The Art of the Rebrand: Addison Rae

Five years ago, it felt like no one took Addison Ray seriously. Despite building a community of over 120 million people, she was labeled as talentless and a tryhard. Yet, anytime she tried to evolve and take on a different career path, getting into acting, fashion, launching businesses, she was clowned even further. However, in 2025, the sentiment around Addison Ray could not be any different. She has become arguably the integral, collaborating on a song with Charlie XCX, getting raving reviews for her music, and now her debut album even charted in the top 10. So how the hell did this happen? You may see it as just luck or coincidence, but I could not disagree more. This is the result of a deliberate marketing strategy, and frankly, a pretty genius one at that, because so many people from her generation try and ultimately failed. So what did Addison do so much differently from everyone else to break through? Well, that is exactly the question we set out to solve here today. How did Addison Ray completely rebrand herself and flip the public perception from just another TikToker to pop princess? And also a bit of a review, because I love this album, and I really wanna talk about the music with you all. So welcome back to Nikki and I. My name is Nikki Reardon. I'm so excited to be your host today, and I know a little bit late on reviewing the action album. I just had stuff going on in my life, and also I really wanted to sit and think about this. I think this is a really interesting and exciting episode to do as somebody who has talked a lot about the creator economy and music, as made videos, talking about the influencer to pop star pipeline, but also made part one of this exact video we're about to go into, I guess a year ago, almost. It was one of the first videos on this channel. It's called the greatest rebranded history, Addison Ray. It is one of the first videos that ever blew up and got this channel views and subscribers. It was just so, so cool. I was reviewing some of my notes when doing the research for this episode, and it was so cute. I was like guys were so close to 20,000 subscribers, and now we're so close to 100,000 subscribers. It's just so cool and beautiful and exciting. And the powers of Addison Ray Bay, what can't she do? You know, paying the bills for Nikki Reardon, apparently. But I just think she's an interesting case study, also like as a lover of music and a creator myself. I want all, it is a good thing when I think we see a creator win or have a big success in any form of traditional media. I think when it comes to acting, the show's like over-compensating an adult or what Prince of Quinta Brunson did with Abbot Elementary and how she used to be a YouTuber, like when there is one success, it opens the door for more opportunities for more independent creatives out there. Like you watching this or me and so I'm very interested and excited to elevate those stories as they come. Also, I think it would be very fun to do a new episode called analyzing the influencer to actor pipeline since we have like a lot more examples of that recently, which is very, very cool. But going back to Addison Ray, I highly recommend watching this video if you guys haven't. I'm going to talk a lot. It talks a lot about like her process of rebranding. So like her going from this TikToker to the release of Diet Pepsi and how she did that and how she was able to like cultivate this fandom and transfer that to like an actual music listener base. That's really I think like the focus of that episode. This episode is going to touch on some of those themes but I'm not going to talk about some of the things in her earlier career that I've already discussed and instead we'll spend more time talking about some of the things that have happened since then. So after if you're watching this, highly recommend checking out that episode. That's one of my favorites we've ever made. But with that, we're going into the marketing of this album 'cause I really think everything starts with her music career back in 2022. In January, the AR EP gets leaked. So this was her first ever EP. It had the song Nothing On About the Radio. It also had to die for featuring Charlie XC X. This is the first time the two of them have ever been to my knowledge like in associated with each other, but Charlie becomes a very big part of the story later on. However, the release of this EP or actually was leaked so like they all got dropped released on SoundCloud kind of got clowned of and made fun of for and it's crazy to think that Addison Ray got made fun of for making bad music videos. When now I would argue that she has like some of the best music videos of anybody in pop music right now. Like I would actually argue her number one differentiating factor is her music videos and how good they are and how interesting they are and how well she created like this world for herself with their references to Tumblr and like really Instagram and her incorporating dance in a way that's very like kind of like groovy and interesting to look at. Like not the way you see other people using dance in their work and like I think it's very funny and also a very beautiful story