Addison Rae: Addison, TikTok, Charli xcx & Songwriting | Zane Lowe Interview

00:57:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H_H7sT9KjE

概要

TLDRIn a revealing interview, Addison Rae shares her artistic journey, discussing her new self-titled album and the creative process behind her music. She reflects on the challenges of fame, the importance of authenticity, and the need for personal boundaries in the age of social media. Rae emphasizes the value of bold artistic choices and the timeless nature of music, expressing her desire for listeners to connect with her work on a deeper level. She acknowledges the pressures of fame but finds strength in her experiences and relationships, viewing her career as a continuous journey of growth and self-discovery.

収穫

  • 🎤 Addison Rae embraces her identity as an artist with her self-titled album.
  • 🎶 'High Fashion' reflects her bold artistic choices and personal growth.
  • 🌟 Fame offers both opportunities and challenges for Rae.
  • 💬 Rae values authenticity and deep connections with her audience.
  • 🎧 Music is timeless and resonates differently at various life stages.
  • 🤝 Collaboration is key to Rae's creative process.
  • 🧠 Mental health management is crucial in the face of fame.
  • 💪 Rae believes in the importance of personal boundaries.
  • 🌈 The journey of an artist is ongoing and ever-evolving.
  • ✨ Rae's music aims to provoke thought and emotion.

タイムライン

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The speaker reflects on their journey of chasing dreams while feeling bratty and self-aware. They discuss their growth as an artist and the significance of their music, particularly the song 'High Fashion', which represents their emergence from a cocoon of self-discovery.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    The conversation shifts to the artist's collaboration with others, highlighting the creative process behind 'High Fashion' and the evolution of the song from various versions to its final form. The artist expresses their appreciation for the weirdness and discomfort in art as a means of provoking thought.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The artist discusses the importance of making bold statements in their music, emphasizing that playing it safe can lead to a loss of creative freedom. They reflect on their journey of building a fan base and the pressure that comes with it, while also acknowledging their desire to create meaningful art.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    The artist shares their initial motivations for using social media platforms like TikTok to pursue their dreams, recognizing the opportunities it provided for their career. They emphasize the importance of authenticity and the desire to create art beyond just social media influence.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The conversation touches on the challenges of maintaining a balance between social media presence and artistic integrity. The artist reflects on the pressure to constantly produce content and the realization that their work deserves to be valued over time, rather than being seen as disposable.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    The artist expresses their understanding of the impact of their upbringing on their perspective, particularly regarding relationships and the importance of communication. They discuss how their experiences have shaped their views on love and trust.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    The artist reflects on their childhood, describing themselves as loud and dedicated. They acknowledge the challenges they faced growing up, including their family's ups and downs, and how those experiences have influenced their understanding of relationships.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    The conversation delves into the artist's creative process and the importance of self-awareness in their songwriting. They discuss their growth as a writer and the significance of trusting their instincts in the studio.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    The artist shares their thoughts on the nature of fame and its impact on personal relationships. They acknowledge the sacrifices made in pursuit of their dreams and the lessons learned from navigating the complexities of fame.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:50:00

    The artist discusses their approach to promoting their music, emphasizing the importance of authenticity and the desire to connect with their audience. They reflect on the challenges of balancing personal expression with the demands of the music industry.

  • 00:50:00 - 00:57:31

    The conversation concludes with the artist expressing their excitement for their upcoming album and the creative journey that led to its completion. They emphasize the importance of taking the time to create meaningful art and the value of sharing their story with the world.

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ビデオQ&A

  • What inspired Addison Rae's song 'High Fashion'?

    The song 'High Fashion' was inspired by Rae's desire to create a catchy and provocative pop song that reflects her artistic identity.

  • How does Addison Rae feel about the pressures of fame?

    Rae acknowledges the toll fame can take but also finds it gives her a deeper understanding of people and compassion.

  • What does Addison Rae think about social media's impact on artists?

    She believes social media can create pressure to constantly produce content, which can undermine the value of artistic work.

  • What is the significance of Addison Rae's self-titled album?

    The self-titled album represents a return to her core identity as an artist, moving beyond the persona of 'Addison Rae'.

  • How does Addison Rae approach her creative process?

    Rae emphasizes the importance of collaboration and being deeply involved in every aspect of her music.

  • What does Addison Rae want listeners to take away from her music?

