In short order, Addison Rae has become one of Gen Z’s most chimeric rising stars. She’s a keen student of pop divas past and present; a relentless nostalgia tactician, flaunting an old iPod Nano like the coveted new influencer gift; and a creative coconspirator who last weekend joined Arca at Coachella to perform their “Aquamarine” remix. Rae’s rose-colored vision of electronic pop suits this shaky cultural moment—it helps immensely that her featherlight music doubles as a smooth-brain release from the anhedonia of day-to-day life in America. Welcome to the Addison Rae era, then, where even the former TikTok personality’s harshest skeptics (see: me) have taken to her eccentric singles, which pledge obvious fealty to titans like Britney and Madonna while reflecting Rae’s own bizarre, infinite-scroll obsessions.
Take the opening seconds of “Headphones On,” the latest taste of Rae’s forthcoming debut. Pivoting away from Ray of Light cosplay and stacked James Blake-style synths, she introduces her most R&B-inspired track yet with a swell of pitch-shifted, ululating vocals. Filled out with vaporous, jewel-toned chimes and a hip-swaying bassline, “Headphones On” gives glimpses of Janet at her breathiest as Rae coos over an aerodynamic beat. Her lyrics zero in on music as an escape from emotional crisis, whether as seemingly superficial as comparing herself to “the new it girl” or as heavy as mourning her parents’ relationship. “Headphones On” adds a new wrinkle to the Addison Rae formula, infusing her cotton-candy music with the kind of vulnerability that can make it feel like the outside world’s on mute.
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