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  • Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: RAYE On Her Long Road To Stardom, Writing Songs With Beyoncé & Her “Really Beautiful” Bond With Charli XCX


    The 2025 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 67th GRAMMY Awards, will air live on CBS and Paramount+ on Sunday, Feb. 2. Watch highlights from the 2025 GRAMMYs on live.GRAMMY.com.

    The 2025 GRAMMYs telecast will be reimagined to raise funds to support wildfire relief efforts and aid music professionals impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Donate to the Recording Academy’s and MusiCares’ Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort To Support Music Professionals.

    Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted before the onset of the wildfires in Los Angeles. The artist has since addressed the situation, telling GRAMMY.com, “My thoughts are with all those in Los Angeles affected by this heartbreaking and devastating tragedy. My heart goes out deeply to the working class communities impacted by these fires.”

    In June 2021, RAYE made a declaration to herself and the world: “I’m done being a polite pop star. I want to make my album now.”

    The message — one of several emotional, end-of-her-rope tweets the South London native shared on Twitter (now X) — was the result of years filled with heartbreak and compromise in her career as a singer/songwriter. Fortuitously, her sentiments of pent-up frustration went viral, giving her exactly the type of crucial (and public) leverage she needed to get out of her major-label recording contract, go independent, and make the album she was dying to make.

    The result, 2023’s My 21st Century Blues, wasn’t just the debut album RAYE (born Rachel Keen) had always envisioned; it’s also the album that shot her to stardom, and helped earn the artist her first GRAMMY nominations in the process. RAYE’s GRAMMY nods — for Best New Artist, Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (for her contribution to Lucky Daye‘s Algorithm) — are just the latest in a long list of accomplishments and accolades she’s added to her resume in the last two years. 

    Just weeks before the album’s release, her woozy, snarling single with 070 Shake, “Escapism.,” exploded in popularity on TikTok and pioneered the trend of sped-up audio that soon proliferated on the platform; the track landed the songstress both her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and a No. 1 hit in her native U.K. Cut to almost exactly one year later, and she’d become the most-awarded artist in a single night at the 2024 BRITs, winning British Artist of the Year, British Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist, Best R&B Act, and Songwriter of the Year.

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    Long before she rocketed to fame as an artist, RAYE had spent the better part of a decade establishing herself as one of the most ferociously hard-working and in-demand songwriters in the industry. Now 27, she actually started working as a professional songwriter at just 14 years old, signing her first publishing deal at 16.

    In the decade that followed, the British star racked up songwriting credits for Beyoncé, Little Mix, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Quavo, Anitta, Hailee Steinfeld, John Legend, Mabel and several other big-name artists. She had also signed a four-album deal with Polydor Records at 17, but while her career as a songwriter blossomed, her goal to be a solo artist in her own right was met by obstacle after obstacle.

    Upon entering the industry, RAYE had envisioned herself as an R&B artist in the vein of “The Weeknd and PARTYNEXTDOOR mixed with Jill Scott“; instead, label executives pushed her toward the dance-centric sound dominating radio at the time. She ultimately released three EPs as part of her contract — 2016’s Second, 2018’s Side Tape and 2020’s Euphoric Sad Songs — but none of those projects were musically or creatively in line with the full-length album she was being held back from making. 

    “I had zero creative control,” RAYE recalls. “I blinked, and I’d turned into something I didn’t recognize. I was honestly really heartbroken and had gone against everything I said I’d never compromise. I just felt like a puppet, and I was for a long time.”

    Only by breaking free of her contract was RAYE able to cut the puppet strings, rediscover her voice and make the music she’d held inside for so many years. 

    My 21st Century Blues unfurls RAYE’s story with unflinching honesty, as evidenced on visceral album cut “Hard Out Here.”: “After years and fears and smiling through my tears/ All I ask of you is open your ears/ ‘Cause the truth ain’t pretty, my dear.” She combines R&B melodies, hip-hop beats and pop balladry with shades of dancehall and retro jazz, crafting a sound that’s uniquely hers — and delivered entirely on her own terms. 

    Ahead of the 2025 GRAMMYs, RAYE chatted with GRAMMY.com about her long-awaited solo success, writing songs with superstars like Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez, why she’s rooting for longtime pal Charli XCX to win, and more.

    What do you remember feeling when you found out you were a GRAMMY nominee?

    On that particular day, I was just really in my head and worried about the future. I was speaking to my mum on the phone, like, “Mum, like, what if this is it?” You know, I was just going through it. [Laughs.] And then someone on my team was like, “We should put the GRAMMY nominations on the telly!” And I was like, “Please, not today. I’ll just check Twitter when they come out.” 

    I had zero expectations. The first one they announced was Songwriter Of The Year, Non-Classical, they said my name! And then I lost it. Started screaming, started crying. I was shocked. My mind was blown. And then they [announced] Best New Artist and I nearly threw up. It was just, like, “What the f— is happening right now?” It was just the most ridiculously overwhelming and beautiful surprise.

    Now that you’ve had some time to process, what do your GRAMMY nominations mean to you?

    When you first reckon with the idea of dedicating your life to being a musician, one of the first things you picture is that beautiful golden gramophone with your name engraved in gold on the front. I think for all of us musicians, that’s the dream — a very huge, wild, massive dream. Even being recognized and nominated is the most overwhelming sense of feeling seen as a musician by fellow creatives, fellow writers, it’s a real affirmation. It makes me emotional. It’s just it. 

    I still can’t really believe that we’ve even made it this far. Just, like, this is nuts. This is f—ing real. It’s a whole mind game, as well, to wrap your head around that being a reality. It really is insane. 

    You’ve obviously gained so many new fans throughout this process. If there was one song on My 21st Century Blues that you could point new listeners to, what would it be?

    Hmm…obviously it depends on taste, ’cause there’s a lot of different styles on there. Like, songs like “Body Dysmorphia.” and “Environmental Anxiety.” are quite heavy topics. You know, it gives me anxiety listening to “Environmental Anxiety.,” so… [Laughs.] 

    “Body Dysmorphia.” is a little bit more simple and a little bit more relaxed — not in terms of the lyricism, but musically. I feel like maybe there’s some people out there who would really relate to those songs. Oh, and “The Thrill Is Gone.” I’ve sang that everywhere. I open the show with “Thrill Is Gone.” I’m like, “You WILL listen to this song!”

    Your ability to reinterpret your songs and create different versions of them from what’s on the album — whether it’s for your live album My 21st Century Symphony. at Royal Albert Hall, “Saturday Night Live,” or any given award show — is so impressive. Is that process something that you have in mind when you’re writing and recording in the studio?

    It’s really important to me as a performer; I want it to be fresh and exciting. And also ’cause we live in a world where everything’s documented and filmed, if you do something one way, people will know it. And I love that element of change and surprise. Even in the writing process, I would take a song and be like, “Let’s try it in four different genres and see which one feels the best.” 

    It’s an exciting thing when you’re creating a live show to be like, “Let’s reimagine this in this way now.” Because why not? There’s no rules and it’s fun. And sometimes you can think, What if people just want to hear it how the record is? But then you go and listen to the album to hear it how the record is! 

    I remember going to a Jill Scott concert at the Apollo where she played every single song entirely differently. I was so blown away and completely didn’t expect it. I really took a leaf from that. I was really inspired and so moved. 

    In my head there are moments where you want to hear something similarly [to the studio version], but that can be bent here and it can move there, and we can extend this intro and we can do this. It also, as a musician, keeps me stimulated and excited. You don’t wanna be doing the same thing over and over — you’ve got to reinvent it and push the wheel and give something new. Anytime any of my hardcore supporters [come to a show], I want them to be like, “Oh s—! There’s a different version, this is so exciting!”

    You’re the first artist in GRAMMY history to be nominated simultaneously for Best New Artist and Songwriter Of The Year, Non Classical. What does it mean to you to be recognized for your songwriting alongside your artistry?

    That one really hit deep. I mean, I identified first as a songwriter. Before I was ever an artist, that was always who I was even when I didn’t have any cuts. It was the first goal and the first dream. And I also dedicated so much heart and so much of my life to wanting to be one — to learn how to be a better one, to soak in more, to study the greats. I’m so passionate about the craft. 

    It’s like crack cocaine to me, even though I don’t know what crack cocaine feels like. But I imagine it’s pretty amazing. And that’s what it feels like to me, you know, that combination of the correct melody or that lyric that just cuts you, that evokes those emotions, is completely an art form I’m obsessed with. 

    So to be recognized by my peers and my fellow songwriters is just such a ridiculous honor and something that young RAYE would be like, “Holy f—ing s—. LOOK! You’ve actually gone and made waves as a songwriter!” 

    I remember being 16 and being like, “I’m gonna do this until I’m respected in this craft.” And what an absolute pinnacle, physical example of that, in that nomination, for me. 

