Following the release of her much-anticipated debut album Addison, Addison Rae appears to have bucked the ill-fated trend of social media personalities attempting – and failing – to kickstart their music career. There is an air of legitimacy surrounding the rollout and reception of her eponymously-titled record that other influencers before her lacked; Rae is being taken seriously as an artist. But why is she the exception? Why has she been able to make the transition from influencer to singer-songwriter? And is Rae’s success ephemeral, or is she here to stay?

Although music is an intrinsic component of apps like TikTok and Instagram, influencers have mostly faced widespread Internet backlash when releasing music of their own. Perhaps the best (or should I say worst?) example of this is Dixie D’Amelio’s first song, “Be Happy”. All aspects of the song – from D’Amelio’s unusual and autotuned vocals to the insipid music video –  were critically panned and spawned countless memes that poked fun at her venture into songwriting. But the issue ran deeper than cringe-worthy lyrics and generic pop melodies (though they certainly amplified it). It seems that when a social media personality tries to add ‘musician’ to their CV, they commit a professional and social transgression. The descriptor ‘musician’ possesses an artistic credibility that is incongruous with a career founded on photos at the beach and day-in-the-life vlogs.

There was a point where Rae’s pursuit of music seemed just as doomed to crash and burn as that of her counterparts. Four years ago, her debut single “Obsessed” rivalled D’Amelio’s in terms of its negative press. In 2024, however, she signed with Columbia Records, the same label as Beyoncé and Bob Dylan, and her smash hit “Diet Pepsi” peaked at number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. After Addison was released to acclaim earlier this month, it is undeniable that the Rae-naissance is upon us. 

Rae’s career turn-around is far from coincidental though; it required a complete image overhaul. Her online presence as it was during the era of the Hype House and Doja Cat’s “Say So” has been erased. Her accounts are now dedicated to promoting her music, while simultaneously feeding into the en vogue aesthetic that forms the basis of her rebrand. Rae is a product – and proliferator – of the revival of Y2K. From her carefully curated style mimicking the cultural zeitgeist of the 2000s to her glamorisation of smoking, she has done away with cringe and, in the virtual eyes of the Internet, become cool. 

This status has stretched to include her music: in “Money is Everything”, she sings about the desire for DJs to “play Madonna” and “to roll one with Lana, get high with Gaga”. The name-dropping here is calculated, summarising the album as a pastiche of these revered musicians. Rae’s sound is one that aims to evoke the nostalgia elicited at any mention of these pop icons, and augment this through lyrical and melodic nods to them. I have streamed Addison maybe ten times since it dropped (which is not difficult, considering the album is only thirty-three minutes in length) and the influences of legends like Britney Spears and Lana Del Rey on the record are palpable. Maybe this is part of why I truly enjoy it as a body of work; it does not feel like an influencer making music, but a musician making art. Rae is not trying to merely emulate a character – she is the character.

However, it also helps that Rae is part of a circle that subscribes to a pop-for-pop’s-sake attitude. I would argue that it is her association and collaboration with creatives of a particular musical and cultural niche that gave her the artistic validation other social media personalities lacked, a deficiency that ultimately resulted in their consignment to the graveyard of failed influencer-singers. 

When alluding to Rae’s ‘circle’, I am, of course, referring to her close relationship with current industry titan, Charli XCX. The astronomic success of Brat catapulted electropop to a newfound level of success and recognition, helping to popularise and commercialise ‘trashy’ rave aesthetics. Rae’s involvement in the remix of Brat’s lead single, “Von dutch”, was the moment where her career as a musician was legitimised. She has since been seen partying and performing with Charli XCX a number of times, and even announced Addison’s release date while performing on stage with experimental/avant-pop great Arca at Coachella. Consequently, Rae received the seal of approval from some of pop music’s most important names before she committed to becoming a fully-fledged ‘artist’ and, so far, this seems to be the best strategy yet for would-be musician-influencers.
Now, we are left to wait and see how her career as a musician unfolds. I, for one, am hoping these tactical decisions have secured Rae’s longevity as well as her resultant path to becoming an established musician in her own right; her recent announcement of a world tour sees her reach another key milestone of a bona fide artist. It may be that Addison Rae is the queen of manifestation, and that her words on “Aquamarine” are proving almost prophetic: “the world is my oyster, and I’m the only girl.” If she continues on her upward trajectory, she could very well become the only influencer to make the successful switch over to musical stardom.