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On May 30, 2025, American actor-singer Addison Rae appeared at The New York Times's Popcast, where she discussed her early days as a TikTok creator and her transition into the music industry.
During the podcast, Addison shared that she was focused on creating trending content instead of truly expressing herself to viewers, as she didn't have the luxury to showcase her identity during her rise to fame on TikTok.
"When I reflect back on that time, all this time that has passed, I've recognized how much choice and taste is kind of a luxury in a lot of ways because back then when I was starting this and I was on TikTok and I was posting these things and it was a lot about how am I just going to get out of here," Addison Rae said.
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The Mind on Me singer further shared that she didn't feel the need to open up about her true self, which made viewers question her transition into the music industry, adding that it was "kind of like a sacrifice that had to be made."
"It wasn't even about like, all right, let me show the intricacies of myself right now. I didn't feel like I needed to do that yet, which is why and I think it comes up now of people feeling like this is inauthentic or did you ever even like to make music or did you ever sing or were you ever anything more than just a Tik Tok dancer, because I was just like 'I'm going to make it out of here first.' "
Addison Rae reflects on her rise on TikTok
Elsewhere in the podcast, Addison Rae discussed her love for entertaining people, her attempt to be in front of the camera, and taking inspiration from news reporters like Kelsey Wingert and Erin Andrews.
"I always loved entertainment. That was just kind of the thing. It was like performance, entertainment, you know, I wanted to act, I wanted to sing, I wanted to dance, but it was like, well, where does that even come from?"
Rae shared that she downloaded TikTok as a form of entertainment in the senior year of high school, adding, "But it was just because everyone else had it," and she didn't take it seriously.
"It was just like a new app, you know, it's like when Instagram started, it was kind of just like 'Oh, everybody's on this.'"
The 24-year-old singer claimed that she felt a strong pull towards TikTok, even though she felt uncertain, she kept showing up and working hard on the app.
"When I was in that summer transition into college, I was going hard, like I was like 'something's here and I don't know what it is but I need to show up for this' and I was not sure where it would go or take me but I was definitely recognizing something that was pulling me to it," Addison Rae shared.
Rae further shared that after a while, people began to recognize her, specifically during the football season at Louisiana State University, which was her first time being noticed outside her friend circle.
She added, "I saw that and I was kind of like, 'Oh, I got to keep on this.'" The Obsessed singer further shared that after getting recognized, she was posting "ridiculous amounts of videos a day."
"Sometimes, like seven to eight videos, which were like me really trying and like making sure they felt good. I think even some days I'm sure like 12 videos, like I don't know, I just was really going in," Addison Rae said.
The full podcast featuring Addison Rae is available on Popcast's official YouTube channel.