    She hopes listeners will connect with the emotions and experiences conveyed in her songs.

  • How does Addison Rae manage her mental health amidst fame?

    She focuses on maintaining stability through trusted relationships and creative environments.

  • What does Addison Rae believe about the nature of art?

    Rae believes art is timeless and can resonate with people at different moments in their lives.

  • What is Addison Rae's perspective on the future of her career?

    She views her career as an ongoing journey of growth and discovery, with no final destination.

  • How does Addison Rae feel about the concept of fame?

    She sees fame as a double-edged sword, offering opportunities but also challenges.

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  • 00:00:00
    while you're sitting in your dad's
  • 00:00:01
    basement like I'm chasing my dreams and
  • 00:00:03
    I was kind of just in this like bratty
  • 00:00:04
    time which no pun intended. The pun very
  • 00:00:07
    much intended. No. Yeah. All pun
  • 00:00:08
    intended. I was in a bratty time in my
  • 00:00:10
    own life. Intend that pun. I mean it.
  • 00:00:14
    [Music]
  • 00:00:19
    Hi Addison. Hey. It's nice to meet you
  • 00:00:21
    in person. I know at last. I feel like
  • 00:00:24
    I've met you though. And here we find
  • 00:00:25
    ourselves in the middle of this um this
  • 00:00:28
    beautiful era for you, right? It's the
  • 00:00:30
    middle of of a of a kind of coming out
  • 00:00:32
    of a cocoon of sorts, you know? It's
  • 00:00:34
    just that that cocoon is like been seen
  • 00:00:36
    by a lot of people and now you get to
  • 00:00:38
    kind of kind of emerge with with music
  • 00:00:41
    that really speaks to you and that's why
  • 00:00:43
    I love that song so much. But when I
  • 00:00:44
    heard High Fashion and I thought Diet
  • 00:00:46
    Pepsi was a great move on and and a
  • 00:00:49
    great sort of arrival in a way because
  • 00:00:51
    that is today at least who you are as an
  • 00:00:53
    artist. that song. It's like catchy,
  • 00:00:55
    sticky, clever, provocative, and weird.
  • 00:00:59
    Is that a fair Is that a fair
  • 00:01:00
    description? No. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it
  • 00:01:02
    is. I love that actually. I really find
  • 00:01:05
    a lot of compliments in weirdness and
  • 00:01:08
    like uncomfortability, you know? I think
  • 00:01:10
    that's the best way to provoke someone
  • 00:01:12
    is to make them feel a way that they
  • 00:01:13
    maybe don't feel comfortable or maybe
  • 00:01:15
    feel embarrassed to feel. We were right
  • 00:01:17
    there for obsessed. We spoke on
  • 00:01:18
    obsessed. Everyone's got to start
  • 00:01:20
    somewhere, right? But Diet Pepsi was
  • 00:01:21
    like, "Okay, I've taken the time between
  • 00:01:23
    then and now." I've really like listened
  • 00:01:24
    to myself more than anyone else. Yeah.
  • 00:01:27
    But High Fashion was like, "Fucking
  • 00:01:28
    hell, where is she coming from?" Because
  • 00:01:30
    it's a it's a it's a really skewed
  • 00:01:33
    modern pop song. How did you feel when
  • 00:01:36
    you heard whatever you heard that
  • 00:01:39
    inspired it? You know, what was it? What
  • 00:01:40
    was the spark? I mean, you know, going
  • 00:01:43
    to Diet Pepsi, like you were just
  • 00:01:44
    talking about, that was such to me like
  • 00:01:46
    a natural beginning to all of this. And
  • 00:01:48
    I think it was a perfect introduction in
  • 00:01:50
    so many ways. Um because it was, you
  • 00:01:53
    know, as as fun and wild and sexy as
  • 00:01:56
    Diet Pepsi is, it's like easy to
  • 00:01:59
    understand. Like you could see why, you
  • 00:02:01
    know, that would be a lead single. And I
  • 00:02:03
    think High Fashion was the one that
  • 00:02:05
    really confused people the most, which I
  • 00:02:06
    thought was so funny because I remember
  • 00:02:08
    when we were in the studio making High
  • 00:02:10
    Fashion, it went through a few versions
  • 00:02:11