of like we love to see improvement, you know? Like I love when an artist or anybody like experiences some sorts of response online and they're not like why you guys are just mad at me but like see it as an opportunity to like improve their craft, right? Like if if thousands of people are watching this thing and all having the same takeaway, it's probably because there's like some semblance of validity to that takeaway. I think it's like a very very cool thing, you know? Like I love those sorts of stories. I am the type of person where I believe in a second chance. I believe in somebody, you know, striking out and trying again. And I also think like what's interesting about this EP although not at all like the music she creates now. I think you saw traces of the artist Addison would become in the EP, you know, with the AR title then going to the Addison title. And even long lyrics like you're obsessed with me I said me to like she's always use this very like fearless sense of confidence a little bit. Like country confidence like you know like it's it's a little self-absorbed than in a way that self-aware so it makes it kind of satirical and fun but also you know she's not joking like she's kind of serious. Which I love and I think that was something that like she started to figure out with this, right? Like that was like an an angle that she was going to take moving forward which leads us into 2023. One of these smartest things Addison Dittray did to rebrand herself was wiping her Instagram because if you want to people to have a new perception of you that you need to kill off the old perception that already exists. And I think it created this Blake canvas for a new artistic persona which he started doing things with the Tumblr references and the 2010s Instagram aesthetics. It created mystery. For an entire year we were like what is I don't know what Addison Dittray is doing but I kind of love it. And I think that made it so that people who were like referencing her TikToks or like the old Addison Ray kind of became like fan behavior, right? It's like oh you're talking about something from three years ago that isn't even publicing up on the internet anymore. Like that's kind of embarrassing for you. Like that's weird. Like you're thinking about me a lot. You're thinking about this old version of being. Like I've moved on. You know when it set the tone that like she has moved on so anybody else who hasn't also moved on is kind of like picking at straws just to be obsessed either or something like that. Like it was really really interesting and I think really really worked well for her. And when we talk about these like aesthetics and stuff I think I'll talk about later on is like Addison Ray really figured out how to use nostalgia for Gen Z in a way that wasn't annoying. Like we get so much nostalgia be with Disney remakes and 87 Star Wars movies and Marvel this. And like Addison Ray doing something like Aquamarine, right? It was very clearly a reference to a Disney channel original movie, which is like so Gen Z but was not in a way where it was like the music video was not a copy of the movie. The lyrics had really nothing to do with the movie. Like it was just a reference. And I think that was so refreshing to see because nostalgia is such a powerful emotion but it has been overused. And I like that Addison has found this way of being referential while still feeling new. Like you can so clearly tell what inspires her in the music videos, in the aestheticism, in the pictures but there is this clear desire to like make it its own thing. And I think that was really interesting. You know like nostalgia is one of the most powerful marketing tools, right? All of Marvel is nostalgia for boomers. I think so much of Disney has been nostalgia for millennials and boomers and Gen Z even like all of the remakes and stuff. Like something about nostalgia is this deep piece of the human condition and like we love a reference. And Addison Ray figured out how to do that but she did it with Britney, she did it with Lana, she's done it which Harley. Like there are ways that I think it is exciting and fresh still which is very, very interesting. Like no one else I think has really, really been able to do that well yet. And I think specifically to you, like we see a lot of like Y2K in nostalgia but hers is like so specifically Gen Z in nostalgia, right? Like Addison Ray could do a music video inside of a webkins world and like it would make sense somehow. Right, like that is something that's like unique to her. You know, like I don't feel like other artists would make as much sense doing that. But something about Addison has really like associated her visual persona with like being a 20 year old, 20 something today. And then later in that year we get a life changing moment which was the Von Dutch scream. And the Von Dutch scream was a life changing moment for Addison Ray. He got it. 25 million views completely improvised. And I think this was the first time that people realized she had taste. Like seeing her in a recording studio, doing something completely random that made it into the song and ended up being the biggest moment of that entire song made you realize she has