Never referencing? Addison Rae shares her biggest artistic goal ahead of debut album release

Addison Rae is not trying to outrun her past — she’s reshaping it.

After years of being labeled a TikTok dancer turned try-hard pop hopeful, Rae is finally releasing her debut album, Addison, a dreamy stack that flaunts her departure from her internet origins, slated for release on June 5, 2025.

It’s a full-circle moment for the 24-year-old, who walked into her record label meeting not with demo tracks, but with a binder of colors, textures, and moods, all pointing to who she wanted to become as an artist.

In her recent interview with Popcast, the New York Times’ music podcast, she shared:

“I was like, I know what I want people to feel when they hear my music, but what does that sound like? And what am I going to say?”

That question sparked a multi-year transformation, one that has slowly replaced viral dances with sultry visuals and 90s-inspired sounds.

Addison Rae’s rise wasn’t instantaneous in the music industry. Her first single, “Obsessed,” drew mixed reactions in 2021, and early demos leaked before she was ready to claim them. But instead of retreating, Rae leaned in. She kept writing.

“I didn’t let it get to me that much. Me not stopping writing was kind of me being like, ‘OK, well, I’ll show you.’”

That persistence paid off. The leaked songs turned her into something of a cult pop figure. Not quite mainstream and not quite underground, but wholly in control. Fans even burned the unreleased tracks onto CDs.

“Never feel like I’m referencing”: Addison Rae shares “biggest goal” as an artist

Eventually, Addison Rae independently dropped her AR EP, earning unexpected co-signs from artists like Charli XCX and Lana Del Rey.

Still, she never rushed her debut. She teamed up with Swedish producers Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser, with whom she co-wrote almost every track on Addison, crafting a sound that’s nostalgic yet ethereal — moody synths, loaded harmonies, abrupt shifts in tone and tempo.

Rae calls it “intentional,” never wanting to mimic her icons too closely.

“My biggest goal is to never feel like I’m referencing an exact song or artist.”

But her inspirations — bold, glamorous, and occasionally strange — are clear in the visuals, from cigarettes between toes to glittery leg warmers. A fan of Cirque du Soleil and Dance Moms as a child, Rae has always channeled performance through the body.

In interviews, she’s frank about how calculated her early TikTok years were, how chasing virality left little room for nuance.

“I’ve recognized how much choice and taste is kind of a luxury... It wasn’t about like, ‘Let me show the intricacies of myself right now.’”

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Now, she can. She describes her current arc as playful and curious, unburdened by expectations, but grounded in intention. Addison Rae’s pop persona is nothing short of a rebirth.

“I can do what I want here now — you know?”

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