    Read more: 2025 GRAMMYs Performers Announced: Benson Boone, Billie Eilish, Chappell Roan, Charli xcx, Doechii, RAYE, Sabrina Carpenter, Shakira & Teddy Swims Confirmed

    One thing that really stands out in your songwriting catalog is how incredibly dextrous you are at writing across genres and moods and personalities and inspirations. Is there a guiding principle that you follow to write for all these different artists and styles of music?

    That’s a good question. I think because of how seriously devoted I was to the craft of songwriting at such a young age, that I realized it was so important for me to want to learn all the different skills. I spent a lot of time in Sweden as a kid and these guys are some of the best in the world at writing pop songs. We all know Max Martin and his camp, and there are so many ridiculously incredible songwriters [there] who continue to hit the mark again and again across spans of tens and twenties of years. 

    Learning from those guys was invaluable to understanding what makes a hook, what makes something stick, what makes a really great pop song. So that’s a craft that never came natural to me, but something that I studied. 

    And then the other aspect of it: I grew up in a church environment where it was all very free-flowing gospel — it’s a form of freestyle, worship. So it’s this element of just embracing melody and letting it just come out. 

    Then between those two worlds, when I was 14, I went on a road trip around America with my dad and my uncle. Before that trip, I didn’t understand country music. I was never exposed to it, you know? 

    I was sat in the car for hours, listening and soaking it in and understanding how beautiful and powerful country music was. It had this down-to-earth, poetic, beautiful [quality of] “I’m gonna tell you a story: She was in a blue dress. The sky was gray. He sipped his whiskey on a cold winter’s day.” So my mind was opened. 

    Then we went to New Orleans — that was my favorite place. It was all jazz. And we went to a place called The Conservation Jazz Hall and I sat on the floor, ’cause the room was full, and I was directly under the trombone, And it was spit blowing in my face and everything, and I loved it! I was like, “This is incredible!” 

    So I think it comes from a deep-rooted love of music — wanting to understand what each genre consists of, feels like, what instruments are going into it. How are these guys writing this? Why is it like that? Why are the lyrics still like this? 

    When I go into a room and someone’s like, “Let’s do a rock ballad,” I’m like, “OK, let’s dig into this.” So I’ll go away, I’ll do my research, I’ll listen to things in that genre, I’ll try to understand what that took, studying the greats and then being like, “OK, let’s get into this.” I could talk passionately about this for hours because this s— absolutely turns me on, to be honest.

    Speaking of country music, what can you tell me about writing “RIIVERDANCE” with Beyoncé for COWBOY CARTER?

    Probably not much! [Laughs.] But I can say, what an honor. The way the song originally started was very different to how it turned out. So it was a whole evolution. 

    Look, I had one cut with Miss Queen Bey before [“Bigger” from 2019’s The Lion King: The Gift], and I was like, “Holy f—ing s—,” you know what I mean? And then this time, you’re like, “F—ing hell.” There’s only curse words I can really say to express how that feels.

    A lot of fans may not realize that you actually worked with Charli XCX years ago on what was supposed to be XCX World in 2016 and then again on Number 1 Angel in 2017. Given your history together, what’s it been like seeing her blow up alongside you this past year with brat?

    Listen, I am so proud of that woman. I met Charli when I was maybe 18. And before I met her, the experience and the environment that I was in was around a lot of men who were, on a daily basis, telling me that I needed to be threatened by all these other women [in the industry]. And that, as a kid, can really do something to you and really skew and confuse you. 

    And Charli completely broke that lie. She actually directed a video for me called “I, U, Us.” It was a really long time ago, but the video was great — it was on an ice rink. And I got to share creative space with her writing on many different occasions as a young writer, and she’s just absolutely brilliant. She is a true artist. She is a true songwriter. 

    She’s actually one of the artists who inspired me to be a writer as well as an artist; it was examples like Charli and Emeli Sandé when I was in those pivotal early years, that I was like, “I can really do this, ’cause they’re doing it.” Which is crazy, ’cause Charli literally looks the same age as me, if not younger. My girl!

    Anyway, it was just really, really invaluable what she poured into me. And then I had one of my first really big cuts with her, which was [2016’s] “After The Afterparty,” so she was a really beautiful part of my early career. 

    On top of that, we always related to each other. Because it was a hardship for her as well. Like, my girl went through it. And we would always talk and have real, down-to-earth, deep conversations about the struggles and the things we’d be going through. So it is just so beautiful to see her get her just. I couldn’t speak higher of her. I’m so happy for her, bursting with pride. And I hope she cleans up!

    You’ve also written with lots of other amazing women this year like Jennifer Lopez, Halle Bailey, Kylie Minogue and Rita Ora. Do you have favorite memories from any of those sessions?

    Working with Halle was an absolute dream. That girl — first of all, we giggled like little frickin’ children. We had a great time, we clicked instantly. And we made some beautiful songs I’m really excited for the world to hear. She’s such a rare, beautiful soul. Such an incredible voice, such a brilliant talent. So I have some really dear and beautiful memories writing with her. 

    And J.Lo, it’s like, “F—ing hell, it’s J.Lo!” So I was just telling myself, Just write! Just make something great!

    It’s always quite funny being in spaces with people you’ve grown up watching on telly, do you know I mean? So I try to play it cool — I’m pretty good at playing it cool, I think. But then after the moment, you’re like, “Umm…holy s—.” [Laughs.] 

    Needless to say, it’s been such a huge year for you. What’s next?

    Well, I want to write another album. So I want to begin that. I think it’s important that I go into writing mode. I’m so all or nothing, so if I’m on the road, I’m on the road doing shows, and I’m all over the live arrangements. My head is in what we’re doing, I can’t pull out to write. So there has to be designated time for that. 

    I have a couple exciting other things that I’m part of musically, that I can’t really digress much into. It’s a year of creation. And hopefully it won’t take me… well, it might take loads of time. I don’t know how long it’s gonna take to write some good music, do you know what I mean? It’s been a minute since I’ve been in the lab, so we’ll see how it goes.

    The Latest Pop Music News & Releases





    Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: RAYE On Her Long Road To Stardom, Writing Songs With Beyoncé & Her “Really Beautiful” Bond With Charli XCX

    British singer-songwriter RAYE has been making waves in the music industry for years, but it wasn’t until recently that she received her first-ever GRAMMY nomination. The talented artist has been nominated for Best Dance Recording for her collaboration with David Guetta and MORTEN on the track “Make It To Heaven.”

    RAYE’s journey to this moment has been a long and challenging one, but her hard work and dedication have paid off. She first burst onto the scene in 2016 with her debut EP “Welcome to the Winter,” which garnered critical acclaim and helped her establish herself as a rising star in the music world.

    In the years since, RAYE has continued to release hit after hit, collaborating with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Beyoncé. The two artists worked together on the track “Bigger” from Beyoncé’s album “The Lion King: The Gift,” and RAYE described the experience as “surreal” and “a dream come true.”

    But perhaps one of RAYE’s most special collaborations has been with fellow singer-songwriter Charli XCX. The two artists have formed a “really beautiful” bond, with RAYE describing Charli as “incredible” and “such a talented songwriter.”

    As she prepares for the upcoming GRAMMY Awards, RAYE is grateful for the recognition and the opportunity to share her music with a wider audience. She hopes that her journey will inspire other aspiring artists to never give up on their dreams and to always stay true to themselves.

    With her unique sound, powerful lyrics, and infectious energy, RAYE is sure to continue making a name for herself in the music industry for years to come. And who knows, perhaps this GRAMMY nomination is just the beginning of an incredible career ahead.

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    2. RAYE music career
    3. RAYE Beyoncé collaboration
    4. Charli XCX friendship
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    #Meet #FirstTime #GRAMMY #Nominee #RAYE #Long #Road #Stardom #Writing #Songs #Beyoncé #Beautiful #Bond #Charli #XCX

  • From Showtime to Stardom, Unforgettable Eras in Lakers History


    The Los Angeles Lakers have long been synonymous with basketball excellence, and their storied history is punctuated by three distinct eras that have shaped the franchise’s legacy. From the dazzling “Showtime” era of the 1980s to the dominant Shaq and Kobe dynasty of the early 2000s, and now to the LeBron James-led resurgence, the Lakers have consistently redefined greatness in the NBA. Each of these periods has not only brought championships to Los Angeles but has also left an indelible mark on the sport, influencing playing styles, fan engagement, and the very culture of basketball.

    The Showtime Era

    The Lakers of the 1980s personified “Showtime,” a version of basketball that was as dazzling as it was dominant. With Magic Johnson orchestrating from the point, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar anchoring the middle, and “Big Game” James Worthy at forward, and the legendary Pat Riley calling the shots from the bench, the Lakers would become a gold standard for the NBA.

    The Lakers reached eight NBA Finals from 1980 through 1988, capturing five championships. Magic’s court vision and Kareem’s unstoppable skyhook were the very definitions of a mix of athleticism and precision that captured fans’ hearts and molded the modern NBA.