some sort of creative vision and how she could make a good, fun, dancing party song, which is what we know her to do now, right? Like it was planting that seed. I also think it was a sign off from Charlie XCX as like this isn't just some random person on the internet. Like this is somebody I've met and communicated with and discussed art with so much so that I want them to contribute to this thing that I am making and doing. And I think that was really an interesting thing between this relationship. I also think you really see Addison learn how to like build a world from Charlie and realizes the importance of visuals in building momentum is another thing, right? That like Charlie's always been good at, right? We had the bright album, we had the bright wall and we had the deluxe version. And then we had three different remixes and then we had a remix album and then we had a sweat tour. And like Charlie's always known not, she's always known how to play with the album cycle to like always make it feel like it keeps evolving and keeps growing and there's always something new happening. Like you never really know when it's over. And I think that is something that Addison really, really learned and figured out especially with you know where she came from being this like random TikTok girl to like trying to become more of like a niche pop artist. And I would even say like Addison Ray is the blueprint for why it is better to have a small group of people love you than it is to have a very large group of people kind of like you. Like when she was doing 10 random TikTok dances a day, nobody cared about her. It was not unique, it was not interesting. But once she started being niche leaning into hyper pop, these references to Lana Del Rey, Madonna, 2014 Tumblr aesthetics, people became obsessed with her. When you try to appeal to everyone, you end up appealing to no one. But if you resonate with one specific group of people, then that group of people will treat you like one of their own and ride for you. And that is what happened with Addison, right? Like she was getting more views, millions of views doing random TikTok dances, but the music did not land. Because nothing about her was unique or interesting. Once she scaled back and got even less views, but was more unique, her music did better. And I think that is such an interesting thing that we are starting to see. Like data doesn't lie, but that doesn't mean you can't interpret the data incorrectly. And Addison from a data perspective would have been like, wow, you're way more successful when you're making 10 random TikTok dances a day. But that is not true because there was no actual depth of connection. And the depth of the community matters. And I think that is something Addison really learned from Charlie. She had a really think about like, who exactly am I trying to speak to with my music, with my art? And how do I not give a shit about anybody else? Like how do I tune them out? And like if they don't want to see me sit on a horse in the middle of Greenland with a pink wig on, then I don't care about them, right? Like there's people who are going to think that's funny and contain cool. And there's people who are going to be like, what is happening? And the people who would say what is happening, we're never going to be a part of the fandom anyways. So you don't need to care about their opinion. And I think there's a very big mental block that a lot of artists face, especially early in their career, of having this idea and this programmed idea of like, I need to have my song reach as many people as possible, get as many views as possible. Like I just want people to see me and discover me and like it. But that doesn't actually mean anything. And oftentimes even when it works out for people, again, like Addison Ray over 100 million followers across socials, but no ability to transfer that to an EP release. Like none of the songs took off. But once she dialed back and honed in, it did take off. And I think she is just like this eternal interesting example of that to me. And that is why Addison Ray is proof of why you need to stop trying to make people pay attention and start making things that are worth paying attention to. When she was making 10 to dogs a day dancing, she was trying to get anything to make people pay attention to her, to get more views, grow more followers. But it didn't do anything. And when she started making something worth paying attention to, taking two years to write music, make an album, have six incredible music videos, spend so much time on the visuals and the aestheticism and what the world was going to be and look like, she had more people pay attention to her, right? Like there is not, you cannot chase this thing that is faint. Like it is ever fleeting. What you can do is build the foundation of something that people are seeking out, that people want to come and find you and go to your concert for or whatever, right? And I think that was like a really clicking moment for her. Like it was not about trying to do as much as you can as quickly as you can all the time. It was like, how do I stop focusing on quantity and focus on quality? And the focusing on quality worked. Like it just