Addison Rae Has Her Headphones On, World Off

Inside her dreamy new single and why tuning out might just be the most tuned-in move of all

In 2020, a wise prophet by the name of The Kid Laroi sang, “I need a bad b*tch, Addison Rae, lil shawty the baddest, yeah and she got her ways.” And he was certainly correct. Not only he, but maybe the entire universe, needed Addison Rae and her pop princess superstar artistry. After rising to fame on TikTok in 2019, the starlet transitioned into music, releasing debut track ‘Obsessed’ in 2021. Since then, she’s dropped shimmering hits like ‘Diet Pepsi’, ‘Aquamarine’, ‘High Fashion’, and most recently – potentially her best yet – ‘Headphones On.’

When she began her music career, Addison faced a lot of snobbery and doubt, largely due to her online origins. But the backlash made a lot of people root for her all the more. Her music success is a welcome reminder that people can blossom, reinvent themselves, and become many different versions of themselves all at once, as she boldly did.

‘Headphones On’, like much of Addison’s other work, was produced by Lukka Klosser and Elvira Anderfjard. It really shows that this was created by a team of women – it’s inherently feminine. The track is a love letter to escapism and healing, with ethereal synths, dreamlike electro beats, and light, soothing strings. Lyrically, the song lingers in struggle, but focuses on dealing with it in a way that feels hopeful and transcendent, rather than crushing. It encapsulates how everyday delights, such as music, offer cathartic release.

The chorus is simple but honest. Addison sings about facing and acknowledging difficulty, and the joy of small pleasures:

“I guess I gotta accept the pain, need a cigarette to make me feel better.”

She approaches pain by manifesting joy for herself, and emphasising the importance of carrying on regardless: “Every good thing comes my way, so I still get dolled up.” The track champions the healing powers of music: “So I put my headphones on, listen to my favourite song.” The lyrics capture the therapising effect that getting dressed up and dancing to music has for so many.

In the bridge, she sings:

“I know the lows are what makes the highs higher so, I tell myself this is a reminder, life’s no fun through clear waters.”

The song doesn’t fetishise or glamorise trauma, but rather accepts it and chooses to work through it. Being no stranger to the online world, Addison references getting caught up in it – “I compare my life to the new it girl, jealousy’s a riptide and it pulls me under.” There’s an intimacy to this vulnerability that makes it all the more affirming – even someone as successful as her understands the toxicity of being a woman online.

Addison released the gorgeous music video for the song on 18th April. Its narrative follows her working at a major supermarket, Iceland. As she leaves the building to go on her break, she rides a children’s mechanical horse parked outside, and is mentally transported to the country Iceland. There, she gallops on a white long-haired horse, fluorescent pink hair flowing in the wind, beside a lilac-tinted sea. The Iceland/Iceland play is a charming, tongue-in-cheek way of reflecting the daily realities many face – working a job they don’t enjoy and letting their daydreams transport them elsewhere. It’s a refreshing concept in a landscape flooded with videos depicting hyper-luxury and detached lifestyles.

And this is the whole point – Addison is the it girl pop needed because she brings something different to the dystopian grandiosity we’ve become fatigued with. While staying nostalgic and fantastical, she offers a dose of reality that strikes a beautiful balance. Amid global genocides, culture wars, and economic depravity, the last thing people want to see is billionaire singers going to space for eleven minutes. They want music videos like this – people at work pretending they’re in a music video.

The video explores how creative self-expression can be used as a coping mechanism. While serving at the counter, Addison wears the Iceland flag on her nails – the destination of her fantasy. She also wears a bright pink jacket (the colour of her dreamscape hair) tucked beneath her red uniform. These signify a desire to become her highest self, and to break free from the constraints of capitalism and grind. The vast, open natural scenery of sea and green mossy hills starkly contrasts the artificial light and narrow aisles of the supermarket. Putting her headphones on becomes an act of escape, reinforcing the song’s core message: music provides temporary healing.

In an era of recession and collective exhaustion, sometimes all people want is to dance to their favourite song. BRAT’s success speaks to this – Addison even featured on the Von Dutch remix, where she, unprompted, decided to scream over the track. That raw and visceral release proves she understands the kind of catharsis a listener craves. Her seemingly small choices often carry a deeper, intuitive intelligence.

Aside from her iconic Y2K fashion, upbeat personality and nostalgic feminine sound, Addison Rae is the it girl we needed because she provides what has been missing: a dose of reality to sit alongside the fantasy. Her music is a clever romance between dreams and pain, both screaming at once. ‘Headphones On’ was a breath of fresh air, and all eyes are on what Addison and her team have in store for her debut album.