Dreams, Raes and Beams
From TikTok to Wembley, Addison Rae trades swipe-ups for spotlights—joining Lana Del Rey on stage and in spirit, in a rebrand that’s equal parts pop, polish, and pure ambition.
Addison and Lana bless the crowds of London’s Wembley stadium on July 3rd and 4th, singing ethereal singles and thoughtful duets, gathering fans and graceful success. Original photography by the author. © All rights belong to their respective owners. No copyright infringement intended.
Addison Rae is a name we all know. Her success, originating from bedroom boredom in the 2020 lockdown era, when videos of TikTok dances saturated our explore feeds, has taken her on an inspired musical journey as an artist, alongside the queen of ethereal, old money and vintage Americana - Lana Del Rey.
Whether or not you also got involved with the trending dances, freshly famous faces and ‘hype houses’ were hard to miss. Origins considered, Addison recently performed for me and thousands of other fans in London, next to a world renowned artist who proudly announced Addison as her opener for certain shows, highlighting the soaring success of Addison in recent years.
Addison was one of the figures which quickly rose to fame on platforms such as TikTok, alongside others such as Charlie and Dixie D’Amelio. Soon after this Addison was signed to a creative agency, William Morris Endeavour, and made headway into the public eye as a defining pop culture figure, but her career path has taken a winding turn in the recent months: one that demands attention and a push to chase your own dreams.
Lana is an artist who has been in the industry for decades, performing under multiple personas and embodying a variety of different aesthetics, all the while maintaining a strong connection with her audience through charged emotional bonding and nostalgic relatability.
At the Night 1 London show, Lana described Addison as a ‘like-minded artist’ who ‘it is important to perform with’. Addison expressed an abundance of gratitude throughout her set, exclaiming ‘thank you’ whenever she could. Instead of just being an opener, Addison was also invited back out to the stage towards the end of the show to perform a duet of her single ‘Diet Pepsi’ as well as Lana’s unreleased single ‘57. 5’. It was an iconic moment of collaboration, which holds musical importance for fans and beyond.
Since releasing her first single “Obsessed,” in 2021, and later an EP named "AR'' in 2023, Addison has built the foundations of her success thoughtfully, sharing her new vision with the world. Her EP, which contained song '2 die 4', featuring Brat’s own Charli XCX, marked a collaboration which has now occurred not once, but twice: with Addison later featuring on the 2nd ‘Brat’ album 'Brat and it's completely different but also still brat.', where Addison features on the 'Von Dutch a.g cook remix featuring Addison Rae' alongside Charli and her creative partner. It seems that without the help of her musical friends, Addison may not have had as much of a jumpstart and cultural impact on the industry, with an ability to share her vision loudly.
After stepping foot into the musical industry in this way, Addison has grown into what could be named as the people’s next pop princess. Drawing much inspiration from 'Valley Girl aesthetic' icons such as Brittney spears and Paris Hilton, in y2k-inspired micro skirts and crop tops, or as seen through her bikini outfits on stage at previous secret shows in London and New York , Addison reflects an almost outlandish, yet stylish and expressive way of presenting yourself to the world as she inspires Gen-Z with her self-styling and deeply rooted rebrand which differs from the girl we once knew her as behind a screen.
Addison continued this mode of dressing at Night 1 Lana London through wearing a short, striped co-ord with a bikini style top and micro shorts. Addison’s outfits at the exclusive shows she performed in London and New York consist mainly of silky, frilled underwear sets which paid dues to Y2K and hyper pop elements, highlighting Addison’s cool girl, authentic turnaround, and the promotion of a rebrand in the direction of your dreams. Using your influence on pop culture to express something that is different and niche is one thing which Addison masters, an inspiration to her fans and a spectacle for those who are not as sure on her newfound career expansions. This is also consistently expressed through her curated and personal social media posts which portray her newfound, almost underground, spiritual and unique vibe; seen by many yet understood by few. Understanding Addison’s vibe is not a widely adopted experience - if you take the opportunity to scroll through opinions and comment sections, there are many speculating voices. However Elle USA and Vogue France beg to differ, distributing her as the summer’s cover star, proving the duality of all things in life: especially success and working towards your dreams. What one may hate, is another’s dream, channelling stories of inspiration and creativity. Although Addison is not received well by everyone, as questions are posed as to her longevity and TikTok origins (which she accepts with honour, by the way - on Instagram she captioned: ‘Thanks for loving it. Thanks for hating it. Balance.’, @addisonrae) the rest of society is here for her rebrand, to say the least.
The secret shows commenced shortly after Addison announced her album, a self-titled, personal storytelling themed piece of work that contains tracks which have so far been a hit, spreading like wildfire on TikTok and the likes of social media. Examples include ‘Fame Is A Gun’ ‘Diet Pepsi’ and ‘High Fashion.’
Addison further heightened her reach for the stars at these surprise, secret concerts she hosted at mysterious club venues ‘The Box’ in both NYC and London, tickets which were secured through a fan-based WhatsApp messaging subscription. These were her first live performances; an immersive step into the new world of Addison, pushing the artist to go on to release her own world tour starting this fall ,just after being an opener at Lana Del Rey’s Wembley shows, where she provided a unique and popular performance for us, ahead of her voice’s debut around the globe shortly after. Through her push at the musical industry, Addison is sure to reach an incredibly wide audience and prove to the world how hard she is willing to work for this success.
If Addison’s progression on her journey of coming from behind a screen; performing to other people’s songs and then proceeding to flourishing into THE voice behind the people’s TikTok’s and screens does not signal A) a successful rebrand and B) a sign to chase your wildest dreams to you, then what does? Addison knows who she is and what she wants to create and that is inspiring. She had a vision and she ran with it, executing it flawlessly, alongside one of the most iconic female American artists out there.
In her recent interviews for various fashion magazines as well as features in Youtube videos like Quentin Blakewells ‘Feeding Starving Celebrities’, Addison mentions how she resonates with working hard for what she wants and holding beliefs as to the wide abundance of things you can achieve. ‘People often say, ‘she’s trying too hard’, but how about you try at all?’’ She stated. Despite being labelled ‘performative’ or ‘cringe’ the persistence is what matters and has led her away from her Hype House days to the front of the stage.
Addison's channelled authentic and inspired career shift speaks to me as a green light to drop any baggage which does not support you and the direction of your dreams. If you have a vision, translate it into your tangible reality. Taking the steps and aligning your focus until reality can not fail but to follow you!
I’m excited and intrigued to see what will be Addison’s next steps, as well as witnessing clips from her tour. Most fans that I spoke to at the Lana show adored her set, vibe and her vision, and many videos and pictures of her opening flooded instagram stories and TikToik edits. But most importantly I'm thankful for pop figures like Addison with a dream, a style and a plan. After all, ‘‘Nothing makes (her) feel as good as being loved by you’’. Lyrics from ‘Fame is a Gun’
