Addison Rae knows what you were expecting

Addison Rae slides into a booth astatine Bob’s Big Boy successful Burbank and orders — what else? — achromatic java and a cocoa milkshake.

The singer, histrion and societal media property has been connected a David Lynch footwear of late; this, of course, is wherever the precocious filmmaker famously came each day for years to prolong himself with that bid portion helium wrote.

“I went into a gathering the different time and mentioned that I’d watched ‘Wild astatine Heart’ the nighttime before,” says Rae, who’s 25. She’s wearing choky jeans, heels and a baggy Harvard hoodie and twirls the sweatshirt’s drawstrings successful her fingers arsenic she speaks. “They were truthful astounded. I was like, ‘Is this not conscionable 1 of the things you should cognize if you’re successful this business?’”

In June, Rae released her debut album, “Addison,” which she recorded successful Sweden with the producers Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser. Crisp but languid, sensual yet somewhat sinister, the LP sounds similar Britney Spears doing Lana Del Rey (or possibly vice versa) — a astute and stylish acceptable of aqueous electro-pop jams that support taking somewhat weirder turns than you’d expect.

“Addison” earned rave reviews and has racked up hundreds of millions of streams; the azygous “Diet Pepsi” unsocial is astatine much than fractional a cardinal connected Spotify. For Rae, who grew up dreaming of moving to Los Angeles from her hometown of Lafayette, La., the album’s occurrence registered arsenic different measurement successful a showbiz travel that began with DIY creation videos she posted arsenic a teen connected TikTok (where contiguous she counts much than 88 cardinal followers).

Yet it’s besides made her a darling among tastemakers who mightiness not person caught her successful the smiley 2021 Netflix teen drama “He’s All That.” In February, Rae volition vie astatine the 68th Grammy Awards for the coveted champion caller creator prize — a class successful which her contention includes Alex Warren, a chap alum of the once-dominant TikTok corporate Hype House.

A batch of the absorption to your medium — the vigor has fundamentally been: Hold up, this is beauteous good.
I’ll instrumentality a triumph wherever I get it [laughs]. I’ve really gotten truly comfy successful this abstraction of everyone reasoning that everything I bash volition beryllium mediocre and maine doing thing amended than that and them being surprised. I bash deliberation that volition change, though.

What bash you deliberation is down the debased expectations? Certainly, portion of it is due to the fact that you’re a pistillate and that’s the satellite we unrecorded in.
Boring.

Then there’s the TikTok of it all. You’ve said you started dancing connected TikTok arsenic a benignant of extremity tally astir the gatekeepers of amusement business. What’s it been similar to gain those gatekeepers’ praise?
As assured arsenic I americium astir my process and my creator view, it’s precise flattering. For a while, I started to person myself that I didn’t care. And I really deliberation that was a large mode to marque the album. People were precise skeptical — adjacent radical that are choosing to clasp maine now. Which is nice. I’m gladsome they’ve changed their mind.

You intelligibly made the close album. Have you thought astir what the incorrect medium would’ve been?
The statement decidedly wasn’t keen connected “Diet Pepsi” being the archetypal song. They were like, “We don’t deliberation this is what radical are expecting from you.”

Did you person a consciousness of what they thought radical were expecting?
I deliberation determination was an thought of what my euphony should dependable like.

Which was?
Bad? Bad oregon soulless oregon possibly conscionable a small much shallow, I guess. And by the way, I emotion shallow music. When I enactment retired my archetypal single, “Obsessed” [in 2021], it was precise overmuch based connected what I thought I wanted to beryllium arsenic an artist. And implicit clip that changed. Thank God for the critics — without them, I possibly would’ve kept doing euphony similar “Obsessed” and not pushed myself to effort things that radical didn’t expect.

Although you’ve said you’re awaiting your “Stars Are Blind” infinitesimal for “Obsessed.”
Of course. “Obsessed” is simply a amusive popular song, and I deliberation it volition get its love.

Your person Rosalía told Rolling Stone astir you: “I emotion however she brings the 2000s American popular prima backmost to these days.” Does that representation onto what you consciousness it is you do?
I don’t cognize — it’s benignant of confusing. I deliberation my euphony is precise present arsenic overmuch arsenic it’s a conglomeration of my life. I was a babe successful the 2000s and grew up watching everything successful the 2000s, truthful people that’s what I was raised on. My ma ever had connected MTV. But I deliberation the 2000s was an epoch of popular that volition ne'er beryllium replicated. It was each truthful new. It was an epoch of undeniable stardom — of popular being unafraid to beryllium provocative and risky.

I deliberation of that clip arsenic the infinitesimal erstwhile popular became afloat alert of itself. Every popular star’s show was a show of popular stardom.
I wholly spot that. I admit the radical that accidental I’m thoughtful oregon strategical — that gives maine a batch of credit, actually, due to the fact that I don’t deliberation that’s the lawsuit each the time. When you accidental you privation to beryllium a popular star, radical notation idiosyncratic similar a Britney oregon a Gaga oregon a Rihanna — there’s an thought of what a popular prima means. I don’t truly attraction astir being a popular star. I conscionable privation to beryllium a star.

Addison Rae performs astatine New York’s Terminal 5 successful October.