worked. It took longer and it was a lot less glamorous, but it worked. And I think that is so interesting, you know, about her. And we start to talk about like her music and the music videos. Like I think Addison Ray is really great at being an artist. Like she understands how to build a world. She understands how to be attention grabbing. She understands how to craft this persona that is kind of campy and extreme, but also resonant with young people and references things from my childhood. Like Aqua Marine and is also touching on her relationships with her parents and the world falling apart and wanting to put your headphones in. Well, everything is burning behind you. Like this feeling of panic and existentialism, this pressure we feel around things like money and how much we want it but resent it. Like she found that lane. And I think you finally understand who her music is for and why it resonates with people. And I think when it comes to artists who don't make it, it's not because their music is bad. It's because you never understood who the music was for. Like if you cannot listen to the song for the first time and be like, that's it. It's never going to work. Like something about it needs to be so direct. And I think some of the biggest artists in the blow up, especially young artists right now. I think Olivia Rodrigo is very like a teenage angst. Billy Eilish is very like generational talent, artistic girl. You know, Chapel Rowan is very like campy and theatrical. Sabrina Carpenter is very witty and sexual. Like there's just quick like understeading of like, "Oh, if you find this type of humor funny, if you find sexual innuendos funny, you will like Sabrina Carpenter's music." Right? Like you understand who is the person? Why do they like the thing? And I think that's a very useful, interesting exercise for artists. It's like, what are you crafting? Who likes it? Why do they like it? And if you don't know who and why, either ask people or like spend a lot more time thinking about that vision. Because I think everything needs to be derivative of that. Like it needs to be derivative of who is watching it and why they would like it. And that's what the visuals should be. That's what the writing should be. That's what the emotions should be. And I think one of the smartest things Addison Ray did was the music videos. Music videos are making a major comeback. Like Chapel Rowan did four singles for music videos. Addison Ray did six singles, six music videos. You could make the argument that the most important thing for a new artist today is music videos, especially when it's their first album. And they do not have any discography or lore for the fandom to go out and discover and fall in love with. So you have to spend a lot of time manually creating that and creating what is that story and thing for you to find six months from now on the first album. Because music is a visual media. Like we see music more now than we ever did before. We often see a song when we hear a song, whether that's like on your for you page, you're out at the club. You are seeing a music video. You are seeing somebody make a dance to the song. Like something about music and this visual element have become synonymous. Once upon a time we would like hear a song for the first time on the radio. And that doesn't really happen anymore, at least for the vast majority of people. We are seeing the song and experiencing the song with our eyes. And the visual and the writing and all of it need to be done with that in mind. I think you cannot have a successful song nowadays without like planning what is the visual, what is the aestheticism, who is listening to it, why do they like it, where are they going to be when they're listening to the song, what are they doing, what are they telling their friends about it, like that element of a visual artist is integral. It's more important than it's ever been. I think it grows more important every day as there's more social things to develop like time and time again. And when you think of some of the biggest artists, again, like the example I always use is Sabrina Carpenter, because I think she's someone who's so like, like you see how quickly a change in a year, right? Like emails I can't send, she did not have this sort of like uniform color and aestheticism in look. But then like short and sweet, she really did. And you knew the color of that album, you knew what to wear to that concert, you knew what she was going to wear on stage of that concert. And something about that aestheticism, I think made it easier to embody as a fan. And I think that is, you know, also we see things like NPR Tiny Desk, and I think that's why they are always so iconic, right? Like, even if people don't watch it now, like NPR Tiny Desk, I watched ones from three years ago, five years ago, they become this time capsule, like a visual time capsule. Even if they look completely different, even if they make completely different music than and they did, it's so. cool and interesting to experience that intimacy of the performance with the artist where it feels like there's three feet away from you. And you really like see who they are and how they interact with people and