    One of the defining moments of the era came in the 1980 NBA Finals when Magic, a rookie, played center in Game 6 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Johnson scored 42 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out seven assists, leading the Lakers to their first title of the decade. The Showtime Lakers were not only basketball icons but also a cultural phenomenon, influencing everything from fashion to media coverage of the sport.

    Shaq and Kobe, a Dynasty for the Ages

    The next defining chapter in Lakers history was written in the late 1990s and into the 2000s, as the Lakers had at their helm the dynamic duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Shaq was one of the most physically imposing players ever to take the court and Kobe would eventually become one of the most skilled and relentless players the game has ever seen. According to the experts at the Action Network, this was the single most dominant era in Lakers history.

    The year 2000 saw Shaq and Kobe take the Lakers to their first NBA championship together, leading the team through a dynasty that won three back-to-back championships: 2000, 2001 and 2002. In all three series, Shaq took home the Finals MVP award for his dominant displays in the post. The factor that made O’Neal such a nightmare to opponents was the ability to overpower in-paint defenders and his 2000 season, in which he finished averaging 29.7 points, 13.6 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game, stands as one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history.

    But equally important to the Lakers’ success was Kobe Bryant’s relentless pursuit of greatness and his developing leadership qualities. By 2002, Kobe had begun to carve out his own legacy, often taking over games in crucial moments. Despite these tensions between the two stars, especially over the question of who was to take charge, their on-court chemistry powered a dynasty. Kobe Bryant’s persistence and clutch performances in the 2009 and 2010 Finals would bring two more championships to Los Angeles, and secured his status as one of the all-time great Lakers.

    LeBron’s Arrival, a New Era of Greatness

    With the addition of LeBron James, arguably one of the best players to have played the game of basketball, to their roster in 2018 came a new era of Lakers basketball. The versatility he provides as a player, coupled with great leadership and an even greater basketball IQ, adds more layers to an already richly storied legacy for the Lakers.

    In his second season with the team, LeBron led the Lakers to their 17th championship in 2020, tying the franchise with the Boston Celtics for most championships in NBA history. LeBron’s leadership led the Lakers through the 2020 bubble playoffs.

    Despite the many challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and the extremely long layoff, LeBron willed the Lakers to victory over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. LeBron was named Finals MVP for the fourth time in his career, further helping his case as one of the all-time greats.

    LeBron’s presence once again made the Lakers an NBA contender and brought new relevance to the franchise. As a player who elevates those around him while leading his team to victory, he has been nothing short of a symbol of excellence. With LeBron still going strong, this team’s future is as bright as can be, with a vision to add more championships to an already illustrious history.





    The Los Angeles Lakers have a rich and storied history, filled with unforgettable eras that have captivated fans and solidified the team’s place as one of the most iconic franchises in sports. From the “Showtime” era of the 1980s to the superstar-studded teams of the early 2000s, the Lakers have consistently been at the forefront of the NBA. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and relive some of the most memorable moments in Lakers history.

    The “Showtime” era, led by the dynamic duo of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was a time of fast-paced, high-flying basketball that revolutionized the game. With players like James Worthy, Byron Scott, and Michael Cooper rounding out the roster, the Lakers won five championships in the 1980s and brought a level of excitement and entertainment to the court that had never been seen before.

    In the early 2000s, the Lakers ushered in a new era of dominance with the arrival of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. The duo led the team to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002, solidifying their place in Lakers lore and etching their names alongside the all-time greats in NBA history.

    More recently, the Lakers have once again found themselves at the top of the basketball world with the arrival of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The duo led the team to a championship in 2020, adding to the team’s already impressive collection of titles and cementing their status as one of the premier franchises in the league.

    From Magic Johnson’s no-look passes to Kobe Bryant’s clutch shots, the Lakers have had no shortage of unforgettable moments throughout their history. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer to the game, the Lakers’ legacy is one that will continue to inspire and awe for generations to come.

    Tags:

    1. Los Angeles Lakers history
    2. Showtime Lakers
    3. Lakers basketball
    4. NBA legends
    5. Magic Johnson
    6. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
    7. Lakers championships
    8. Lakers dynasty
    9. Lakers legends
    10. Lakers highlights

    #Showtime #Stardom #Unforgettable #Eras #Lakers #History

  • Addison Rae Goes Deep on TikTok Stardom, Her Debut Album, and More



    I
    ’m looking for the black Range Rover with the glittery pink license-plate frame.

    It’s the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and the passenger pickup at LAX is packed and lawless. When the SUV pulls up, Addison Rae is behind the wheel in a striped pinafore with nothing underneath it but black tape in two giant X’s covering her nipples. 

    It was Rae’s idea to pick me up from the airport, and her car is as chaotic and ultra-femme as her persona. There are Chanel lipsticks and full-size bottles of Ex Nihilo perfumes in the compartment beneath the touch screen. Her back seat has at least one tutu, a wig, an embellished bra she found on Etsy, and a copy of Vanity Fair’s October 1992 issue, featuring a naked Madonna hanging off a pink pool floatie on the cover. The VIP pass from Charli XCX’s Brat release party last summer still sits in her car door, and beaded necklaces made by the songwriters who helped on her upcoming debut album hang around the rearview mirror. 

    “Welcome to my place,” Rae says, giggling, as I settle in. She turns down her personal playlist, which features songs by Madonna, Prince, Marilyn Monroe, and Kate Bush, as she smoothly navigates her way out of the airport and toward my hotel in Beverly Hills. She just moved to a new home nearby, but she’s not ready to show it off yet. It probably doesn’t look too dissimilar from her car; she says the only décor she has up yet  are bras hanging from the light fixtures and a framed picture of Judy Garland mounted on a wall.

    It wasn’t long ago that Rae, 24, moved from Louisiana to Los Angeles solely off the success of her TikTok page. She became so famous on that app that she has 88.5 million followers and is still the fifth most-followed person on it, despite having largely stepped away. But TikTok celebrity was never the end goal. Since childhood, Rae has had superstar ambitions. She dreamed of acting, singing, or dancing her way to the stage or screen, by any means necessary. Now, Rae may finally be proving to the world — and herself — that those ambitions can be realities.

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    “Timing is everything,” Rae tells me during our 48 hours together. Everything about Rae’s 2024 has definitely felt like perfect timing. That  February, her friend Charli XCX kicked off her Brat rollout by hosting a Boiler Room party in Brooklyn. There, Rae sang her and Charli’s song “2 Die 4,” from Rae’s 2023 EP, AR, to an ecstatic crowd of Gen Z club kids. It was her first public singing performance ever.

    About a month later, Charli and Rae released their second song, a remix of Brat lead single “Von Dutch.” It was a cult classic in the making, with Rae doing her best Britney Spears before unleashing a high-pitched scream that immediately went viral. Charli’s sixth album ended up defining the summer of 2024, and Rae came along for the ride. 

    Then, in August, Rae built upon the buzz with “Diet Pepsi,” the first single off her first album, due this year. The track — a dreamy, alt-pop song about being young and in love — has touches of Born to Die-era Lana Del Rey and a black-and-white video that references both the 1965 cult film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Bruce Conner’s Toni Basil-led experimental movie Breakaway. 

    Everything about this new Rae was strange, campy, and, most important, fun. She’d been known as a family-friendly if cheeky influencer — whipping her hip-length hair, scrunching her button nose, and flashing those saucer-like brown eyes down the barrel of her iPhone as she pantomimed along to the lyrics of whatever song was trending at the time. Now, it was as if she’d taken a John Waters left turn, like a cheerleader who got lost in her high school’s art department. 

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    She followed “Diet Pepsi” with the dazzling and hypnotic “Aquamarine.” She aligned herself with the music and fashion world’s most beloved avant-gardists — Charli, Arca, Rosalía, Petra Collins, Interview Magazine’s Mel Ottenberg and Dara Allen — who helped bring her vision to life everywhere from music videos to remixes to surprise performances at Madison Square Garden. 

    “It’s been fun to watch her evolve,” Charli says. “Everything she does relates back to her art — every item of clothing she wears, everything she says in a red-carpet interview, everything she tweets — it all is a part of the world-building.”

    Swimsuit by Chloé

    The rise of Rae has come with almost as many questions as she has followers: How did the popular girl with an overflow of Southern charm get invited to the cool kids’ table? How did an influencer create such eclectic and critically acclaimed singles? Can she become the first person to translate TikTok fame into full-blown pop stardom? The truth is Rae has been doing her homework, studying her idols down to their smallest moves. And like her heroes — Madonna, Marilyn, Judy, Britney — she knows a big gamble can make for a bigger impact. 

    Crossing over was “always the plan,” she says. A couple of years ago, she stepped back from posting frequently to give her dreams a real chance. “It was a risk, knowing that people don’t want to see somebody try something new.”

    “ON THE BLOCKS! On the blocks!”

