Addison Rae knows what you were expecting (latimes.com)