perform and all of those things. And I think another interesting thing we are really starting to see with artists is nobody wants authenticity, people want an exciting fantasy. Artists creating full-on characters, hyperbole in the music videos and campaigns that are theatrical and campy, movies that feel out of this world. Like Lady Gaga wearing a meat dress is not authentic. It's iconic. Nobody actually wears a dress made of meat. Like it is blatantly a performative. And that is why I find this whole like discussion of like Addison Ray is performative to be so weird to me. Like she is a performer. The goal is to perform. I think authenticity became such a buzzword on the internet that people forgot what is the point of a performer altogether. It is to entertain. They are entertainment. A music video is meant to be hyperbolic and exaggerated and artistically expressive. Like, you know, like it's not meant, a music video is not a documentary. And I also think we need to have a conversation. Like is authenticity even real in the age of the internet, right? Like I am talking to a camera right now to post it on a website with like hundreds of millions of people. And no matter how much I say what I mean or I am being who I am, there is this element of inauthenticity to it because I'm not talking to a person. I'm talking to a camera. And I know that there's this idea of the thing being perceived, right? Like we live in a generation now where everything is documentable and postable. And if that's happening, it is not authentic, right? Like even the way I speak or inflect my voices. Like I'm gonna try to be high energy and interesting. Like try to make this a good video for you, right? And that lack of authenticity is not a bad thing. It's a good thing. I want to make a high quality product for you. But the idea that everything has to be perfectly authentic is unrealistic and stupid to me because this is entertainment. You should want me at my best. You should want anybody at their most excited and interesting and in the moment, you know? And I think this entire concept of authenticity has just become such a buzz word that it has almost lost all derivative of its meaning. Like it is so ironic to me of like a corporation sitting in their marketing brainstorm talking about how they can be more authentic. Like that is my definition, not authentic. If you are making a video talking about is Addison Ray authentic, like it doesn't matter. She's a music artist, she's a performer. Like this is what it is. You know, like and it's interesting to me how people don't have that same dialogue I guess about like other artists and whatnot or at the very least like there is this element of like I want you to try but pretend like you're not trying which is weird to me. It's just weird, right? Like no, I think it's cool. Like if somebody spent two months having to meet with a stylist to plan out how to create a meet dress or something like I find that interesting and funny and like cool and can't be in like part of the experience, you know? Like but again there's just this criticism on the internet that I think is like never ending. And with that like I think Addison Ray is a concept album but the concept is pop star. And I kind of equated to the way that like handle Montana was a concept that is pop star, right? Like when you see Addison's music videos with the wigs and the crazy choreography and the double sig or like these outrageous things like it is taking the idea of like what a pop star is in the 2010s and then making them the most extreme thing you possibly can, right? So like instead of a Lana Del Rey it's like a Lana Del Rey inspired music video where she's doing the splits in a backseat in a brawn underwear and like lipking whipped cream, right? They were like her doing a music video like in a pink wig on a horse with their boobs out like riding through the Arctic, right? Like it is so extreme. Like Addison Ray has almost become a character and that's kind of what I love about it. It's so funny. Again, like even the album cover is meant to be a reference to like Hillary Duff in those sort of like very early Disney channel pop star like album covers. Like the concept of Addison Ray is to be this personification based off of herself. But like what if I take this idea of pop star and satirize it but also hyperboleize it to like the most extreme? And I think that is what's so interesting about her, you know what she says like diamonds are my best friend like Norma Jean and money is everything and like there is this element of saturation to it. But also this element of like those are what a pop star is, right? Like high fashion is her talking about drugs and like that sort of aspect of the pop star life when it's Aqua Marine is like the way she choreographs. Fame is a gun is literally about her desire for methane. Like these are elements and integral of like what the pop star is. But she's like isolating them and then over exaggerating them but I'm not even sure that's the right way. Like exploring them deeper but also again like through this element of hyperbole in a way that is meant to be kind of campy and funny. But overall like I think being a try hard is cool again. From