Addison: Album Review
Bland, reference-filled, repackaged Charli XCX outtakes got her pop princess status?
I didn’t like the Addison Rae album. *pulls spear out of my back*
I found myself too scared to write this review, too scared to speak out against the endlessly worshipped new popstar and her debut album… If you don’t like Addison, you just don’t get it, and you’re probably a misogynist. The only option was to like it. I found myself listening to the album over and over, watching all the music videos, thinking to myself, “Maybe I am just a jealous hater”, why can’t I love her music like it seems everybody else does… but I just couldn’t. With the overwhelmingly positive reviews she’s received since the release, the god-like praise from music journalists and her 15 million monthly listeners, I had to blow the whistle.
Since the release of Diet Pepsi, she has gained pop it-girl status and with that, a protective shield of “You just don’t get it”s against any critic. With the pop dream team working on her music videos, I wanted the music to be good too. Pitchfork gave this album the Pop 2 treatment—she is the next cool girl to love, the music nerd’s popstar, the girl who is “going to save pop music” with edgier synths. Everyone is on board, even Charli XCX herself…
Charli XCX is the MVP in the rise of Addison Rae. Her co-sign is a golden ticket to pop fame. For a while, Taylor Swift was the only one who had this power. So every new popstar was to some degree trying to be the next Taylor Swift, like Olivia Rodrigo and Gracie Abrams. Then after BRAT came out, the industry turned and we needed another Charli XCX. Camila Cabello tried and the public turned her away for copying Charli, but Addison Rae managed to gain massive public adoration for doing a similar thing…
Addison says it was all part of the plan, which she told the New York Times’ Popcast. She claimed to have developed this whole persona over years of marketing and scheming while hiding her “real self” behind her Tik Tok fame. Each step into the Hype House was carefully and strategically taken. Tik Tok trends were her way to success, she said, “I’ve recognized how much choice and taste is kind of a luxury.”
Even if I didn’t disagree with that sentiment, how are we supposed to believe everything she is doing right now is completely authentic if she is willing to showcase herself to the world for years as an “inauthentic” version of herself. In many interviews, she seems to be trying to prove her authenticity, trying to transition from influencer to popstar, but I think this comment made it seem even more artificial. I would have expected something like, “I was a teenager, I was cringe. I changed and this is who I am now.”
Everything on the album comes off in the same way, as a way to prove herself as a “real popstar”. Everything is a reference, or a wink to pop culture or pop icons of the past. Diet Pepsi is basically Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, Money is Everything is basically Born This Way by Lady Gaga and Summer Forever is Dress by Taylor Swift.
The lyrics and melodies sound like something I would write when I was seven. The album sounds like the debut album of a past Disney star, like when Emily Osment made an album or when Debbie Ryan made an album. I can already hear people saying “that’s the point”, but just because it’s a reference doesn’t make it good music, and right now, it’s about the music.
She’s reaching for something. She wants deep-cut washed up Disney star meets Libby Lu, found again with an edgier sound. I do get it, I just think it sounds bad. She wants the alt pop themes of sex and religion but instead of alluding to those themes, she’s just saying the words over and over. On “New York”, it’s just, “Love New York, feel so free it’s my religion… I’m a dance whore”
Every element of the album feels like a bunch of remnants of pop songs were taped together and wrapped in a bow to try and gift the listeners something “new”, when it’s just crumbs from the past repurposed.
I wish I had more positive notes for the album, Addison Rae is hot and her life seems fun. I wish I got to wear custom polka dot sets and party with Charli XCX too. I think she’s a fashion icon, she lives a fun life, I wanted to like it… The beat on the last minute of “New York” is super fresh and summery and I like the music videos, I wish I liked the rest. She is a popstar, just without the music part.
In a lot of ways, she is committed to the bit. She is an icon of pop culture, and basically a performance artist– the paparazzi photos, the highly curated and reference-filled music videos, her tweets and interview clips, it’s obvious she is trying to develop this popstar image. I think she has successfully transitioned to celebrity status from influencer status, but the music isn’t there.
I think about the pink polka dot Coachella outfit daily, so she’s living in my head either way.