    actually before we landed on what it is
  • 00:02:13
    now. And it was kind of like a ballad
  • 00:02:15
    and like some weird musical theater
  • 00:02:17
    song. Like we were really trying to make
  • 00:02:19
    this concept work because I love to us
  • 00:02:21
    please so we can hear them in private.
  • 00:02:23
    No, there's the musical theater one. I
  • 00:02:25
    definitely want to hear that. It's
  • 00:02:26
    really wild. It's like maybe one day,
  • 00:02:28
    you know, I want to be high fashion. I'm
  • 00:02:30
    going to be high fashion literally. Um
  • 00:02:33
    yeah. And when we landed on this, um
  • 00:02:36
    what had happened was we were, you know,
  • 00:02:38
    toying around with the concept of high
  • 00:02:39
    fashion. And I wanted a song called High
  • 00:02:41
    Fashion so bad. And that's where it
  • 00:02:42
    really started. And then I ended up
  • 00:02:44
    writing down, you know, I don't need
  • 00:02:45
    drugs. because I'd rather get high
  • 00:02:47
    fashion. And so when I brought this
  • 00:02:48
    concept up to Luca and Alviver Vera,
  • 00:02:50
    like I said, we tried it a few times.
  • 00:02:52
    Nothing was clicking, but I was so
  • 00:02:54
    desperate to make it work just because I
  • 00:02:56
    love the title high fashion. And um and
  • 00:02:58
    then I wasn't at the studio one day. I
  • 00:03:01
    think I I must have been like doing
  • 00:03:03
    something else. And Luke and Oier were
  • 00:03:04
    still in in the studio working on
  • 00:03:06
    things. And um Tove Berman, who is an
  • 00:03:09
    incredible songwriter, um she came in to
  • 00:03:12
    the session that they were having and
  • 00:03:14
    were like they were like, "We need to
  • 00:03:15
    try and make this title work for her. We
  • 00:03:17
    need to make the concept work." Like she
  • 00:03:18
    has the lyric that she wants. She won't
  • 00:03:20
    let it go. Yeah. I won't let it go. How
  • 00:03:22
    do we make this happen? And so they came
  • 00:03:24
    the next day into the session and were
  • 00:03:26
    like, "We kind of made a track that we
  • 00:03:29
    feel like could be where high fashion
  • 00:03:30
    needs to end up." And I was like,
  • 00:03:32
    "Amazing. Let me hear it." And so they
  • 00:03:33
    played a very different but very similar
  • 00:03:37
    version of what it is now. Yeah. Kind of
  • 00:03:39
    like the bones of it all, but with the
  • 00:03:40
    with the chords that feel kind of minor
  • 00:03:42
    and Yeah. the weird chords. Kind of like
  • 00:03:44
    2 AM in the rave. Exactly. Exactly. That
  • 00:03:47
    was kind of like the idea was for it to
  • 00:03:49
    feel pretty like druggy and, you know,
  • 00:03:51
    lost in itself in a way. And I think
  • 00:03:53
    that complimented that lyric so well.
  • 00:03:56
    And so when they brought me that and had
  • 00:03:57
    like a little they had like a taste of
  • 00:03:59
    the melody, it kind of changed um since
  • 00:04:03
    the first version that they played me,
  • 00:04:04
    but it had the lyric. And so I was like,
  • 00:04:06
    "Oh my god, I love it. We have to work
  • 00:04:08
    on this." And we worked on it that day.
  • 00:04:09
    And I think we finished it the next day
  • 00:04:10
    and it just evolved so magically. And
  • 00:04:14
    then we didn't even have the bridge in
  • 00:04:15
    the first version. It was just really
  • 00:04:17
    short and concise. And I was like, I
  • 00:04:19
    don't know. I need something that goes
  • 00:04:20
    even deeper. I wanted to go longer. Yes,
  • 00:04:23
    I know. It needs to be longer. And I
  • 00:04:25
    love long songs. I think long songs are
  • 00:04:27
    especially when you have that vibe, man.
  • 00:04:28
    It's like why would I let that go after
  • 00:04:29
    2 minutes? No, it's so true. I know. And
  • 00:04:31
    high fashion gives me such like a sense
  • 00:04:33
    of desperation and it it it almost makes
  • 00:04:36
    me feel alone but in a very crowded room
  • 00:04:41
    kind of sensation, you know? Yeah. And