Timothy Shalamay for claiming his greatness artists with entire characters, costumes and themes, fashion that is maximalist and expressive like doing the bare minimum is dead. And I find it extremely admirable to make a clear statement like I am working for this. I spent years of my life honing my craft. I really want it and I'm going to do anything I can to achieve it. Like when we see artists like dochi pop off, you know, I think that's what's so refreshing about her is like we saw her make it and all these people started to recognize her name and then all of these videos of her five years ago, 10 years ago in her childhood bedroom making YouTube videos talking about how she wanted to be an artist and she wanted to create great music and she was going to do anything she could to become a better musician, to become a better performer. Like it was so refreshing to see that because she wasn't lying or trying to hide it, I hate this nonchalanteness. Like it's cool that some, it's cool that you want to grammy. You got none of your grammy and you won. That's a cool thing, like celebrate that. And it should be a beautiful moment for your child version of you five, 10 years ago that wanted that so badly. And I think even Addison Ray is kind of an example of this, right? Like in songs like Fame is a gun, she's talking about her desire for admiration and wanting to be taken seriously as an artist. And she failed pretty publicly like on her first EP, but then she tried again and it was a hit. And I think that is admirable. Like that's cool. I love seeing stories like that, you know? Like we are not perfect people. We are people who try to develop a skill set and improve it over time. And like it is a good thing and an exciting thing to see somebody change as they grow and evolve and like become a more developed person as they age. And I really like want to encourage more of that. Like I think people shouldn't be afraid of trying and saying what they want, you know, like this is like my show. I want this to be a big show. I want to have artists interview guests. Like I want to create a space where music and pop music artistry is taken seriously. Like that is the goal of this thing. The goal of me doing this is to make people think about the things they see in their life a bit deeper. Whether that is me talking about the boo booze, whether that is me talking about music, whether that is me talking about 500 days of summer, whatever. Like I just love when people actually sit and think and analyze these pieces of media that really impact all of us. And like, you know, like that's my purpose. That's my goal and I'm not afraid to admit that. Like I think that's exciting. And I hope that one day, you know, like other artists or record labels like see that too and like want to be a part of that because they understand that like communicating with the fandom is important. Sorry for my tangent. But going into the music itself, starting with fame as a gun. Fame as a gun proclaims her desire for fame and the glamorous life in a world where it is so commodified and monetized yet so hated on and demeaned. With lyrics like, "When you shame me, it makes me want it more." Where no matter how much criticism she has gotten online throughout the years, that doesn't change her dream. In fact, it fuels the dream to prove her wrong even more. And I love how vulnerable she is about that desire. She says, "You know I keep it real. I live for the appeal." "New it from the start was the only way to mend my broken heart." And everyone says they want to be creative and fun and do artistic things, but then absolutely shit on anytime they see anybody trying. And like I love that she is literally saying like, "I live for the appeal. I live for this feeling of my work being appreciated." And I enjoy that. It's part of the reason I create the work because I want other people to enjoy it too. And I have always known that from the start, that the only way I thought to fill this void within me was to share something with the world that was loved and admired so that I could validate that feeling that I had, the emotion that drove the song. Like, I think that's actually a very beautiful thing. I don't think that's an out of touch or performative thing. I think that's real as fuck. And I think more famous people should be willing to talk about that. Like, there's a reason you chose this line of work, you know. And I think it's exciting to see an artist not shy away from that. I actually think it's rather cool. Next, I want to talk about headphones on. Headphones on taps into this existential panic we feel as a society right now. and how when you hit rock bottom, sometimes the only thing you can do is put your headphones on and press play. Music is that form of escape. And this song is meant for you to escape to while singing about that escapism. With lyrics like, "You can't fix what's already been broken, you just have to surrender to the moment." And even talking about her own parents' divorce, I wish mom and dad could have been in love. And as a personal anecdote, like I very much resonated with this as a child of divorce from when I was, as long as I can remember, I don't remember my parents being