Thinking Weekly

The influencer-to-gay-icon pipeline is a phenomenon we hadn’t seen until Addison Rae’s rebrand and debut EP, “AR”. Many TikTok stars have tried to venture into the music world, but few have made a significant impact, and even fewer influencers have reached beyond their young tween demographic to gain broader recognition.

Addison Rae spent the early years of her career dancing on TikTok, marketing herself as a social media star from Louisiana. She was frequently linked with notable TikTok “stars” like Bryce Hall and the rest of the “Hype House”. But things took a turn for the better when leaked demos of her music started circulating online, catching the attention of pop-obsessed gay men on the internet. With the release of her EP featuring a Charli XCX collaboration and a Lady Gaga outtake, plus her newfound status as an up and coming “Scream Queen” in Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving (2023), it became clear that her position in pop culture had shifted.

To me, the “Addison Rae Effect” is when a celebrity with a seemingly basic, mainstream audience pivots to cater to the gay community. We see artists trying to pull this off all the time—think Camila Cabello’s C, XOXO or Katy Perry’s upcoming 143—both of which came with gay club appearances and style makeovers that just didn’t land. The difference with Addison’s rebrand is that hers is actually working. Her love for pop music, the indie sleaze/club girl renaissance, and pop culture feels genuinely authentic in a way that many others lack. All of this plus a feature on the remix of Charli XCX’s Von Dutch is a recipe for her success.

With the recent release of her new single Diet Pepsi accompanied by a stunning music video directed by Sean Price Williams and promo shots by Yasmine Diba, it is clear we have a lot more to see from Addison Rae. Addison has teased more and more of her upcoming project, and is working with a stellar team who creative director Mel Ottenberg refers to as “Dream Team USA”, i’m eager to see how the rest of this rollout plays out.

Listen to Diet Pepsi here