    It’s been 12 hours since Rae dropped me off, and boot-camp instructor Pauly Solo is yelling into a headset over nightclub-decibel EDM remixes. Solo’s invite-only gym is packed this Monday morning. Pictures of Kobe Bryant, Bruce Lee, and Prince hang above huge dance-studio mirrors. Every stair-climber, treadmill, and mat is occupied by a glistening body, each person sweating and trying to catch their breath. 

    Rae is among them, laser-focused and sprinting on a treadmill in the most pop-star-coded gym outfit possible: a black bralette, matching micro shorts, thick coral calf socks, and a pair of gray Hokas. Her recently bleached blond hair is in a loose ponytail. This is her second workout of the day; soon after dawn, she joined her friend Rosalía at Barry’s Bootcamp. Each day she’s been doing some type of workout: Pilates, dance, cardio (though not usually twice in one morning).

    After class, Rae puts on an oversize denim button-down embroidered with Winnie the Pooh characters and grabs her pewter Prada handbag. Her New Orleans Saints cap is a bit too big, falling over her eyes. We hop back in the Range Rover and set out on her usual morning routine: Beverly Hills Juice followed by Blue Bottle, where she grabs an iced NOLA, her favorite, as a friendly barista gently ribs her for wearing a Saints cap in Rams territory. 

     This weekend roughly marks her fifth anniversary in L.A. Around Thanksgiving 2019, Rae dropped out of Louisiana State University, where she was studying broadcast journalism, hoping to someday cover sports. 

    “I kind of thought that was my in to the entertainment industry, in a way that people wouldn’t look at me like, ‘Oh, please. You’re never going to be able to move to Hollywood,’” she explains. 

    The previous summer, Rae had downloaded a new app called TikTok. The short-form video platform had merged with popular lip-synch app Musical.ly in 2018, absorbing its young stars and fan base. Around that time, however, it was still a mélange of memes trying to find its footing somewhere between the irreverence of Vine and the personality-­fueled labor of YouTube.

     For Rae, it was just another social media platform to try. She started making videos, often lip-synching to a song or some dialogue. One day, she posted a clip that, she says, got more than 50,000 likes: a sun-kissed Rae with long, beachy waves mouths along to a trending sound bite before a hand grabs her hair and pulls her offscreen. The gears that turn TikTok have always been opaque, but there was no question: The algorithm loved this cute girl with the cleft chin and the perpetual smile.

     Rae stayed on top of every trending audio clip, but it was the viral dances that got her the most attention; TikTok was in need of its own homegrown stars, and the kids-next-door like Rae and her peers were the perfect representatives for a new generation’s ­burgeoning identity. She watched her follower count steadily climb. Soon, brands were clamoring for her to promote their products, from obscure fast-fashion sites to American Eagle and L’Oréal.

    “Even though it was still at such a small scale, I think I was like, ‘This is how I’m going to be able to do what I’ve always wanted to do,’” she says. 

    College wasn’t really working out for Rae, anyway. Broadcast journalism wasn’t the fit she hoped it would be. (“All my prayers out to people who have to write papers on things that they don’t care about,” she says.) Plus, she had failed to make LSU’s Tiger Girls dance team, a lifelong dream for the girl who had been dancing competitively since she was six. “I had to really reassess my goals,” she says.

    In October 2019, Rae broke 1 million followers on TikTok. She was starting to get recognized at football games and on campus, so with her family’s support, she left school and headed to Los Angeles with her mom. That December, Rae became a founding member of the Hype House, a now-defunct content-­creation collective. Alongside Dixie and Charli D’Amelio, Chase Hudson, and Thomas Petrou, she was part of a new Gen Z Brat Pack — everyone wanted to know who was dating or feuding or duetting who. Brands turned Rae and her peers into ambassadors of the new American dream, where anyone can become rich and famous with just their phone, good lighting, and the willingness to post as often as they can.

    “I felt like I was dropped in the middle of The Truman Show,” Rae says. Her mom went back to Louisiana and left her 19-year-old to her own devices. “It was so different and weird and fun. I didn’t feel like I was curating anything. It felt very much like discovery.”

    “I WAS LIKE, ‘TIKTOK IS HOW I’M GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO.’ ” 

    Those first few months in L.A. were as glamorous as Rae could have hoped; she went to New York and the Bahamas, premieres and parties. Paparazzi would wait outside the restaurants she would frequent. Everyone was young, hot, and hungry. But as Covid-19 began spreading, the chaos cooled down. Rae’s mom came back to L.A., this time with Rae’s dad and two younger brothers. The family found a more permanent home together.

    Despite her success, it certainly wasn’t her goal to make a living on social media forever. A month before lockdown, she went to the Sunset Tower Hotel’s bar with talent managers Justin Greenberg and Joe Izzi.

    “I want to act, and I want to sing, and I want to dance,” she told them. “I know I can if I just get the chance to prove myself.”

    Izzi and Greenberg believed in her. That summer, they helped Rae land the lead role in Netflix’s He’s All That, a gender-swapped remake of the 1999 teen classic, where she would play an influencer who gives the dorky art student a makeover. (“I mean, who would know it better than myself?” she jokes.)

    Outfit: Vintage lace bodysuit and gloves from Palace Costume. Shoes: Vintage from New York Vintage.

    Outfit and earrings: Vintage from New York Vintage

    Her managers booked her first songwriting sessions, too. “As soon as I got the opportunity to start writing music and acting, I did,” she explains. “When I moved here, I was like, ‘OK, I have to start acting classes. I have to start singing. I have to start these things immediately, because I’m already so behind.’”

    Rae dropped “Obsessed” in March 2021. Produced by Benny Blanco and co-written by Rae herself, “Obsessed” was a pretty standard dance-pop song: catchy and self-empowering with the tongue-in-cheek chorus “I’m obsessed with me-e-e as much as you.”

     “I still think that song’s good,” Rae says, smiling. “Obsessed” was, by almost all definitions, a flop. For all the songs she helped to make famous on TikTok, her own debut didn’t even crack the Hot 100. It was widely panned, with one critic writing that Rae should “stick to lip-synching.” On Twitter, viral posts reveled in her failure.

     “I think there’s room for constructive criticism,” she says, diplomatically. “[But] it almost wasn’t even about the song. It was [about] me doing it.” That same month, she faced backlash after she performed the TikTok dances of the day on Jimmy Fallon. Viewers pointed out that they had largely originated with BIPOC choreographers who got nothing for their creations. And while Rae wasn’t the first creator to appear on late night for a TikTok-dance segment, she became the focal point of the conversation. (Shortly after the controversy made headlines, Rae responded by saying that the original choreographers “deserve all the credit.”)

    “MEETING CHARLI XCX WAS A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN MY LIFE. SHE’S BEEN A BIG SISTER AND MENTOR FOR ME.”

    In August, when He’s All That debuted on Netflix, the reaction online was just as dismal. But Rae’s performance earned some minor props from critics, who saw her doing her best with a weak remake of a beloved film. And unlike “Obsessed,” He’s All That was a hit, becoming the top film on the streaming service the week it was released. (Soon after, Netflix would sign Rae to a multimillion-­dollar, multipicture deal; she’ll start filming her next project for them this year.)

    Still, the reactions weighed on her. There was a flood of online hate; her place, according to the most vocal, was on TikTok, and any aspirations she had beyond that were a joke. 

     “I had to rethink everything,” she explains. “And 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?’”

    Rae had built enough of a financial foundation through brand partnerships and the Netflix deal to step away from TikTok as much as she could, going from five posts a day to maybe one or none at all. Behind the scenes, she was looking for auditions and more writing sessions. It was time to get to work.

    ONCE THE ICED NOLAs have been drained, Rae suggests we walk over to one of her favorite cafes, Joan’s on Third, for her post-workout meal of scrambled eggs and tuna salad. Sitting outside is a reminder how embedded she is in Beverly Hills. She waves down a woman who is another regular at Pauly Solo’s boot camps.

    “I missed you at class today,” Rae says, Southern charm hard at work. Not long after, her best friend Lexee Smith — a dancer who has been serving as Rae’s creative consultant — walks in to grab lunch. Smith doesn’t live far from Rae, having just moved into a new spot. As they’re making plans to hang later, a group of girls boldly approaches our table. “We don’t want to interrupt, but we’re massive fans,” says one, still in her school uniform. “Our friend dressed as you for Halloween!”

    A phone is whipped out to show Rae a pic of their group costume: Charli XCX and all of the featured artists on her Brat album remixes. There’s a Lorde and an Ariana Grande and, as promised, an Addison Rae. The teen who dressed as Rae shows off her interpretation: She glued a piece of paper that read “Diet Pepsi” to the back of her jeans, like the art for the single. Clearly thrilled, Rae gasps, then smiles wide for a selfie with them.

    Shorts by All-in Studio

    “[Meeting] Charli XCX was an obviously pivotal moment in my life,” Rae tells me. “She has been such a big sister and mentor for me.” After dropping “Obsessed,” Rae started taking more studio sessions with other writers and producers. Charli, who was recording 2022’s Crash at the time, was one of them. She remembers the “spark” she felt meeting Rae at a West Hollywood studio that day.

