If you were anything like me in 2019, Addison Rae was not your cup of tea. As a pseudo-rebellious 9th grader, I thought I was too mature for the whole dancing on TikTok thing. Although, even though it wasn’t my thing, I never understood the hate surrounding TikTok girls like Rae and Charli D’Amelio. They’ve always been very talented dancers outside of TikTok and they were making tons of money doing what they love, so who was I to judge?
That being said, back then I could not tell you a thing about Rae, I didn’t follow her at all. In fact, after 2020, Rae left the very little space she occupied in the back of my mind and I assumed she would be forgotten forever.
That was until Charli xcx’s “Brat” came out.
“Von dutch a. g. cook remix” featuring Rae is teased on Instagram. Addison Rae…I haven’t heard that name in years.
When Charli xcx brings someone to one of her songs, you simply have to trust that she has an artistic vision that the uncultured masses cannot yet see. I know I’m being a little bit dramatic, but I remember the amount of hate that both Charli and Rae got for working together. I thought Rae’s infamous scream on “Von Dutch” was so good and fit the brat vibe perfectly.
The release of “Von Dutch” remix ft. Addison Rae is when we really start to see Rae’s aesthetic shift publicly. She really started to lean into the 2014-esc, alternative, camp, grunge, messy and a little bit odd persona; much different from her previous “basic white girl” look that she used to identify with in her TikTok days. I think she pulls it off effortlessly.
Fast forward to summer 2024 and Rae is posting cryptic Pepsi pics on Instagram. At this point, I’m intrigued. On August 9, Rae releases “Diet Pepsi,” and although I’m a diet coke girly to my core, this song quickly became one of the summer staples.
“Diet Pepsi” is a synth, alternative pop song reminiscent of Lana Del Rey’s “Cola” days. I would also like to add that “Diet Pepsi” was written and produced entirely by women. In the almost entirely black and white music video, Rae gives off some sexy, off-putting vibes while dancing in a bra and underwear in the backseat of a (very handsome) man’s car. In my opinion, making the video in majority black and white was a great move. The first verse includes descriptive lines like: cross gold-chain, ripped blue jeans and red like cherries in the spring, which creates enough color for the viewer to imagine even in the darkness. She makes reference to classic americana by licking a banana split and wrapping herself in an American flag which couldn’t be more Born to Die.
After “Diet Pepsi” came out, I considered myself a Rae fan. I never thought I’d see the day. All I knew was I wanted to follow her music career and see where it would take her.
A couple months later in October, Rae releases “Aquamarine.” I remember vividly that my boyfriend was in town when the song dropped, we got into the car and of course I made him listen to it with me. As a Pisces and just an overall lover of all things aquatic, I was in love with the “Aquamarine” vibe before the song even came out. Don’t get me wrong, I think “Aquamarine” is a great song and fits the vibe she went for perfectly. I can’t describe the background music as anything but twinkling crystal mermaid sounds and the synth vocalizing near the end of the song sounds beautiful. However, “Aquamarine” isn’t my favorite song of Rae’s. Something about it is a little too exaggerated for me maybe?
Flash forward to Valentine’s Day this year and Rae releases her newest song: “High Fashion.” “High Fashion” has a lot more similarities to “Diet Pepsi,” but the sound also reminds me of the pop girlies of the early 2000’s. “High Fashion” gives late night messy clubbing, body glitter vibes that I think at this point in the semester everyone needs. Again, Rae is always experimenting with background noise. One of my favorite parts of this song is at 0:00 when she sings the word “cigarette,” you can hear a lighter flicker in the background and it becomes the background music for that part of the song. This song was immediately added to my “getting ready” playlist and I highly recommend you give “High Fashion” a listen.
So to leave you with my final thoughts: honestly, I never saw this change coming and I could not be more welcoming of it. Lastly, I’ve noticed on social media, that it may still be seen as “uncool” to like celebrities like Rae, especially when they have such a major shift in aesthetic. But I say don’t listen to them. Continue to like whatever you want with no shame. All I know is if you hear “Diet Pepsi” blasting from the speakers in my car on the way to the beach, don’t save me, because I’m exactly where I want to be.