Courtesy of Emily Haworth

Addison Rae performs “Diet Pepsi” at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Oct. 16.

In 2019, a 19-year-old TikToker named Addison Rae quickly rose to fame through her viral TikTok dance videos and her involvement with the Hype House, a group of popular TikTokers who lived in a mansion and created content together. 

Six years after joining Hype House, Rae is the third-most followed female on TikTok and more prominently, has gained over 14 million monthly listeners on Spotify, marking a successful transition into the music industry. And most recently, Addison — the singer’s stage name — has earned her first Grammy nomination for Best New Artist at the 2026 Grammy Awards.

Addison’s 4-year rise to fame

Although now a global popstar, her journey to musical fame wasn’t easy. In March 2021, she released her debut single “Obsessed,” which wasn’t well received by the public; criticism centered on her choreography, while many were frustrated over a trend of TikTokers attempting to jumpstart music careers.

However, Addison continued to explore several ventures beyond TikTok. Efforts included the launch of her cosmetics line Item Beauty in 2021 to her acting debut as Padgett Sawyer in the Netflix film “He’s All That” and her fragrance line Addison Rae Fragrance.

Ultimately, Addison made her way back to music after several of her unreleased songs were leaked online in 2022, receiving surprisingly positive reactions. Building on that momentum, she officially released her debut EP AR in 2023, which featured five tracks.

In 2024, Addison’s musical career began to soar. She was featured on British singer songwriter Charli XCX’s remix of “Von Dutch” before releasing her synth-pop single “Diet Pepsi” later that year, which has amassed 500 million streams on Spotify. The reactions to “Diet Pepsi” were overwhelmingly positive, peaking at No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100 and practically solidifying her transformation from a TikToker to an established pop artist.

She continued releasing singles and eventually released her full-length album Addison in June. The album brought several standout pieces to the music industry such as “High Fashion” and “Headphones On.” Addison was noted for being produced by an all-women team, and fans also praised her choice to go makeup-free for the album’s press tour.

My experience at Addison’s tour

When Addison announced her tour in June, the turnout was immediate and overwhelming. During the ticket pre-sale for her show at the Fox Theater in Oakland (which eventually moved to Bill Graham Civic Auditorium), over 60,000 people were in queue for a venue seating 2,800 people. For her tour in Los Angeles, over 100,000 were reported being in the Ticketmaster queue for a venue capacity of 2,300, according to Pop Flop on X.

Having successfully secured two tickets, my friend and I arrived at the venue around 5 p.m., two hours before doors opened. Despite her growing popularity, we didn’t expect there to be a line extending past the sidewalk. Additionally, although her TikTok fan base consisted of preteens and teenagers, most concert attendees were adults in their mid-20s.

Since we held general admission tickets and got a good place in line, we were able to get inside the venue and secure our spot in the fifth row. As we waited for the concert to start, more people began to enter the venue, and people around us began pushing their way through the crowd to get closer to the stage, claiming they were meeting with their friend or simply pushing without an explanation. The crowd eventually became so dense that I felt people pressing from every direction. My friend and I made the decision to leave and find a new spot further away.

Despite the poor experience with her fanbase pushing their way to the stage, once Addison came on stage, her energetic dancing and clear voice solidified the concert as one of the best I’ve been to — and that’s coming from a regular concert-goer.

As someone who has always been an Addison fan (even in her TikTok dance days), I saw her magnetic stage presence shine through in her choreography due to her background in dance and vocal training. Additionally, Addison has often mentioned inspiration from pop stars like Madonna, Britney Spears and Arca — well-known for their stage presence, choreography and music style. 

Currently, Addison is touring Australia before heading to Lollapalooza, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil in March, and then Coachella in April.

What began as viral dance videos has grown into a solidified music career as a Grammy-nominated artist. Addison’s journey has proven that a clear artistic vision can transform fleeting internet fame into a lasting and impactful entertainment career.