When Addison Rae released her debut single “Obsessed” in 2021, she was better recognized as a TikTok star than a budding singer with staying power. All the glitter, gloss and side-eye in the world couldn’t have prepared Rae — or the general public — for the string of viral songs that would come four or five years later.
From the momentum of her first Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Diet Pepsi,” to the quiet confidence she exudes on singles “Aquamarine,” “High Fashion,” “Headphones On,” and her latest, “Fame is a Gun,” Rae is poised to make a big entrance on “Addison” (out June 6 via Columbia Records) — entirely on her own terms.
In a candid interview for Variety’s Behind the Song, Rae details the making of her second Hot 100-charting single “Headphones On,” and her upcoming self-titled debut album, produced entirely by a trio of women — herself, Luka Kloser, and Elvira — a rare feat in an industry still dominated by male producers.
What began as a casual collaboration during a session in Stockholm (Rae was literally sick at the time, joking that she “sounds like she’s holding her nose” on the song “Headphones On”) quickly turned into something deeper: a creative bond rooted in mutual trust, vulnerability and femininity.
“I have something really special with these girls,” she says of the team behind her album. “It feels really beautiful and magical that it is just all females. I never set out for it to be that way, I think because it’s not very common and you almost don’t get that opportunity very much to work with just females in a room.”
Though many are curious about Rae’s musical influences, she insists she pulled few for the making of “Addison,” explaining that her process was driven by emotion. “We definitely didn’t reference anything making this album. It was always me trying to provoke a feeling from a song or from music,” she said. Much of the inspiration came from her dance career and her own self-expression: “I’m a very sensual and sexual person. I’m very intimate with myself and my body, and everything kind of reflects that. Everything feels very personal.”
The momentum behind Rae’s music career is undeniable, with online chatter dubbing her the next “it girl” in pop music. She acknowledges the growing hype, but questions her place in “Headphones On”: “I compare my life to the new It girl / Jealousy’s a rip tide, it pulls me under,” she sings.
“It is obviously very complimentary,” she says. “What does that even mean, really, to be the pop girl? Let’s see if the songs get more popular, then they can call me a pop girl.” The pressure may be building, but she sees this moment as an opportunity, more than an expectation.
As she puts it: “This is my shot. I’ve got to go big.”
