The pop album of the summer is here. Addison Rae’s debut, “Addison,” is full, stuffed with bejeweled, hypnotic pop songs for the post-“BRAT” crowd. Hedonism has a new hero.
For those who’ve watched her rise, it’s almost impossible to believe. It wasn’t so long ago – almost exactly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic – that a young Rae went on “The Tonight Show” and taught its host Jimmy Fallon a few stiff, meme-able TikTok dance moves, then what made up the bulk of her career. It was met with almost immediate backlash, as is common for young women with viral posts. But she wielded it like a weapon: Social media celebrity begat acting roles for Rae, then a coveted collaboration with Charli XCX in the form of a “Von Dutch” remix, and now, at age 24, her final form: becoming the hyper-ambitious, hyper-femme pop star for the current moment.