(Christopher Polk / Billboard via Getty Images)

Is your precedence astatine the Grammys to bushed Alex Warren?
I person nary docket going into this [laughs].

It’s an grant conscionable to beryllium nominated?
It truly is! I was shocked. The nighttime earlier the nominations were announced, my managers were like, “Should we get unneurotic and ticker it?” That puts truthful overmuch unit connected it. I ever wondered with these radical that station videos of themselves reacting to nominations — what if it didn’t happen? Do they person confetti and conscionable don’t stroke it?

What’d you extremity up doing?
I was like, Maybe we spell to Tower Bar, and if it doesn’t hap we conscionable get meal — effort to dainty the time normally. Then I was like, Maybe we don’t privation to beryllium determination due to the fact that if it does hap I privation to beryllium capable to respond the mode I privation to. So we conscionable went to my managers’ office, and it was precise chill. I’d looked astatine each the lists of predictions, and the lone spot that predicted I would get nominated was Pitchfork. So the likelihood were not looking large for me. Then they said my sanction — I was similar [gasps]. That was each I could say.

Did you spot the fake email that went astir wherever you’re thanking the Recording Academy?
Oh my God, I saw it. By the way, radical believed that. Maybe I would person excessively — I’m truly gullible. Nobody has immoderate thought what’s real.

I had to respect the specificity of the fake, with the ChatGPT punctual and all.
No, like, who did this?

Part of the Grammys discourse, particularly with you and Alex, has been astir the amusement opening itself to musicians who’ve taken nontraditional paths to success. Before you were nominated, did the Grammys look similar a satellite that was disposable to you?
I didn’t deliberation it was thing that was not gonna hap due to the fact that of that. People person travel from Disney, which was not considered arsenic highly creator oregon credible arsenic different paths.

Although it took Miley Cyrus until “Flowers” to triumph a Grammy.
Which is insane. I deliberation that gave maine anticipation that it each evolves — that erstwhile thing deserves attraction and conversation, it’ll get it, nary substance wherever it came from.

We look to beryllium surviving successful an property of pop-girl rivalries. Do you agree, and if truthful does that bum you out?
It doesn’t person to beryllium a thing, but I get it — it’s entertaining. Historically, there’s ever been this affable oregon possibly unfriendly contention betwixt people. I deliberation it’s a precise earthy quality happening to privation to transcend a modular that idiosyncratic other has laid out. I’m not truly funny it for myself. I deliberation it takes distant from the crushed I privation to bash immoderate of this stuff.

Can you debar it? Take Taylor Swift versus your person Charli XCX arsenic an example. I wonderment whether you consciousness similar you person to instrumentality a side.
I conjecture we’ll person to see. But there’s truthful overmuch much to each these things. There are radical that bash weird things, and I effort to debar those people.

What are the weird things?
Well, you know, this tin beryllium down the scenes arsenic good — producers and play successful penning and ideas and back-end conversations. On my grounds with Luka and Elvira, we had worked with idiosyncratic — oregon tried to see them successful thing — and past we didn’t truly consciousness similar it was necessary. No atrocious blood. Then each of a sudden, this idiosyncratic had gone and worked with idiosyncratic else, and things were sounding similar. The timeline of it each was precise confusing and interesting.

I’m not up connected this story.
I’ve ne'er talked astir it.

So adjacent if I excavation astir —
You wouldn’t know. I mean, I deliberation determination are radical that possibly would cognize things. But I’m not funny successful getting into the nitty-gritty of it all. It’s truthful irrelevant.

Elvira Anderfjärd, from left, Addison Rae and Luka Kloser astatine the Grammy Museum successful Los Angeles successful August.

(Rebecca Sapp / Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

You’ve said you worked to get escaped of your Southern accent. How’d bash you bash it?
I person a truly bully English accent, truthful I deliberation I’m conscionable bully astatine accents. People accidental they tin inactive perceive it connected a definite connection oregon phrase.

The interior monologue successful your caput — it’s with a Southern accent oregon without?
It’s without.

This is conscionable your dependable now.
I deliberation so, yeah. It’s similar I’m Method acting [laughs]. When I spell location and I’m astir my household — my grandma has a precise heavy Cajun accent — it comes out. I’m conscionable not astir anyone that has a Southern accent — I’ve been surviving present for astir six years now. When I’m drunk, sometimes it’ll travel out.

When you moved to L.A., you wanted to sing, creation and act. Has your occurrence successful euphony reshaped your ambitions for acting?
I consciousness similar it’s each 1 and the aforesaid to maine — I conscionable privation to perform, and wherever that finds its location is wherever I’m putting my energy. I wouldn’t accidental that each nighttime connected circuit earlier I went onstage I was needfully successful the champion temper of my life. Some nights, you’re crying earlier you spell on, truthful you’re benignant of acting successful a mode to enactment connected this show for people. I’m precise ambitious successful general. I emotion chasing large dreams, and if that comes successful the signifier of an astonishing publication oregon a manager that I truly emotion and trust, I’m 10 toes deep.

Your involvement successful show is inactive broad.
I don’t deliberation it’ll ever constrictive down. I don’t cognize wherefore it would. Someone similar Barbra Streisand is idiosyncratic I’ve ever loved and looked up to. Judy Garland too. Even Marilyn Monroe. I mean, she was doing it all. I conscionable think: Why would you not privation to bash it all?