  • 00:04:43
    so yeah, then we wrote that bridge and
  • 00:04:46
    it's really special bridge to me. I
  • 00:04:47
    don't know, it feels so intimate in a
  • 00:04:50
    lot of ways. I think it's honestly, in
  • 00:04:52
    my personal opinion, it's one of, if not
  • 00:04:54
    the contender for like pop song of of my
  • 00:04:57
    year so far. I mean, it's just such an
  • 00:05:00
    interesting arrangement and I, like I
  • 00:05:01
    said, I just I love the fact that you
  • 00:05:03
    that you um had the foresight and the
  • 00:05:07
    creative courage to let your
  • 00:05:08
    collaborators take you into into a place
  • 00:05:10
    that people weren't expecting so early.
  • 00:05:12
    So early. And I wonder sort of how
  • 00:05:14
    important bold statements are at this
  • 00:05:17
    point in your journey rather than kind
  • 00:05:19
    of like playing it a little safer
  • 00:05:21
    knowing that a certain type of music is
  • 00:05:23
    going to reach an audience that already
  • 00:05:24
    exists and create a smoother transition
  • 00:05:27
    from fame to creative freedom. How
  • 00:05:30
    important that you are willing to like
  • 00:05:32
    make bold statements and challenge
  • 00:05:34
    people rather than make it easier for
  • 00:05:36
    us. Yeah. Well, I mean I think I got
  • 00:05:39
    seems like a lot. It seems like you
  • 00:05:40
    don't mind doing it. I don't mind it.
  • 00:05:41
    It's actually more comfortable to me to
  • 00:05:44
    feel that freedom because once you start
  • 00:05:46
    playing it safe and feeling like, okay,
  • 00:05:49
    I'm going to respond with what people
  • 00:05:50
    want, you lose all freedom. Yeah. You
  • 00:05:54
    lose all
  • 00:05:56
    desire for the whole purpose of starting
  • 00:05:58
    it, you know, and and feeling like it's
  • 00:06:00
    a form of expression and a reflection.
  • 00:06:03
    So, I think yeah, it's never really
  • 00:06:05
    scary to me. I think it it's more scary
  • 00:06:06
    to let that go and then give people
  • 00:06:09
    exactly what they think they want. But
  • 00:06:10
    you worked so hard to build a a fan base
  • 00:06:12
    and a lot of pressure at a at a very
  • 00:06:14
    young age in order to sort of make the
  • 00:06:16
    numbers work and your story is really
  • 00:06:18
    interesting because you know you got a
  • 00:06:20
    taste of what was possible. People were
  • 00:06:21
    interested in what you were doing online
  • 00:06:23
    on the internet and on social media but
  • 00:06:25
    then it was very clear based on what
  • 00:06:27
    I've learned about you so far and please
  • 00:06:28
    keep me honest here that you didn't look
  • 00:06:31
    at it as like oh just a frivolous cool
  • 00:06:33
    thing people like me dancing and like me
  • 00:06:34
    entertaining them. You were like no this
  • 00:06:36
    is a way out of something. Is that true?
  • 00:06:38
    Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I think in the
  • 00:06:41
    beginning especially and, you know,
  • 00:06:43
    starting out, I always knew that I
  • 00:06:45
    wanted to make music. I always knew I
  • 00:06:46
    wanted to act. I think I just knew I
  • 00:06:48
    wanted to perform. That was just
  • 00:06:49
    something that was really obvious to me
  • 00:06:50
    since I was a little girl. Um, and so
  • 00:06:52
    when Tik Tok happened, I was almost
  • 00:06:53
    like, well, this seems like a really
  • 00:06:56
    nice way to, you know, get myself to LA
  • 00:06:58
    first because I think in Louisiana, you
  • 00:07:01
    know, there wasn't as many opportunities
  • 00:07:03
    or like possibility really to pursue
  • 00:07:06
    that kind of profession necessarily
  • 00:07:09
    unless you just got really really lucky,
  • 00:07:10
    which means there's probably not a lot
  • 00:07:11
    of people around that you can kick that
  • 00:07:14
    dream down the road with. Mhm. Yeah.
  • 00:07:16
    Yeah. I mean, I had a best friend who is
  • 00:07:18
    still one of my best friends of all
  • 00:07:19