    “She burst into the room in Ugg boots and hot pants after parking her pink Tesla in the driveway and exclaimed, ‘Boys are stupid!’ and then immediately was like, ‘Wait, we should write a song about that!’” Charli recalls. “I know that sounds simple and maybe silly to some people, but to me that was such a sign of instinct and fearlessness.” 

    Charli listened to some of Rae’s other songs, like “2 Die 4,” which Charli loved. Even though Rae was starting to assemble a dream team of collaborators, her debut project was eventually shelved. She focused on auditions, booking a role in Eli Roth’s slasher film Thanksgiving, and starred in a Snapchat reality show titled Addison Rae Goes Home, where she headed back to Louisiana to reconnect with her roots. In 2022, however, an act of fate occurred by way of an invasion of privacy: Rough versions of a group of songs she’d recorded leaked online. 

    “It felt so terrible,” she admits. She still doesn’t know how they were stolen. “I was really hurt.”

    But something strange happened: Those rough demos began to go viral — and not just in an ephemeral TikTok kind of way. People began begging for Rae to release them. Charli was begging to be on them.

    “Charli had texted me and was like, ‘I heard “2 Die 4” leaked. You know I love that song. Let me do a verse,’” Rae says.

    Multiple critics called the songs “flawless,” while others compared her to Britney Spears. “I’m not super religious, but I am spiritual,” Rae says. “I think everything happened for a reason. Thank God the songs leaked.”

    Even with the buzz, few record labels were clamoring to sign an influencer whose initial attempt at a music career flopped so spectacularly. “There were a lot of people that could not be less interested,” she admits. 

    Her saving grace was Columbia Records CEO Ron Perry, whom she knew through her boyfriend, Grammy-nominated producer Omer Fedi. They set up a meeting.

    “I walked in with a binder, and I made a slideshow,” Rae says. The presentation was full of pictures and word clouds that she felt represented who she would be as a performer. “I just mood-boarded my vibes. I literally had no music to play him at that point, so it was about trust. Like, ‘Yes, I’m in the clouds, and I enjoy being there. But I’m also serious.’”

    Boa: Vintage Valentino

    Perry was impressed and ended up signing Rae in late 2023. Around then, Charli reached out again, this time about the “Von Dutch” remix.

     “‘You’re sitting in your dad’s basement while I’m chasing my dreams’ was just some silly note that I had written when I was on a plane,” Rae says, but she sent it to Charli, who encouraged her to put that in her verse.

    “[Charli] respected me and my ideas,” Rae tells me. “It was the first time I really took the step on my own to be confident in the ideas I had and follow that. I owe that all to Charli.”

    Rae started to do smaller sessions, usually just her and a producer, as a way of challenging herself to trust her instincts. She met songwriters Luka Kloser and Elvira Anderfjärd, who are signed to Max Martin’s publishing company, MxM Music, and had been cutting their teeth working with Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, respectively. They’re both around the same age as Rae and had been familiar with her; Kloser “knew everything about Hype House” and “absolutely stayed on top of all the drama during Covid,” Kloser says, though neither had any idea what Rae was looking to create musically. “We were both shocked [that] her taste leaned very left and underground at times,” Kloser adds. 

    “I THINK GLAMOUR IS JUST EVERYTHING. I WANT TO BE PRIM AND POISED. MARILYN MONROE NEVER SAID ‘Y’ALL.’ ”

    Rae met the two songwriters in L.A. that February, showing up to the studio in a pair of pink Pleaser pumps, leather pants, and a sequin belt. (“You look good, you feel good, you do good.”) The three women listened to music all day, but weren’t getting far with their ideas. As the session neared its end, they decided to try one more idea.

    “Luka started playing the piano, and then literally, it was like magic,” Rae remembers. They began humming a melody that would end up becoming the chorus of “Diet Pepsi.”

    Kloser, Anderfjärd, and Rae would go on to co-write every song on Rae’s album, working between L.A., New York, and Sweden. When they were at the MxM offices, Martin himself would sometimes say hi. As a pop devotee, and a Britney Spears megafan, Rae was awestruck when he offered her some advice.

    “I had told him I struggle with talking about things that are really close to me,” she recalls. “He’s like, ‘The only way you’re going to really push yourself [is] to say things that are true and real. Once you spill it out, you can always take it down, but if you start shallow, it’s hard to bump it up.’”

    Rae teased her new music with a cryptic post in June, sharing a clip of herself in a bikini and stilettos walking underwater in a pool as a snippet of the not-yet-released “Aquamarine” played over it. But Rae always knew “Diet Pepsi” would be the real reintroduction, and her gut instinct was right: She made her Hot 100 debut.

    Shorts by All-In Studios. Belt by Miu Miu. Earrings by Chanel.

    Her follow-up single, “Aquamarine,” was the third song the trio wrote, penned during a stay in Sweden at MxM’s headquarters. ​“The word is so beautiful and the color is so gorgeous that I was like, ‘How can I make a song that contextualizes that feeling?’” says Rae. The result was a Nineties-style deep-house track about transformation and rebirth that squashed any worries that Rae couldn’t follow up “Diet Pepsi.” Her heroes were starting to take notice: Ariana Grande was effusive when the two met, while Lady Gaga used “Aquamarine” in a TikTok video. She even got a major co-sign from the avant-pop producer Arca (Ye’s Yeezus, Björk’s Vulnicura), who released a remix called “Arcamarine.”

    As we drive around, Rae plays me more tracks from the album. What she shares are hypnotic, trance-like pop songs, pulsating and lush, which will no doubt accomplish the primary goal of Rae and her collaborators: to make people dance. The lyrics are threaded with images of a life that’s young, fun, and free: being naked on a beach, flying to Paris on a whim, being drunk at a bar. There’s no ego or self-seriousness; as we hear her exclaim “I’m the richest girl in the world!” toward the end of one track, she laughs at herself with her whole body from behind the wheel. 

    An upcoming single, “High Fashion,” dives into the world of couture and is as quotable and contagious as her previous two. Over a Range Rover-vibrating bass, she offers up the cheeky chorus “I don’t need your drugs/I’d rather get high fashion.” After Rae wrote that line, she built a collage “of shoes and glamorous things and Marilyn Monroe.” In fact, almost every song would begin with Rae sharing a mood board with Kloser and Anderfjärd.

     “With Addison, it can come down to a rock she saw,” Kloser adds. “She’ll bring up a specific tree and say, ‘This is what “Diet Pepsi” feels like.’ And if Addison Rae says that tree is ‘Diet Pepsi,’ that tree is ‘Diet Pepsi.’”

    THERE’S NO SHORTAGE of things Addison Rae loves. 

    “I love a yogurt for breakfast,” she says after asking what I had to eat that morning. She’s effusive about everything: small dogs, candy, shopping, having stuff, Hollywood, every song we hear, a Christmas tree adorned with sea turtles (“It’s giving ‘Aquamarine,’ no?”), the movie Elemental, “a jewel tone,” vintage books, vintage magazines, when people let her order food for them, glamour, doing a British accent, saying “Love you” to total strangers.

    After lunch, Rae takes me to Trashy Lingerie, a Los Angeles institution housed in a giant pink building. She’s in her element, piling the embellished, one-of-a-kind bustiers and panties into her arms and squealing at the top hats and the mannequins and the friendly dogs roaming the store. 

    “I think glamour is just everything,” she had told me earlier in the day. The reinvention of Addison Rae has purposeful hints of Norma Jean-to-Marilyn Monroe; she’s dropped her Southern accent and swears she “used to be more country.”

    “I want to be prim and poised,” she admits. “Marilyn Monroe never said ‘y’all.’”

    For a long time, dancing  allowed Rae to find the poise she craved. “When life was chaotic, performing and using my body as a tool was something I could control,” she says. Rae began studying ballet, jazz, and contemporary styles when she was six. “It was an escape, to dance.”

    Her childhood was rarely steady. Addison Rae Easterling was born in Lafayette, a city on the southern end of Louisiana, to makeup artist Sheri Nicole Easterling and real-estate manager Monty Lopez. Her parents, then unmarried, broke up shortly after Rae was born, though they would end up having two more kids, two ­weddings, and two divorces over the next 20 years. 

    Thanks to the marital ups-and-downs as well as her dad taking on new jobs, her family jumped around, which was hard but helped her become the type of person who can adapt easily. “Moving schools a million times, I had to just keep making new friends,” she says. “If I get thrown into a scenario, I can figure it out pretty quickly.” Having grown up in a Catholic family and community, Rae attended multiple private, religious schools. A move to Houston marked the first time she attended public school, an overwhelming shift. Before she started high school, they moved again, this time to Shreveport. 

