Put your headphones on for TikTok's Addison Rae

Switched on Pop

Vox Media Podcast Network

Music Interviews, Music History, Music, Music Commentary

4.6 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Despite TikTok defining this decade's music landscape, the app hasn't spawned a bonafide pop superstar – yet. 24-year-old Addison Rae is trying to be the first. She's already had cosigns from Arca, Charli XCX, and Benny Blanco; critical acclaim from outlets like Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Elle; and is cultivating a fervent fanbase with a slew of breathy, ethereal, and inspiration-laden singles. But how does one translate TikTok celebrity into pop success? On this episode of Switched On Pop, Reanna, Nate, and Charlie put their "Headphones On" to understand how one of the biggest Gen-Z celebrities is trying to parlay her allure into pop princess-dom. Songs discussed: Addison Rae – Diet Pepsi Addison Rae – Aquamarine Addison Rae – High Fashion Addison Rae – Headphones On Addison Rae – Obsessed Charlie Puth – The Way I Am Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal Addison Rae – I got it bad Addison Rae – Nothing On (But The Radio) Addison Rae – it could've been u Addison Rae – 2 die 4 (feat. Charli XCX) Charli XCX, Addison Rae, A. G. Cook – Von dutch a. g. remix Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans Lana Del Rey – Cherry Lana Del Rey – Diet Mountain Dew Lana Del Rey – Bartender Lana Del Rey – Cola Madonna – Nothing Really Matters Selena Gomez, A$AP Rocky – Good For You Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – What I Am Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start.
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0:17.6	You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the app.
0:23.7	Download today.
0:28.5	Welcome to Switch on Pop. I'm producer Rihanna Cruz.
0:35.2	I'm songwriter Charlie Harding.
0:36.4	And I'm musicologist Nate Slo sloane all right let me
0:39.1	start with a question for the both of you okay ticot has arguably defined the decade we are now in right
0:47.3	the 2020s are the ticot years and yet do you guys know of any t any TikTok influencers that have made a real impact in pop
0:57.3	music? I like this question. I feel like I'm on Final Jeopardy right now. Yeah. Well, okay, on our show,
1:04.8	we've had Ty Verdi's, Jake with a stylized V instead of an A. But I wouldn't say they're like fully fledged pop stars.
1:14.2	So I don't know, Charles?
1:15.8	I was recently meeting with an ANR from a major label.
1:18.7	And I was like, have the ANRs learned about the sort of,
1:21.9	you can't just sign a TikTok viral trend and it's going to have a lasting career?
1:26.4	And this ANR was like yeah yeah we've we learned that
1:28.7	lesson which is to say like in 2021 you can have a huge viral hit get signed and then you never have a
1:35.1	follow-on hit so yeah I guess I'm struggling to say who you don't have an answer is basically what
	...

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