In this essay I will: Addison Rae as the antidote to times like these

Intimate sets at The Box in both New York and London teased spectacle in store for the forthcoming Addison Tour. In one number at the preview, a sunny dance parade of women in candy-colored lingerie emphasized the emptiness of the small, black stage behind them: Addison Rae has somehow left us wanting more while revealing all of herself. From her unashamed desire for success to the ethereal sex fantasies of her videography, Addison bucks against our cultural moment—yet somehow thrives in it. 

The multi-hyphenate has made it no secret that fame was the point all along. Rae’s explicit love for “the glamorous life” is woven throughout the album, especially “Fame is a Gun,” where she declares, “There’s no mystery, gonna make it, gonna do down in history.” In a world where women’s ambitions are at risk of regulation, embracing success and desire feels radical. However, beloved tongue-in-cheek celebrations of her own charms went over our heads in the chart-flopping “Obsessed” (2021). What’s different now, though, is the space Rae has been afforded to show us her duality. Her music videos, especially, reveal she’s in on the joke—like letting her zombified, refrigerated muscle-boys of the week out of the fridge-holding-pen of the Hollywood machine, or using her powder-sugar-covered Louisiana roots to poke fun at cocaine rumors.

Moreover, though, Addison’s ambition is permitted as a product of an otherwise bygone American Dream. In Rae’s turn at the influencer-to-pop-star arc, her constant TikToking gave us a front seat to her aspirations. Having seen Rae’s path from childhood bedroom to brat feature while maintaining her same bubbliness, we’re bought into celebrations like “Money is Everything.” In fact, affirmation that fame hasn’t changed the girl from TikTok is a rallying cry, sing-screamed “And the girl I used to be is still the girl inside of me!”

The girlhood echoing throughout the album also appears in Rae’s perspectives on sex and relationships. Addison mourns the lingering wound of her parents’ divorce in “Headphones On.” Perhaps this pivotal childhood moment explains why one of the most sexually charged anthems of the album, “Diet Pepsi,” depicts a scene of lost virginity in the backseat of a car…despite Rae having been 23 at the time of its release. Just like her self-obsession, Addison lets us know she’s in on the joke of her baby face image, opening “Fame is a Gun” with, “Tell me who I am, do I provoke you with my tone of innocence?” Although coquettish pandering is not unique to Addison Rae, it is a symptom of the growing sociopolitical conservative moments—making the sexual freedom central to her recent work so refreshing. 

Addison’s told us that she’ll do anything for the fame, even if that means leaning into popular perversions—but don’t worry, she’ll have the last laugh. Like any good southern woman, the earnest freedom of Rae’s current project smiles in the face of limitations, filling the emptiness created by our culture’s move to the right with unabashed desire—and doing so in a package that they understand. Her duality may come off on its surface as self-involved, but while demonstrating how we can take on the same boldness and self-confidence. And so what if she is a little obsessed—can’t a girl have fun?

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