    Along the way, Rae began dancing less and less, but it was an early dance studio that planted the idea of pop stardom in her head. She credits both her teachers and her mom’s MTV obsession with introducing her to the music that shaped her: Madonna and Michael Jackson videos; Lady Gaga’s debut album, The Fame; and fellow Louisiana native Britney Spears, who gave Rae hope that she could make it out of the bayou, too. “I remember being like, ‘Whoa, music is everything,’” she recalls. 

    In 2020, when Lopez and Easterling moved with their sons, ages six and 12 at the time, to L.A., Rae’s TikTok presence was often a family affair. Lopez and Easterling danced alongside her, building their own followings on the app. “When social media opportunities were being brought to me, all I wanted to do was help people that I love and care about,” Rae says. “It made sense for me to keep my family involved. I think I was scared and I was alone. It was a lot to adjust to, and I had lived with my parents all my life, so it felt like the right thing to do at the moment.”

    After a couple of years, the family dynamic began to fall apart. By 2022, Lopez and Easterling’s marriage was publicly crumbling, with tabloids and TikTok investigators piecing together clues from their posts for salacious stories, often involving other low-level influencers. Their second divorce was confirmed that November. 

    At the time, Rae was silent about the drama, aside from unfollowing both her mom and dad. Eventually, her parents reached a better place, but the situation left a fracture. “I feel a lot of guilt for what my family experienced, and responsibility,” she says, about having pulled them into the fold of her fame. “I think it’s just unfortunate that it was exposed like it was.”

    She began seeing a therapist and says her relationship with her parents is “always a work in progress.” (While she still hasn’t refollowed her dad on Instagram, she follows her mom again.) Easterling, Lopez, and Rae’s brothers moved back to Lafayette in 2023. Easterling remarried last year and has ­massively pulled back on her own social media presence. Lopez remains active on TikTok.

    “[MAX MARTIN SAID], ‘THE ONLY WAY YOU’RE GOING TO REALLY PUSH YOURSELF [IS] TO SAY THINGS THAT ARE TRUE AND REAL. ONCE YOU SPILL IT OUT, YOU CAN ALWAYS TAKE IT DOWN, BUT IF YOU START SHALLOW, IT’S HARD TO BUMP IT UP.’”

    “Everybody just wants to survive. Can’t blame them,” Rae adds. “I can only take responsibility for the things that I chose.”

    Rae still believes in love. In fact, she loves love. “The Libra in me is a hopeless romantic,” she says. When I ask if she’s still dating Fedi, she confirms in a shy, quiet voice. Even though their three-year romance hasn’t been totally private (red-carpet appearances, social media posts, cozy pap shots), she says it’s the one topic that’s off limits.

    “I’m very guarded when it comes to relationships, because my first public relationship taught me a lot about myself,” she says. In 2020, she began dating fellow creator Bryce Hall; they shared much of their courtship with their massive followings all over social media, dancing together, making vlogs.

    “I think he cheated on me,” Rae says matter-of-factly. “He says he didn’t.”

    When the relationship ended, Rae didn’t talk much about it; Hall, however, did. He repeatedly denied the cheating accusations. “That was a shit show,” she says. “He was very vocal about everything, and it was a mess.” 

    She’s less angry now. “I believe there’s good in everyone, so I like to think there’s a good part of him,” she says. Hall has since become a celebrity boxer and one of the leading Gen Z MAGA bros. “We were really young,” Rae says. 

    Rae doesn’t like to dwell on these memories; she’s not big on sadness, especially in her work. “I really struggle with being like, ‘All right, time to be sad and have just a guitar on the song,’” she says. “I applaud people that can do that. Sitting with your emotions in stillness is difficult.… I would actually be surprised if one day I write a really sad song, because I just can’t even imagine.”

    “IT’D BE SO FUN to have a dog right now … a dog or a cigarette.”

    Rae has driven us out to Malibu to watch the sun set over Lechuza Beach, a gorgeous, rocky stretch of sand. The entrance is like a secret garden, a shrouded staircase that is trying its best to hide from the throngs of visitors looking for this exact type of postcard-perfect view.

    We spread out a feast from Erewhon over a couple of towels: chicken, Japanese potatoes, pomegranate seeds, pineapple. It’s a chilly afternoon, and we have the beach to ourselves. At least we thought we did.

    “Is this a nude beach?” says a man who can’t be much older than 35. He is already fully naked, thankfully standing several feet away as he asks a question he seems to have already answered.

    “You look like you’re having fun,” Rae says before he continues his walk along the water. When he’s out of earshot, Rae informs me that this is definitely not a nude beach. Inspired nonetheless, she strips off her blue silk button-down to let her black lace bustier air out.

    “It would be so my luck if I took off all my clothes right now, that there would be paparazzi here,” she grumbles. Rae takes issue with a few misconceptions about her. For starters, she doesn’t let tabloid photographers know where she’ll be. “Don’t you think if I called the paparazzi I would look better in all these photos?” she says.

    For all the excitement that follows her, Rae’s life is pretty quiet. She’s not big on partying. She’ll go out dancing but is a “lightweight” with drinking. She’ll smoke weed “occasionally,” and regardless of gossip-y assumptions online, she definitely does not do cocaine. “I have ADHD! I have a lot of energy, and I talk really crazy,” she says. “That’s just who I am.”

    “TIKTOK DEFINITELY GAVE ME A LOT OF THINGS, SO IT WOULD BE REALLY SAD TO [SEE IT] GO, BUT HOPEFULLY THE THINGS THAT I CREATE AND PUT OUT SURPASS THAT PLATFORM.”

    Rae has maintained several close relationships with some very famous friends. She pulls out a deck of cards Aubrey Plaza gave her while they were shooting the upcoming comedy Animal Friends last spring. Plaza and Dan Levy were the only cast members on location in Bulgaria before Rae joined them. While Plaza was pretty unfamiliar with Rae’s career, Levy knew her from an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians Rae appeared in back in 2021, when she was close with Kourtney Kardashian. (On the status of their friendship, Rae says, “She got married and has a baby now.… I’ve lived a few lives.”)

    Levy and Plaza immediately hit it off with Rae. “The amazing thing about Addison is that where most people’s ego is, she just has creativity and curiosity,” Levy says. “That is such a rare quality in a person, especially somebody with her social media standing.”

    The trio would play poker on set, eventually graduating to Bulgarian casinos. “Was she good? She got better,” Levy jokes. But her allure got her far. “She happened to sit by a professional poker player who was charmed by her and said, ‘Let’s put our money together, and I’ll make you a fortune.’” Rae walked out with over $1,000. Levy left empty-handed.

    Rae played her demos for her new friends on set too, and they watched together as the accolades for “Diet Pepsi” rolled in. “I was like, ‘There’s my baby girl blowing up,’” Plaza says. “You could just tell she has a star quality.”  

    Charli XCX has called Rae “a fucking genius,” and Rosalía echoes similar sentiments: “She’s the absolute project manager of her work and has a very clear vision of what she’s creating. Her choreographies seem so beautiful to me. I love how she brings the 2000s American pop star back to these days.”

    AS THE SKY TURNS pink and the sun begins to set, Rae grows tired of talking about herself. She starts throwing questions my way: What kind of animal would I be? Would I ever be a nun? Will Rihanna ever release more music? (A lion, absolutely not, and I wish I knew, respectively.)

    The most telling of them sneaks its way in as we contemplate feeding the seagulls: “Are you worried about the mean comments you’re going to get from interviewing me?”

    No matter how much one adores fame, it can still be prickly. As Rae navigates her way into her new, post-social media era, she’s fascinated by how people cling to whatever idea they have of her, like she’s incapable of being edgy or cool or even weird or progressive. The replies on almost every post of hers still claim she’s racist and MAGA, largely from undeveloped political views she held as a preteen raised in a conservative environment, as well as a maybe-too-polite interaction with President Donald Trump a few years ago. (Her first and only political endorsement came in 2024, for Kamala Harris.) Rae is still growing and learning about herself and the world around her, even if people can’t see it that way. 

    “People have decided who I am,” she says. She’s savored every curveball she’s been able to throw, though. She loves watching the surprise on people’s faces when they hear her music or see her daring red-carpet looks. But she still doesn’t mind leaning into the all-American side of herself. “I’ll be your girl next door,” Rae says, “but maybe there’s a wild side to the girl next door.”

     Rae may seem unbothered, but she’s still logged on. She knows everything she does starts a conversation, for better or worse. She sees the rumors and the questions and the misunderstandings. At the very least, she no longer worries that her career can persist in spite of it. She knows it can.

    After our snacks, we go for a walk. The naked man is gone. The beach fills up, as more people arrive for the sunset with their dogs and their cigarettes and their own picnic spreads. We try to make perfect circles with our toes in the wet sand before heading to Lucky’s, a white-tablecloth steakhouse in Malibu, for dinner. I let Rae order for us: chili, steak, chicken parm, creamed corn, salad, a couple of mocktails. 

    In the following weeks, news will spread that TikTok could be banned in the U.S. President Biden had signed legislation that would block the distribution of the app if parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell it by Jan. 19. (The app would eventually shut down for 14 hours before President-elect Trump vowed to give the company an extension to find a buyer; its future remains unclear.)

