Should we take Addison Rae seriously now?

From lip-syncing for thirty seconds to millions of followers, to singing live for an hour and a half: Addison Rae is taking to the stage without filters, cuts, or algorithms. Will she prove to be more than just a TikTok star?

In 2021, Addison Rae Easterling made her singing debut with the single “Obsessed”, a dance-pop track helmed by hitmaker Benny Blanco. The song flopped, to widespread ridicule. Her detractors claimed Rae was a fake, an influencer with no substance, a girl-next-door who had amassed a following of millions on TikTok with simple dance challenges and lip-sync videos.

The tide turned when demos from her first EP were leaked and ultimate tastemaker Charli XCX begged for a feature. Lana Del Rey and Rosalía endorsed her, and she was the talk of the town with her bone-chilling scream on a remix from Charli XCX's hit album Brat. Suddenly, the momentum shifted for the now 24-year-old Rae. She landed a slot at Coachella, and her self-titled debut album, released last June, has been met with critical acclaim.

The album sounds like an ode to the early 2000s, but with a hyperpop twist: dreamy synths, sleek beats, and lyrics that both embrace and subvert glamour. In tracks like “Fame Is a Gun” and “High Fashion”, Rae sings tongue-in-cheek about glitz and glamour. It seems she has delivered one of the albums of the year.

Rae's leap from cringe to cool is remarkable. Closer to home, Dutch artist Roxy Dekker is doing something similar. Last year, she won the prestigious Popprijs, much to the dismay of “serious” cultural critics. Her subsequent set at Pukkelpop took the festival by storm.

In interviews, Rae explains that TikTok was merely a means to an end: becoming a pop star. Why not take advantage of an audience of millions when it's already at your feet? Female influencers have proven to be particularly savvy when it comes to social media, and no longer need traditional channels to win over a pop audience. Rae has played her hand smartly.

Add to this the changing zeitgeist. Britney Spears was long written off as a bimbo; today, she is seen as a pioneer who pushed back against the establishment. A new generation of young female pop stars like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, and Olivia Rodrigo now dominates the pop landscape. They make music that is simultaneously playful and self-aware, while toying with fashion and internet culture, and exuding a sense of fun without losing their ironic edge.

Rae embodies this mix perfectly, with the added advantage of bringing that style directly from the TikTok generation to the main stage. In an era where the line between “mainstream” and “cool” is blurring, this is seen as authentic. Now, she just has to back it up live. A ninety-minute concert is no thirty-second TikTok clip.

Addison Rae will be playing Koninklijk Circus/Cirque Royal on 4/9, cirque-royal-bruxelles.be