Social media star reveals her songwriting staying power

Addison Rae’s mononymous debut LP crafts a Nineties and Y2K scrapbook to prove her evolution from influencer to pop heavyweight is very much complete

- Felicity Martin

In a recent New York Times interview, the American musician Addison Rae said she realised “how much choice and taste is kind of a luxury”. It’s a telling comment from someone who has built her debut album around carefully curated sonic references, but achieved fame by dancing to viral sounds on social media. You get the sense she’s finally getting to make her mark, the way she wants to. From 90s-era Madonna to the melancholy shades of Lana del Rey, Rae proves herself a devoted student of pop, while managing to shape an intimate, personal sound with its own hallmarks.

There will probably always be a degree of lingering snobbery around Rae. Having launched her career as a social media personality who’d dance to tracks that labels paid her $20 to promote, the Louisiana-born singer quickly became one of the platform’s biggest faces. Her 2023 debut EP, AR, made a stir in internet circles, but its ultra-slick, high-gloss brand of pop never quite converted the sceptics. For many, the leap from influencer to credible musician felt like a stretch.