    As we talk, it seems that just as a new chapter begins, Rae’s most pivotal one may be closing for good. “That’s that full moon for me,” she says. “TikTok definitely gave me a lot of things, so it would be really sad to [see it] go, but hopefully the things that I create and put out surpass that platform.”

    But there’s no need to dwell on the past. Her plans for the future are only as big as she can imagine: more movies, more songs, not to mention maybe playing her first headlining shows. All she can hope is that everything she does next will make people feel free and get them to dance  — and that she’ll continue to change minds along the way.

    “But I won’t beg for it,” she says. “I’ll work for it.”

    Production Credits

    Styling By MEL OTTENBERG at TOTAL WORLD. Hair by Lucas Wilson at DAY ONE STUDIOS Using GA.MA PROFESSIONAL and AMIKA. Makeup by PAT MCGRATH. Makeup Lead Assistant: JENNA KUCHERA at PAT MCGRATH. Nails by MEI KAWAJIRI at RED REPRESENTS using CHANEL BEAUTY. Set Design by LAUREN NIKROOZ at 11TH HOUSE AGENCY. Production by VLM PRODUCTIONS. Tailoring by MARIA DEL GRECO at LARS NORD STUDIOS. Lighting Director: JODOKUS DRIESSEN. Digital Technician: BRIAN ANDERSON. Photographic Assistance: FYODOR SHIRYAEV. Styling Assistance: ROMY SAFIYAH & CHLOE SHAAR. Hair Styling Assistance: CODY AINEY. Makeup Assistance: MIO HATTORI and CASSANDRA RAIMUNDI. Studio: SPRING STUDIOS



    Addison Rae Goes Deep on TikTok Stardom, Her Debut Album, and More

    In a recent interview, TikTok sensation Addison Rae opened up about her rise to fame on the popular social media platform and her upcoming debut album.

    Rae, who boasts over 100 million followers on TikTok, discussed how she got started on the app and the challenges she faced along the way. “I never expected to become so successful on TikTok,” she admitted. “It’s been a wild ride, but I’m grateful for the opportunities it has brought me.”

    The 20-year-old also revealed that she has been working on her debut album, which is set to be released later this year. “Music has always been a passion of mine, and I’m excited to share my original songs with my fans,” she said.

    Rae touched on the pressure of living in the public eye and how she copes with the constant scrutiny. “It can be tough at times, but I try to focus on the positive and block out the negativity,” she shared.

    Overall, Addison Rae remains humble and grateful for her success, and she is excited for what the future holds. Fans can expect to see more of her on TikTok, as well as hear her music on streaming platforms soon.

    Tags:

    Addison Rae, TikTok star, debut album, social media influencer, entertainment industry, celebrity interview, viral content, digital media, pop culture, music career, social media marketing, online presence, influencer marketing, content creation

    #Addison #Rae #Deep #TikTok #Stardom #Debut #Album

  • DiJonai Carrington talks rise to WNBA stardom, ‘crazy’ experience at TD Garden – NBC Sports Boston


    DiJonai Carrington envisioned her rise to WNBA superstardom two years before she earned Most Improved Player and All-Defensive First Team honors.

    In 2022, the Connecticut Sun star jotted down “Most Improved Player” and Sixth Woman of the Year” as her WNBA goals. Last season, Carrington earned a starting role and enjoyed a breakout campaign with 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game while earning a reputation as one of the league’s best defenders.

    On the latest episode of “Hoopin’” with Kayla Burton, Carrington reflected on setting and accomplishing those lofty goals.

    “I knew the work I was putting in and I know what I’m capable of,” Carrington told Burton. “I just was ready for the moment and it was just about opportunity for me. Once the opportunity came, I knew that everything else would kind of follow.”

    Carrington leveled up in every aspect of her game in 2024, but when she looks back at her impressive season, she is most proud of how her effort level never dwindled.

    “The biggest thing I was impressed with myself was my motor and the consistency,” Carrington said. “It’s easy to be good in spurts. It’s easy to be good for half a season for a few games against specific teams. But it’s hard to be consistent and to do that throughout a whole season on offense and defense.

    “So I think it was just being in shape and like I said, being prepared for that moment and just discipline, because I was able to just come in and be a spark the previous three years. This year it was like, no, you have to be able to sustain this for 30 minutes, however long I’m in the game.”

    On Aug. 2, 2024, Carrington and the Sun played in front of a sold-out crowd at TD Garden. On a Tuesday night, 19,156 tickets were sold to mark the most for a Sun game in the franchise’s history. The experience perfectly capped off Carrington’s unforgettable year.

    “That was crazy. Just that NBA arena-type vibe was just insane,” she said. “Having our big old posters — it was just so much buzz around it within the New England community and I think that was so exciting. And how excited the city got for the game was just insane. … So I’m excited to hopefully do more of that in the future.”

    The Sun will return to TD Garden for a showdown with phenom Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on July 15.

    Watch the full episode of “Hoopin’” with Carrington below or on YouTube:



    DiJonai Carrington Talks Rise to WNBA Stardom, ‘Crazy’ Experience at TD Garden – NBC Sports Boston

    DiJonai Carrington has been making waves in the WNBA with her impressive skills and tenacity on the court. In a recent interview with NBC Sports Boston, Carrington opened up about her journey to stardom and the surreal experience of playing at TD Garden.

    Carrington, who was drafted by the Connecticut Sun in the 2021 WNBA Draft, has quickly become a standout player in the league. Known for her scoring ability and defensive prowess, Carrington has proven to be a force to be reckoned with on the court.

    In the interview, Carrington discussed the challenges she faced on her path to the WNBA, including overcoming injuries and doubters. She credited her work ethic and determination for helping her reach her goals and become the player she is today.

    One of the highlights of Carrington’s career so far was playing at TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics. Carrington described the experience as “crazy” and said it was a dream come true to compete on such a storied court.

    As she continues to make a name for herself in the WNBA, Carrington remains focused on improving her game and helping her team succeed. With her talent and drive, it’s clear that Carrington has a bright future ahead of her in the league.

    To read more about DiJonai Carrington’s rise to stardom and her unforgettable experience at TD Garden, check out the full interview on NBC Sports Boston.

    Tags:

    DiJonai Carrington, WNBA star, TD Garden, NBC Sports Boston, WNBA rise, professional basketball player, women’s basketball, sports interview, basketball player spotlight, WNBA career, Boston sports, NBA stadium experience, Boston sports news, athlete spotlight, women in sports, sports feature, sports interview, TD Garden experience, WNBA player interview.

    #DiJonai #Carrington #talks #rise #WNBA #stardom #crazy #experience #Garden #NBC #Sports #Boston

  • From Zero to Twilight: Jessica Chastain’s Journey to Hollywood Stardom


    Jessica Chastain is a name that has become synonymous with Hollywood stardom in recent years. With her stunning performances in films like Zero Dark Thirty, The Help, and most recently, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Chastain has solidified herself as one of the most talented and versatile actresses of her generation. But her journey to the top was not an easy one.

    Born in Sacramento, California, Chastain grew up in a middle-class family with a love for theater and acting. She attended the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, where she honed her craft and developed her skills as an actress. After graduating, Chastain struggled to break into the industry, taking on small roles in television shows and independent films.

    It wasn’t until 2011 that Chastain’s career really took off with her breakout role in The Help, for which she received critical acclaim and her first Academy Award nomination. From there, she went on to star in a string of successful films, including Zero Dark Thirty, Interstellar, and Molly’s Game, earning her a total of two Academy Award nominations and a Golden Globe win.

    But perhaps Chastain’s most iconic role to date is that of Bella Swan in the Twilight saga. The film series, based on the popular novels by Stephenie Meyer, catapulted Chastain to international fame and cemented her status as a Hollywood A-lister. Her portrayal of the strong and independent Bella resonated with audiences worldwide, and she quickly became a fan favorite.

    Despite her success, Chastain remains humble and grounded, always crediting her upbringing and her training at Juilliard for her success. She is known for her dedication to her craft, often immersing herself in her roles and undergoing intense physical transformations for her characters.

    In addition to her acting career, Chastain is also a vocal advocate for gender equality and diversity in Hollywood. She has spoken out against the gender pay gap and has used her platform to shine a light on important social issues.

    Overall, Jessica Chastain’s journey to Hollywood stardom is a testament to her talent, hard work, and perseverance. From her humble beginnings in Sacramento to her iconic roles in blockbuster films, Chastain has proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry. With her talent and determination, there is no doubt that she will continue to captivate audiences for years to come.


