5 things to know about Addison Rae

With the release of her debut album Addison, Addison Rae has made the transition from TikTok influencer to bonafide pop star. Chloe Wong takes a look at some interesting facts about the newest It Girl in pop music

Her debut album has won critical acclaim

On June 6, 2025, Rae released her debut studio album Addison through Columbia Records. On the official website, it is described as ‘the first & last album by Addison Rae’, hinting at a possible shift in her creative and artistic direction. The 12-track album includes her popular songs like “Aquamarine” that features siren-like vocals, the Lana del Rey channeling “Diet Pepsi”, and newer songs like “Summer Forever” and “New York” that combines her dreamy vocals with synthetic pop beats. Critics have been kind in their reviews, comparing Rae to her idol Britney Spears and praising her album as "cohesive" and of "impeccable taste".

She uses moodboards during her creative process

While other artists may formulate their songs starting from lyric writing, Rae has the unorthodox approach of using mood boards and colours. During the early stages of Addison, Rae printed out shades of colours she liked —aqua blue, hot pink, sunshiny yellow, and green. That told her the album she wanted would consist of a lot of different things. Each song felt like a cohesive rainbow energy that inspired her songwriting direction of how she could encapsulate every shade, every emotion, and every sound. 

She has collaborated with Charli XCX and Troye Sivan

Rae has shared the stage with pop forces like Charli XCX and Troye Sivan. She formally teamed up with XCX on the remix of “Von Dutch”, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Remixed Recording. Rae even wrote some of the song lyrics for “Von Dutch”, elaborating on the feeling of judgement she felt from others. This affirmation from Charli XCX that her lyrics were good was what catapulted her to do more songwriting.

She’s been dancing her whole life

You might know her from her TikTok, where her dancing videos has helped her amass over 88 million followers. But Rae has been a competitor dancer since the age of six, as she mentioned in her Mama Knows Best podcast. Rae took dance classes, studied ballet, jazz, and even contemporary dance, talk about diversity! She also dabbled in other fields like gymnastics and cheerleading, which no doubt added to her dancing abilities. To her, dancing was an outlet to cope with her parents’ tumultuous marriage and constant moving. 

She made her acting debut in He’s All That (2021)

Not only a TikTok star and now pop girlie, Rae began diversifying her portfolio by dabbling in acting, starring in He’s All That (2021). The movie is a gender swapped retelling of the classic late 90s teen rom-com She’s All That (1999). Rae plays an influencer who must complete a dare by helping the unpopular boy get a makeover. She has since acted in the horror film Thanksgiving (2023) and is set to star in live action animated film Animal Friends (2026). 

Also see: 5 things to know about Becca Bloom