together. But, you know, this idea of like putting your headphones on and pressing play in your childhood bedroom while your parents are yelling at each other downstairs is a universal experience with every like, divorcey kid ever, where music became this form of escapism, this form of safety, this form of euphoria, when everything was going bad around me, when I was stressed and anxious, when I didn't know what was going on with my parents, like music saved me. I was listening to Blue Neighborhood by Troysavon in 2014. My childhood bedroom in Virginia, right? Like that was what I was doing to get through that experience. And I think that's why music is like medicine for the soul. You know, like we use it to change our mood, whether that's you at the gym wanting to play a playlist that gets you really hyped, whether that's while you're chilling before bed and you're listening to some more like, "Vivie, aren't being music or pop music?" And the morning in the shower before work, like we use music as this medication, this form of medicine to change our emotional state. And I think that's what headphones on is really addressing. And with it, this form of escapism that comes with it, how sometimes we can't deal with the thing emotionally and we need the song to put us in the right emotional mood to deal with the thing. Then times like these is about surrendering yourself to the universe, and how you truly know what is never meant for you until it finds you. And no matter how fast life feels, whether it's moving faster than you or the ground is moving beneath your feet, that doesn't change what is destined for you, it doesn't change what you're working towards, it doesn't change the goal and the dream that you have in mind. And sometimes you just have to accept what is coming at you or coming from you. You know, like life is not about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself, life is about amassing these experiences to develop a personality, to develop taste, to develop likes and dislikes in people, places, music, food, whatever, to shape and mold the person that you are. And all of the things that you are are this summarization of all your experiences. And I think that's what times like these really taps into. I really love when she says, you know, am I too young to be this mad? Am I too old to blame my dad? I think saying like, am I too young to be this mad is talking about this like existential fear and doom. I think Gen Z is very much like prone to in terms of politics, in terms of economics and the cost of living, in terms to global warming and to like anything you can think about. Like we feel like like this great sense of doom and nihilism. And she's saying like, am I too, like is it crazy that I have this anger and animosity to feel that way? And then also like, am I too old to blame my dad? Like is it childish to look at these wounds I have, to look at these fears I have? And these pieces of vulnerability within me and blame the person who made me, the person who raised me and the person whose job it was was to build that foundation of emotional security. And also somebody who like blatantly took advantage of like the fame like she acquired as young like she has had it like her parents are in interesting conversation. I don't know what a way I just don't like talking about like people's family dynamics. I think it's weird, but like they've done some interesting things on the internet, you know, and like I'm sure that was not easy for her. And I think that's what this is trying to address. And other songs like I love on the album, I think like upon listening to it and full outside of the singles, I loved money is everything. Money is everything really, really was just so fun to me. I think it is again this like brutal sense of honesty and the things that most artists and fans people aren't willing to talk about. But she really talks about how she loves money. And money is important because money is a resource for fulfillment. It's to travel new places to eat new food, to experience live music. Like whatever fulfills you, money is everything because everything is money. And that doesn't mean you have to be like beholden or a slave to your money or stress over income all the time. Like sometimes a girl just wants to have fun. Sometimes a girl wants to spend $20 for the tequila soda, even though she knows it's a rip off, but it's Saturday night and the vibes are good. And that tequila soda is going to get you there. And money is everything, but it's okay to spend $20 girl like that. You know, I think that's what it's like tabbing into a little bit. And I love the part at the end where she's like, I'm the richest girl in the world. I don't know why it's just so funny. Like I want to be on PCH out the summer from my car like this saying I'm the richest boy in the world because I am. So overall, like what are my thoughts on the album as a whole? I think Addison Ray Thompson to this beautiful sense of nostalgia. Visually with the Tumblr aesthetic, the early igeostatic, the main mouse ears, this love of fame and directly writing about how much that admiration is important to her, but also kind of making fun of it a little bit like wearing the