    time, and she had a very similar
  • 00:07:21
    perspective as me on artistry and being
  • 00:07:25
    an artist and creating and and making
  • 00:07:27
    that possible. And um she was with me
  • 00:07:30
    whenever I first came to LA. Um and so I
  • 00:07:32
    think that was really helpful to have
  • 00:07:34
    one person that I felt really understood
  • 00:07:37
    me as a person and as a creative and my
  • 00:07:40
    passion and desire for that. and she
  • 00:07:42
    kind of was someone that I leaned on a
  • 00:07:44
    lot to keep inspiring me and keep
  • 00:07:46
    feeling like this isn't just a, you
  • 00:07:49
    know, passing thing that I need to let
  • 00:07:51
    go of. Did Tik Tok change your family's
  • 00:07:53
    life? Yeah, it did. I mean, I think any
  • 00:07:56
    sense of, you know, acknowledgement
  • 00:07:59
    or I guess attention in those kinds of
  • 00:08:03
    ways changes your family's life. Yeah.
  • 00:08:05
    For better or for worse, I'm sure it
  • 00:08:06
    goes both ways. You don't get a
  • 00:08:07
    life-changing experience all going one
  • 00:08:09
    way. there's going to be sacrifice along
  • 00:08:11
    the way. Let's talk about the positive
  • 00:08:12
    though. Um, how did that sort of how did
  • 00:08:14
    you translate the idea of of sort of
  • 00:08:17
    modern fame, which really is just about
  • 00:08:18
    like that immediate endorphin rush of
  • 00:08:21
    like I like what you're doing here or I
  • 00:08:23
    like what you're saying here or I like
  • 00:08:25
    the value you're bringing to my life and
  • 00:08:26
    it's so immediate. It's like oh I know
  • 00:08:29
    who you are now because you've done
  • 00:08:30
    something that grabbed my attention
  • 00:08:31
    first and then I actually think it's a
  • 00:08:32
    value to me so I'm going to tell you so
  • 00:08:35
    hit that thing and tell you so and
  • 00:08:36
    you're seeing these things stack up.
  • 00:08:38
    When did you start to realize that, hang
  • 00:08:40
    on, I can't just let this be a private
  • 00:08:41
    exercise. I have to kind of think about
  • 00:08:43
    how to monetize this and turn this into
  • 00:08:45
    business, right? Because you're one of
  • 00:08:47
    the first people to really do that out
  • 00:08:48
    of that Tik Tok revolution to create
  • 00:08:50
    business before you even got a chance to
  • 00:08:51
    introduce yourself to us as an artist,
  • 00:08:53
    right? I mean, I think so many
  • 00:08:55
    opportunities were coming at me at a
  • 00:08:56
    million miles per hour. And I when I
  • 00:08:59
    mean when I first moved to LA within the
  • 00:09:01
    first two months I had met with my
  • 00:09:02
    managers and I I mean that was my my
  • 00:09:05
    first time meeting with any type of
  • 00:09:06
    manager before but I'm still with them
  • 00:09:08
    today. So it was obviously very wa that
  • 00:09:10
    is that's really lucky. Um but I told
  • 00:09:12
    them the first time they had met me with
  • 00:09:15
    the intention of like talking about
  • 00:09:16
    social media like oh great so we're
  • 00:09:17
    going to manage you on social media and
  • 00:09:18
    you're going to be you know like an
  • 00:09:20
    influencer and I was like yeah well I
  • 00:09:22
    actually don't want to do that. Like
  • 00:09:23
    that's not the goal for me. The goal is
  • 00:09:24
    to create, you know, art and
  • 00:09:26
    entertainment for people that, you know,
  • 00:09:29
    exceeds just social media and and just
  • 00:09:32
    living on a a platform like Tik Tok. You
  • 00:09:34
    know, I want it to be everywhere. And I
  • 00:09:36
    want to I want to entertain people in
  • 00:09:39
    different facets, not just by sharing my
  • 00:09:41
    personal life necessarily um in the way
  • 00:09:43
    that I was at the time. And so, yeah,
  • 00:09:45
    cuz that's really tough, right? I mean,
  • 00:09:46
    at the end of the day, you make a piece
  • 00:09:47
    of art, then you get to take a breath, a
  • 00:09:49
    moment, and you get to decide how you