    #Twilight #Jessica #Chastains #Journey #Hollywood #Stardom,jessica chastain twilight

  • Robbie Williams Biopic Puts ‘PTSD’ in Pop Stardom

    Robbie Williams Biopic Puts ‘PTSD’ in Pop Stardom


    Robbie Williams needs no introduction. Unless you live in America, in which case, let’s bring everyone up to speed: Born in 1974, Stoke-on-Trent’s favorite son was initially the designated bad boy in Take That, Britain’s late ’80s answer to New Kids on the Block. He lived up to his reputation as a kid who loved a good time not wisely but too well, which eventually got him booted from the band. Williams’ subsequent solo career was stratospheric — without getting too Wikipedia-page about it, let’s just say that 1997’s Life Through a Lens and 1998’s I’ve Been Expecting You proved that he could hack it on his own. When he played a three-night stand at Knebworth in 2003, it became known as “the biggest music event in British history.” The single “Angels” was voted the best British song of the past 25 years in 2005. His music is one part ’90s Britpop, one part 21st century dance pop, and three parts early-’60s Rat Pack. He never found a big audience stateside, for reasons that are a complete unknown. But honestly, who needs the U.S. when you have the world?

    Williams is a superstar who’s had more ups and downs than a fleet of elevators, which gives him a life story perfect for a multi-part docuseries. (See: Robbie Williams, now streaming on Netflix.) And his success and failures and phoenix-like rebirths, plural, means that, in the post-Bohemian Rhapsody era that we live in, he’s due a biopic. Better Man is that movie — it’s called this partially because of Williams’ 2000 song, but mostly because director Michael Gracey had already used the title The Greatest Showman in his previous film. It ticks all of the requisite boxes, from childhood trauma to early fame, tabloid infamy to total flame-out, broken records to broken windows, hit singles to healed souls. You will leave with a good sense of who this man is, and why his music matters to so many.

    Did we happen to mention he’s portrayed from start to finish as a CGI chimpanzee?

    When we say that Better Man makes a monkey out of Robbie Williams, we’re not speaking metaphorically. “I want to show how I really see myself,” the singer says in an opening voiceover, and for the next two-plus hours, we will watch actors (Carter J. Murphy as Young Robbie, Jonno Davis as Adult Robbie) strut and fret across stages while rendered as a motion-captured, digitally rendered simian. Williams self-admittedly suffered from crippling low self-esteem, which he compensated for by putting up a blustery, self-regarding front; not for nothing was his 1999 compilation dubbed The Ego Has Landed. Yet he thought of himself as nothing more than a trained monkey, so that’s how his official movie biopic presents him as well. Which, in a way, fits how the movie treats his success story as if the subject is dragging himself from one station of the cross of the next. Imagine Raging Bull if Jake LaMotta was played by a photorealistically animated bull, and you’re halfway there. (It opens in limited release on December 25th, and goes wide on January 10th.)

    Editor’s picks

    Seriously, Better Man puts the PTSD back into “pop stardom,” and frames the entire notion of fame less as a reward for talent and artistry and more of a pathological condition made manifest. The password is “pathos”: A Sinatra sing-along with dear old dad, Peter Conway née Williams (Steve Pemberton, playing Pops in a way that makes his grotesques from The League of Gentlemen seem quaint) turns into a Freudian nightmare when the lad accidentally bumps the TV antenna. Soon, the patriarch is M.I.A. Later, Williams’ cheeky-chappy routine as a teen earns him a spot in Take That, where his faux-father figure Nigel Martin Smith (Damon Herriman) will humiliate and undermine him at every turn. He’s finally given encouragement by producer/collaborator Guy Chambers (Tom Budge), who helps the newly free crooner find the cocktail of swagger, schmaltz, sex and Jolson-era showmanship that will define him. An entire rise to mega-stardom is represented by a blur of radio-announcer voices and coke lines. That’s how Robbie experienced it. That’s how you’re going to experience it, too.

    Related Content

    Raechelle Banno and Jonno Davies in ‘Better Man.’

    Paramount Pictures.

    It’s all a very by-the-books music biopic, which the sole exception of which species is singing about manufacturing miracles and angels contemplating his fate. The self-deprecating notion stops feeling like a gimmick before the first act is done, and stops adding anything to the vibe until we get to Knebworth, which turns into Planet of the Apes outtake mid-concert as Williams fights his inner monkey demons to the death. As anyone who’s seen The Greatest Showman can tell you, Gracey excels at this kind of glorious excess, and you can’t say that he doesn’t make the most of this being a musical as much as it is a pop-star psychodrama. Williams’ meet-cute with All Saints singer Nicole Appleton (Raechelle Banno) is turned into an elaborate Fred-and-Ginger routine set to “She’s the One,” occasionally cutting away to show her forced into getting an abortion. Once Take That signs a record deal, Robbie and his mates turn London into an MGM backlot-slash-jungle-gym as “Rock D.J.” blares over the soundtrack and what feels like the greatest music video of 1998 unfurls before your very eyes. The whole sequence is such a showstopper that you can practically hear it asking Showman‘s big extravaganza “This Is Me” to hold its beer. (That the 2002 track “Me and My Monkey” doesn’t get its own set piece is either a major missed opportunity or the closest thing we get to restraint.)

    Better Man ends on a several notes, some discordant, of forgiveness regarding both father and son, which admittedly tests your tolerance for sentimentality. Watching the star finally make peace with himself is indeed a salve after the nine circles of celebrity hell we’ve traveled with him; witnessing his climactic (and IRL) duet with his dad, who’s done little to earn it per this film’s portrayal, suggests the title should have been Oedipus Rob. More than anything, the movie gives you a portrait of the artist as an open wound, with self-mythologizing masquerading as self-loathing and self-deprecation taken to uncomfortable extremes. That flop-sweat desperation that makes what’s arguably his one true anthem, “Let Me Entertain You,” sound like both crystalized pop-genius and a cry for help is practically wafting off every frame. It’s not a vehicle for converting the non-believers. Diehard fans, the Robbie-curious and those who love to eavesdrop on therapy sessions, however, will adore it.



    Robbie Williams Biopic Puts ‘PTSD’ in Pop Stardom

    The upcoming biopic about pop star Robbie Williams is set to shed light on the mental health struggles he faced throughout his career, including his battle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

    Williams, who rose to fame as a member of the boy band Take That before launching a successful solo career, has been open about his struggles with mental health and addiction. The biopic, titled “Better Man,” will delve into the highs and lows of his life in the spotlight, including the impact that fame and pressure had on his mental well-being.

    Director Michael Gracey, known for his work on “The Greatest Showman,” has expressed his desire to portray Williams’ story with authenticity and sensitivity. The film will explore the trauma and emotional turmoil that Williams experienced, as well as his journey towards healing and recovery.

    By shining a light on Williams’ struggles with PTSD, the biopic aims to start a conversation about mental health in the music industry and beyond. It serves as a reminder that even those who seem to have it all can be battling their own inner demons.

    “Better Man” is set to be a raw and honest portrayal of a pop superstar who faced his demons head-on, and it is sure to resonate with fans and critics alike. The film is a timely reminder that mental health issues can affect anyone, regardless of their fame or success.

    Tags:

    Robbie Williams, biopic, PTSD, pop stardom, mental health, music industry, celebrity, trauma, healing, documentary, film adaptation, singer-songwriter, former boy band member, success story, overcoming adversity, personal struggles, career highs and lows, emotional journey, mental health awareness.

    #Robbie #Williams #Biopic #Puts #PTSD #Pop #Stardom

  • The Rise of 4 Count: A Look at the Boy Band’s Journey to Stardom

    The Rise of 4 Count: A Look at the Boy Band’s Journey to Stardom


    Boy bands have been a staple in the music industry for decades, capturing the hearts of fans with their catchy tunes and synchronized dance moves. One group that has been making waves in the industry recently is 4 Count, a quartet of talented young men who are quickly rising to stardom.

    Formed in 2015, 4 Count consists of members Ben Robinson, Adam Ackland, Kieran Ackland, and Aaron Scott. The group initially gained attention through their covers and original songs on YouTube, showcasing their harmonious vocals and impressive dance skills. Their infectious energy and undeniable talent quickly caught the attention of music industry insiders, leading to a record deal with Sony Music.

    Since signing with Sony, 4 Count has been hard at work in the studio, honing their sound and crafting their debut album. The group has also been busy performing at various events and festivals, building a loyal fan base along the way. Their catchy singles, such as “Eyes on You” and “She Ain’t You,” have garnered millions of streams on music platforms, solidifying their status as rising stars in the music industry.

    One of the keys to 4 Count’s success is their dedication to their craft and their unwavering passion for music. Each member brings their own unique talents to the group, creating a dynamic sound that sets them apart from other boy bands. Their infectious energy and charismatic personalities have won over audiences worldwide, earning them a dedicated following of fans who eagerly await each new release.

    As 4 Count continues to climb the ranks of the music industry, it’s clear that they have what it takes to become the next big thing in pop music. With their catchy tunes, impressive vocals, and electrifying performances, the sky is truly the limit for this talented group. Keep an eye on 4 Count as they continue their journey to stardom – you won’t want to miss a moment of their rise to the top.