Addison Rae: The Nostalgic Pop Princess Takes Over with Debut Studio Album

Addison Rae, the 24-year-old TikTok sensation with over 88 million followers, has made a successful transition from social media influencer to full-blown pop girl. Her self-titled debut studio album, Addison, released on June 6, 2025, is a testament to her growth and evolution as an artist. The 12-song tracklist explores themes of fantasy, fearlessness, and doing what feels good and right for you, solidifying Rae as both a student of pop divas past and the genre's latest "it" girl. Rae's signature trip-hop meets synth-pop sound is on full display on Addison, with the first single "Diet Pepsi" marking a turning point in her career. The song showcased Rae's artistry at its most sophisticated, and the album as a whole is a nostalgic trip back to the "noughties" for the former cheerleader from Louisiana. At midnight on album release day, Rae debuted her sixth single along with the song's accompanying music video, "Times Like These." The video delves into Rae's past and current tribulations, sounding like something you'd hear in a Josh Schwartz teen drama from the 2000s. Hours before Addison hit streamers, Rae performed a private show at the Box in New York City, where she played the album's singles and previewed some previously unreleased tracks. She then stopped by a Matchaful to unveil her limited edition "Summer Forever" drink with the café. Early listeners have praised the album for its bangers, with one fan writing on X, "The very fact that Addison Rae just released a skipless debut album and managed to carve out a signature sound and artistic niche for herself in the oversaturated climate of today’s music market." Another TikTok user raved about Rae’s song "New York," writing, "obsessed with everything about this track. Her starting her debut album with the phrase 'take a bite of the big apple,' not only referencing New York but also Adam and Eve and the beginning of human civilization...there’s LAYERSSS. Addison Rae, you are a genius." In an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, Rae discussed how precious Addison is to her and how she wants to give the album its moment. "I think I’m in the space right now where I’m just really anticipating it coming out, and I’m like, trying to hit all the stops," she said ahead of its debut. "And even with posting and feeling like, 'Okay, well, I really want to make sure I give this the credit and the energy that it deserves.' I think sometimes I shy away from that because I’ll be like...‘Is it going to be too much if I’m just like, 'Alright, everybody! The album’s this many days away'...Sometimes I get onto myself about that and I’ll be like, ‘No, it deserves that.'" The pursuit of those dreams seems to have paid off for Rae, who has been hailed as a pop princess long before her debut album was released. With Addison, she has solidified her position as a force to be reckoned with in the world of pop music.