  • 00:09:51
    want to bring it to life. And it's all
  • 00:09:52
    creative. It's like I'm going to do the
  • 00:09:54
    show like this, the merch like this.
  • 00:09:55
    Everything's it's just all created and
  • 00:09:58
    it and it lives and it exists in a time
  • 00:10:00
    and it's part of something. Whereas
  • 00:10:02
    that's the one thing about social media
  • 00:10:04
    success is that if you're not updating
  • 00:10:06
    it and feeding it then people feel like
  • 00:10:09
    it's not personal. And what that
  • 00:10:11
    experience was like as as a as a real
  • 00:10:13
    first generation hypers successful
  • 00:10:15
    social media human being to be
  • 00:10:18
    constantly feeling like I have to feed
  • 00:10:20
    this beast otherwise it won't feed me
  • 00:10:23
    back. Right. I think I've gotten to a
  • 00:10:25
    point in my life where I've acknowledged
  • 00:10:28
    that within over the past probably two
  • 00:10:30
    years, I've acknowledged that and
  • 00:10:32
    understood where that came from and kind
  • 00:10:35
    of now know that by treating myself like
  • 00:10:39
    I'm disposable in that way and that it's
  • 00:10:42
    on to the next piece of content and
  • 00:10:43
    okay, what do I have to post tomorrow to
  • 00:10:44
    keep people excited or interested and
  • 00:10:46
    and it was day after day after day. I
  • 00:10:47
    mean, I was posting like 10 Tik Toks a
  • 00:10:49
    day at at one point, you know, and I was
  • 00:10:51
    feeling like I couldn't stop because I
  • 00:10:53
    was like, well, what if people forget
  • 00:10:54
    about me? What if they don't care, you
  • 00:10:55
    know, what if they lose interest? And by
  • 00:10:57
    the way, that's a really common thought
  • 00:10:58
    to have these days because things are so
  • 00:11:00
    rapid and things are coming out so fast
  • 00:11:02
    and, you know, people move on to the
  • 00:11:03
    next thing. But I think when I realized
  • 00:11:06
    for myself that by doing that and
  • 00:11:08
    playing into that, I'm actually I'm
  • 00:11:10
    actually telling people that the work is
  • 00:11:12
    disposable and that the work is not
  • 00:11:14
    worth thinking about for longer than 10
  • 00:11:16
    seconds, you know? And so now I'm at
  • 00:11:19
    this point where I'm like, no, I know
  • 00:11:21
    these songs have value. I know the
  • 00:11:23
    videos have value. I know they need to
  • 00:11:25
    be digested over time and I need they
  • 00:11:27
    need to be understood and rewatched and,
  • 00:11:30
    you know, looked deeper into. And and so
  • 00:11:32
    now that I've given myself that grace
  • 00:11:34
    and been like, "No, I I actually value
  • 00:11:36
    my work that much that I think I put
  • 00:11:37
    that much time into it, that much effort
  • 00:11:39
    into it, I know it deserves to be
  • 00:11:41
    understood and it needs to be understood
  • 00:11:43
    over time."
  • 00:11:45
    Congratulations. As a as a music fan,
  • 00:11:48
    that is that's all music fans want to
  • 00:11:49
    hear is that is that you're willing to
  • 00:11:51
    give us the grace to discover what it is
  • 00:11:53
    you've made and and we don't feel the
  • 00:11:55
    pressure cuz we feel pressure, too. Like
  • 00:11:57
    if we like someone online or on social
  • 00:11:58
    media, we feel pressure to keep up with
  • 00:12:00
    you. Mhm. And at the end of the day,
  • 00:12:01
    we're all racing. And I just don't know
  • 00:12:02
    if it goes anywhere. That's not to say
  • 00:12:04
    it's not great. I'm on social media
  • 00:12:05
    feeds. We did a Tik Tok today. We're all
  • 00:12:07
    about this and about that. We're going
  • 00:12:08
    to do Tik Toks later. Yeah. Yeah. It's
  • 00:12:09
    all tool. It's all tools, right? It's
  • 00:12:10
    all tools in the box, but just keep them
  • 00:12:12
    in the box and take them out when you
  • 00:12:13
    want them. I just don't know if it
  • 00:12:15
    builds anything that substantial
  • 00:12:17
