Former TikTok dancer Addison Rae has made some interesting moves in the media lately, and as a digital marketing major, I am eating this up. Rae is single-handedly rewriting her brand and giving Jojo Siwa a run for her money in the rebranding space. Now, I say this with a grain of salt, because I would really chalk Rae’s new aesthetic up to a team of hardworking individuals with marketing, communications, or business degrees. So, if you are among the group of individuals thinking, who the heck is Addison Rae? I can certainly help you out.
Prior to this year, I remembered Rae as a somewhat problematic TikTok personality who got soft-canceled after shaking hands with Donald Trump at a UFC event in 2021. Her past relationship with the infamous Bryce Hall also infected my TikTok feed for a while until their split in early 2021. Because of this, I am weary of accepting her rebrand, but I can appreciate a good business strategy when I see one. After all, this fresh coat of paint has me asking myself, did she vote blue?
After her EP, entitled AR, dropped on Aug. 18. 2023, I was not convinced that Rae could hack it in the music industry. There are so many people in the world of pop that Rae’s “Obsessed” and “2 die 4” simply could not measure up to other releases. As a result, she received massive criticism for this EP, even tweeting, “If you hate obsessed…stream it again and let me know what you hate about it.” While this is not necessarily the route I would have taken to self-improvement, it seemed to work for Rae.
I believe she took all the advice she was given and deeply studied the music industry, because now, not only is her music significantly better, but her vibe and overall personal brand are unlike any other large artist right now. It’s fresh and unique in an age where everything feels wildly over-saturated. Both her “Diet Pepsi” and “Aquamarine” music videos recently dropped, and I’m embarrassed to say they exhilarated me in a way other current music videos have not been able to. As silly as it sounds, artistry has been lost lately, nothing feels original, and if something is unique , copycats latch on to it and ruin it. It’s refreshing to see someone doing their own thing, even if it’s a polarizing figure like Rae. I mean, what’s more individualistic than releasing the song of the summer in the middle of fall?
I can definitely foresee Addison Rae growing in the music industry for her soft-pop dance music and her carefree 2000s aesthetic. However, her past does make me anxious about her character, and I’m hesitant to promote someone who is fresh out of a rebrand, because as much as her style changed, her attitude could very well remain the same. Nevertheless, after hearing her new music and watching her music videos, I’m really hoping she is a reformed woman, because I cannot stop humming “Aquamarine” for the life of me.