Should Addison Rae be taken seriously in the music scene? No. Many people would consider Addison as just another TikToker trying to prolong their five minutes by investing into other types of media. But the reality is Addison Rae is just a girl experimenting in the music realm for fun. 

A lot of people tend to forget that not everything is a scheme for a cash grab. Addison might not be the best pop star to come out since Ariana Grande, and yes she isn’t the most talented person out there; but her music is fun. It’s something to listen to for a good time. Don’t look past it just because of who she is.

Many of her TikTok peers such as Charli D’Amelio, Dixie D’Amelio, and Nessa Barret have also dabbled in the music realm but not in a way like Addison. The D’Amelio sisters (Dixie having an album out and Charli having only a single released) were subpar to say the least. Nessa has released a couple of solid tracks “american jesus” & “dying on the inside” are some of the best to name a few. But unlike Addison, something feels manufactured or just “done before” with the other three.

AR the since lost album, where Addison’s computer ended up deleting all her music tracks leading Addison to a sad and frustrated tweet where she tells everyone the disappointing news. In the following months she eventually collects up a few of the tracks that were previously lost and uses them to create the EP that is AR. In AR Addison channels her inner pop star and excels on what she originally displayed in her debut single “Obsessed.” Her debut single felt like a watered-down Victorious version of a Selena Gomez single, shot down the pop music shot hole. Although fun at heart, it was extremely underwhelming.

Some highlights on this EP include “I got it bad,” “2 die 4 (feat. Charli XCX), and the Lady Gaga outtake “Nothing On (But The Radio).”  These three tracks were definitely the best on the whole EP. Even Pitchfork went on to praise “I got it bad.” It’s a very 2000s pop inspired track, almost like if Britney Spears went full down bad for Justin Timberlake. 

“2 die 4” is the TikTok hit where everyone sarcastically (yet somehow not) dances to the lyrics, “my neck to die for, my legs to die for, this boom boom bass to die for.” A surprise on this track was the new Charli XCX verse. On the original leaked track Charli wasn’t in it but somewhere between the Instagram posts, where they partied it up at a fashion show in paris  they got into the studio and made this certified bop. Charli XCX serving almost as pop mentor has clearly been a good influence on Addison music-wise.

“Nothing On (But The Radio)” is definitely the pop music stan’s favorite (probably because it’s a Lady Gaga outtake). But honestly how did Addison even get her hands on this track? The song itself is fun and honestly I prefer Addison’s version over Gaga’s. Addison brought in the drinkable pop voice that the track needed, but Gaga could only send off her noticeably strong vocals which might’ve not been suited for the track.

Some under-talked about tracks (deservedly so) are “it could’ve been u” and the previously talked about “Obsessed”. These tracks lacked the fun pop flare that the other tracks clearly displayed. “It could’ve been um” although not as bad as “Obsessed” is still not to the level that the other tracks are. It stands up to a suitable Ariana Grande unreleased track that clearly didn’t make it on the tracklist for a reason.

AR was a 12 minute overlap of Britney Spears meets Selena Gomez if they took on a hyper pop mentality with the guise of overlooked pop stars like Charli XCX. If I would change one thing about this EP I would definitely remove “Obsessed” and rework “It could’ve been you” to a more slowed down “Everytime” by Britney Spears moment. 

Overall this EP was clearly a very fun experience for Addison, the fans and pop music connoisseurs definitely enjoyed it. Very excited to see what Addison cooks up next. Will she continue her jubilant power pop motive or will she fall flat without the guidance of other pop stars?