Addison Rae calls out harsh backlash to her debut single 'Obsessed'
22 January 2025, 12:00
Addison Rae was ridiculed when she made her first foray into music but she's since taken over the charts.
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Addison Rae has opened up about the reaction to her debut single 'Obsessed' and said that she was treated unfairly.
After first rising to fame on TikTok, Addison Rae has officially made the transition into full blown popstardom. Her 2024 hit 'Diet Pepsi' became her first Hot 100 smash. Meanwhile, her next single 'Aquamarine' received widespread critical acclaim for its experimental influences. As a result, anticipation for Addison's upcoming album is sky high.
However, Addison's music wasn't immediately embraced by critics and the general public at large. In 2021, Addison dropped 'Obsessed' and was subject to ridicule. Now, Addison is clapping back and defending her early music.
Addison Rae does the ‘Diet Pepsi’ challenge
In Rolling Stone's February cover story, Addison speaks frankly about her journey with music explaining that her foray into pop is more than a lark: “As soon as I got the opportunity to start writing music and acting, I did. When I moved [to LA], I was like, ‘OK, I have to start acting classes. I have to start singing. I have to start these things immediately.'”
Despite being a fun pop song with the hilarious lyric: You say you're obsessed with me / So I took a second and I said me too, Addison became the target of trolling. Not only that but people questioned whether she should be releasing music at all and Addison's music career was put on hold indefinitely.
Speaking about 'Obsessed' now, Addison stated: "I still think that song’s good." Addison then criticised the negative response to the song: "I think there’s room for constructive criticism. [But] it almost wasn’t even about the song. It was [about] me doing it.”
Addison continued: "I had to rethink everything. I was like, ‘How am I going to get to a place where on my own, I feel like I can do this and feel confident in it, and fully deliver what I feel like is the best version of this?’”
Addison has since formed a core group of collaborators writing her full debut album with 'Diet Pepsi' collaborators Luka Kloser (Ariana Grande) and Elvira Anderfjärd (Taylor Swift).
Talking to Vogue about the backlash to 'Obsessed' previously, Addison said: "I put out 'Obsessed' and I’m pretty hard on myself in general. I have very high standards for myself, and that can be my downfall sometimes. I just wanted people to know that I really care about music, and that I take it seriously.
She then questioned her career: "I think I had a really fragile sense of self at that time. I was 19, you know? It kind of crushed me for some time. I started feeling a lot of self-doubt, and those big dreams that I was pursuing, I just thought, 'Maybe I’m not good enough to do this.'"
Fast forward to now and Addison is the popstar she always dreamed of being. Bring on AR1!
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