    without, to your point, you having to
  • 00:12:20
    consistently feed it. Whereas, I'm a fan
  • 00:12:22
    of this because this can sit here and
  • 00:12:25
    wait for me. Y and I can find it in
  • 00:12:27
    three years time. In fact, it's it's a
  • 00:12:29
    privilege to miss it for 10 years and
  • 00:12:32
    and discover it later on in life. It
  • 00:12:34
    really is. I feel honestly most times
  • 00:12:36
    most strongly about music that I listen
  • 00:12:38
    to that came out, you know, 20 years ago
  • 00:12:40
    on an album that I never heard. It's the
  • 00:12:42
    best thing ever. And I think I actually
  • 00:12:44
    just saw something recently Charlie just
  • 00:12:45
    posted at Tik Tok duetting this one girl
  • 00:12:47
    who talks a lot about pop culture and
  • 00:12:49
    music and whatever on um online and she
  • 00:12:51
    was saying you know the true value in an
  • 00:12:53
    artist is them knowing that art it it
  • 00:12:56
    extends past the day that it was
  • 00:12:58
    released you know and it extends past
  • 00:13:00
    just a time a small time frame where
  • 00:13:02
    people think oh well it's not new
  • 00:13:04
    anymore so it's it's old you know it's
  • 00:13:06
    timeless it's like it's timeless it can
  • 00:13:07
    exist it can find you at any moment and
  • 00:13:09
    I think the songs will find people at
  • 00:13:12
    different moment moments in their life.
  • 00:13:13
    And you know, even when you listen to a
  • 00:13:14
    song now that you used to love two years
  • 00:13:16
    ago, it's a completely different
  • 00:13:17
    meaning. Shazam all the time.
  • 00:13:20
    I'm like, "Was that was that? What's
  • 00:13:21
    that? Was that was that?" Be told me
  • 00:13:22
    once, he's like, "I think songs
  • 00:13:23
    physically change shape." They do. And I
  • 00:13:25
    was like, "Wow, this is incredible." So
  • 00:13:26
    you're you're thinking of songs in a
  • 00:13:28
    physical form. He's like, "Absolutely.
  • 00:13:29
    Every time it touches somebody, it
  • 00:13:30
    enters into them and becomes part of
  • 00:13:31
    their physical makeup, their DNA, their
  • 00:13:34
    chemistry." Right. Exactly. It's part of
  • 00:13:35
    it. It's almost a sixth sense. And they
  • 00:13:37
    change shape according to the
  • 00:13:39
    circumstances around them and what they
  • 00:13:40
    are. It's how you get to live on. Yeah,
  • 00:13:43
    it's so true. It's kind of cool, right?
  • 00:13:46
    It kind of defeats mortality in in the
  • 00:13:48
    most sort of romantic and creative way.
  • 00:13:50
    It does. And it's like mind control to
  • 00:13:52
    me. Oh, let's talk about that. What do
  • 00:13:53
    you mean? I think music I'm a really
  • 00:13:56
    intentional listener. I actually like
  • 00:13:58
    get really bothered when music is
  • 00:14:00
    playing whenever I'm not um presently or
  • 00:14:04
    focused on kind of controlling what I'm
  • 00:14:06
    listening to or taking in. Never. Never.
  • 00:14:09
    Most times when I'm in my car, I'm
  • 00:14:10
    driving in silence. I like to just sit
  • 00:14:12
    alone in my thoughts a lot of times. Um
  • 00:14:15
    because when background music starts
  • 00:14:17
    playing, I almost feel like it it it
  • 00:14:19
    impacts me so strongly that I I then am
  • 00:14:22
    like having my mood controlled or like
  • 00:14:25
    led in a certain way. Yeah. Your
  • 00:14:27
    chemistry is changing in real time. It
  • 00:14:28
    is. And I think when you listen to
  • 00:14:30
    certain songs, especially, you know, I
  • 00:14:32
    love listening to every single element
  • 00:14:34
    of of a song. I love the production. I
  • 00:14:36
    think production is such a big part to
  • 00:14:37
    me of music. I think, you know, lyrics
  • 00:14:40
    are obviously so impactful and and I I
  • 00:14:43
    really listen to every lyric that I
  • 00:14:45
    hear. Um, obviously melody is so also so
  • 00:14:48
    important and I think once you get past
  • 00:14:50
    listening to the melody or the, you
