When your career starts on social media, it’s hard to be known for anything else. The music industry’s history as judge, jury and executioner has left behind a trail of TikTok stars who tried and failed to make it. Among the broken dreams and short-lived careers, you can find a lucky few who pulled off the impossible — one of these successes is Addison Rae.
Growing up in Louisiana, Rae danced competitively from the age of six and laid the groundwork for her future career. In 2019, she started posting dance videos to TikTok and quickly gained a following. As of February 2025, Rae’ s TikTok account has 88.5 million followers and 5.2 billion likes. That’s like if asthe entire population of Wilfrid Laurier University followed the same account over 3,500 times.
As her fame and following grew, Rae quickly used the opportunity to branch out and create a portfolio that wasn’t solely contained on TikTok. She signed with WME talent agency in 2020 and started a podcast with her mother before making her entrance into the music world by releasing a single called Obsessed in 2021.
Other ventures she pursued at the time include a fragrance line, cosmetics line and acting in the Netflix film He’s All That. Despite overall negative critic reviews of the She’s All That remake, Rae’s collection of projects showed that she could be so much more than just a TikToker, and she was well on her way to being the It Girl she is today.
Her real music breakout came after she had some unreleased songs leak on YouTube. To Rae’s surprise, the tracks became popular, and she ultimately released them as an EP in 2022 titled AR. With hit songs like Nothing On (But The Radio) and a feature by Charli xcx, she was thrown into the pop world, ripped jeans first.
Since that initial EP, Rae has kept her pop hits streak alive with a series of releases and features, each one showcasing electrifying club vibes.
Last year she was featured on A.G. Cook’s remix of Charli xcx’s Von Dutch, which she followed up with her first major label single Diet Pepsi. These songs immediately captured Gen Z and with strong bass and vocals they can be heard in almost any party or club in the world.
Rae’s other releases include the single Aquamarine from this past October, and most recently High Fashion which came with a promise of a full album in 2025.
High Fashion mixes a groovy beat with ethereal synths and echoed vocals which pairs it perfectly with the song’s music video. Directed by Mitch Ryan, also known for directing Olivia Rodrigo’s Obsessed music video.High Fashion’s music video depicts Rae dancing through scenes of smoke, rain, white powder and fashion all while the lyrics flash on the screen in bright pink block letters.
With a music video clearly inspired by Britney Spears, High Fashion compares the high one gets when buying new clothes to being on drugs. As the chorus repeats, “I don’t need your drugs. I’d rather get, rather get high fashion,” Rae depicts how retail therapy can produce a feeling that doesn’t compare to anything else. Through a focus on fashion and club imagery, Rae easily captures the attention of Gen Z.
In a world where one can struggle their whole life to break free from social media stardom, Addison Rae does so with grace and immense talent. Her next album is practically guaranteed to be a hit, and I for one, can’t wait to listen.
It’s Addison Rae’s world, and we’re all just trying to keep up.
Contributed Photo/Addison Rae on YouTube