mini mouse ears and wearing the things that she wears like doing crazy stuff is a bit of like, yeah, I know people are watching me, and I know that this might even be controversial or disliked by some of the people, but I don't care. I thought that was really beautiful. And I think that she tapped into this element of nostalgia for Gen Z that felt new and exciting. Like it's clearly referential. You can so clearly feel Madonna inspiration, Lana inspiration, Charlie inspiration, Brittany inspiration, but also it is her. It doesn't feel like this imposter to me. It feels like she combined all of those things to create her own interpretation of them. And I also love again that she taps into this fearless sense of confidence and talking about these things like money loves me and high fashions and things like I know how to make hard things look really easy and you know talking about I live for the appeal. It was the only way to mend my broken heart. Like in a world where we are constantly being lied to on the internet, I think it's rather refreshing to see that honesty truly. Like even on things that are taboo to say traditionally, I think honesty is so refreshing. It's a endangered species. That's what it feels like. Honestly, on the internet is an endangered species. But I think the one and only like nitpick I have of this album from my personal experience was I think maybe she did too many singles where I think that it just felt like I already heard the best of the album. I like the songs like I like New York. I like money as everything, but none of them were I feel like fame is a gun and diet Pepsi and Aqua Marine and headphones on like those were the best songs which granted is why you make them singles. Like that's what artists do. That's a point of a single. But also in my head retroactively, I think that she should have maybe like not done times like these at the time of the album release. Done fame is a gun on the same day that the album release because I think that song has like very song of the summer potential. It's very like upbeat pop, a little dreamy sounding, a bit nostalgic for like 2010s, but like it just it just checks the boxes of that. And I think as you did it on album release, it could have been had more attention on it because everybody was like consuming the album at that time as well and then done a music video for times like these like a month or an hour or whatever. But again, that's just a personal thing and like I could be wrong. I'm not I don't know. This is just my opinion. As somebody like listened to the album and was like, okay, like I got a few songs, but like I already know what I like, I already know what I'm in for. And then other interesting questions. Do you think Addison Ray is going to get a best new artist nomination? At this point, I absolutely do. I think this album was an incredible debut. It was in the top 10. I think she really developed a unique perspective and persona with her music videos and the visuals she's been doing and writing about things like her relationships with her parades, but also this desire for fame and how that means to her to like have her work be appreciated and take it seriously when she spent so many years not being taken seriously. And I think that's a very interesting narrative for her best new artist story. I also love that it is this example of traditional and digital media crossing paths. You know, we're really starting to see more and more things like overcompensating and adults. Now, an Addison Ray album we've had and that's a beard in the past and choice of on and Quinta Brunson, like this merging between these worlds is really, really beautiful and exciting and I'm excited to see a new generation of talents. And I hope that Grammayne's rewards that because I would be super, super interested. And yeah, I guess that's all I have to say about this Addison Ray album. It's also again, like I'm not saying, like I've already given my thoughts on Diapercy and stuff like that. So you can go watch the other episode if you want. But I'm very excited. I do think we're going to get a deluxe album from Addison for sure. Like she understands the power of momentum. She did six singles and six music videos. She is a daughter of Charlie XCX at this point when it comes to the way she markets. And Charlie knows how to play with the length of the album cycle, how to play with this idea of hype and attention when people are talking about you the most and right when that starts to wear. And then you release the deluxe, then you release the song with Lord, then you do that, right? Like she's very good at that. And I think Addison will pick up on that and do a deluxe, which I would love we need more music. Please song and summer famous gun. I think but Thank you all for tuning in don't forget to subscribe. Please, please follow us and Spotify guys also on YouTube We're so so close to 100,000 subscribers. I'm gonna cry when I get it I've been dreaming that moment since I was a kid watching Jenna marbles in my bedroom You're gonna see me unbox this overplay button and cry so you can have that sooner if you press subscribe and turn on the notification bell But I love y'all and I'll see you next week bite