  • 00:14:52
    know, track and you hear the lyrics, it
  • 00:14:55
    really does shape your view on your day
  • 00:14:58
    in a lot of ways. Well, and the way that
  • 00:14:59
    you relate to people, man, we're on the
  • 00:15:00
    same page. I I I've been saying to
  • 00:15:02
    people lately that, you know, when you
  • 00:15:03
    hear a song like I can hear high
  • 00:15:04
    fashion, all of a sudden I'm going to
  • 00:15:06
    move a little different and I'm going to
  • 00:15:08
    and I'm going to hum it when I'm walking
  • 00:15:09
    into rooms or it's going to be my mind
  • 00:15:10
    so I'm going to greet people
  • 00:15:12
    differently. I'm going to greet them in
  • 00:15:13
    a high fashion way. Greet them with a
  • 00:15:14
    groove. Right. Exactly. Right. Whereas
  • 00:15:16
    if I was listening to deaf tones, I
  • 00:15:18
    would be walking in. I'd be greeting
  • 00:15:19
    them in a different way. Totally. Right.
  • 00:15:20
    And so it alters the whole course of
  • 00:15:22
    your day and those people that you touch
  • 00:15:23
    and interact with across your day. It is
  • 00:15:26
    such a magic. Yeah. It like bleeds into
  • 00:15:28
    everything. Yeah, it really does. So
  • 00:15:30
    you're Addison now. That's that's I mean
  • 00:15:33
    it's it's a great doublebarreled name to
  • 00:15:36
    have, but it's a great first name to to
  • 00:15:39
    have now. So it's self-titled by design
  • 00:15:43
    because to some degree that represents a
  • 00:15:45
    break in how people have perceived you
  • 00:15:48
    before. Well, I think for me if if you
  • 00:15:51
    got introduced to me as Addison Ray, as
  • 00:15:53
    most people did, I think you will always
  • 00:15:56
    know me as that. But I think for me and
  • 00:15:58
    what making music is doing for just my
  • 00:16:02
    own soul and heart is bringing me back
  • 00:16:05
    to like the core of everything. And so I
  • 00:16:08
    think Addison Ray, yes, you know, is a
  • 00:16:11
    part of me and that will always be a
  • 00:16:12
    part of who I am. And there are elements
  • 00:16:14
    of me that are obviously Addison Ray and
  • 00:16:16
    and kind of encapsulate what people have
  • 00:16:18
    created as who Addison Ray is. But I
  • 00:16:20
    think for me it's it was all about
  • 00:16:22
    coming back to the center of it all
  • 00:16:25
    which is just Addison. And I don't know
  • 00:16:28
    I think in my life nobody ever called me
  • 00:16:30
    Addison Ray. Like that wasn't true. No.
  • 00:16:32
    It's so true. What you're saying I think
  • 00:16:33
    is is from my perspective what I'm
  • 00:16:34
    taking from it is that if someone
  • 00:16:36
    introduces you as Addison Ray they're
  • 00:16:37
    introducing you as an identity. It's an
  • 00:16:40
    identity. It's like hey this is Addison
  • 00:16:42
    Ray you know from the internet. Yes.
  • 00:16:44
    Whereas if you make art and you make
  • 00:16:46
    music and I and it moves me and I and I
  • 00:16:48
    get and I get to introduce you to
  • 00:16:49
    somebody because I get to be that
  • 00:16:51
    conduit. Edison is a far more personal
  • 00:16:53
    way to do it. Yes. Exactly. Like we have
  • 00:16:55
    a relationship whether it's personal or
  • 00:16:57
    not. So much more intimate. Yeah, it is.
  • 00:16:59
    Yeah. I know. I actually had an
  • 00:17:00
    experience where I went home like a few
  • 00:17:02
    years ago maybe and somebody that I had
  • 00:17:04
    went to high school with was like,
  • 00:17:06
    "Yeah, this is Addison Ray." And I was
  • 00:17:09
    like
  • 00:17:10
    I was like bless him. That's just that's
  • 00:17:13
    a kind of
  • 00:17:14
    heartbreaking best intentions, but I
  • 00:17:16
    know it was it was with the best
  • 00:17:17
    intentions, but it did hurt me because I
  • 00:17:19
    was like, you know me more than that,
  • 00:17:23
    you know? And I think that that
  • 00:17:25
    definitely made me realize a lot of
  • 00:17:26
    things whenever that happened cuz I was
  • 00:17:28
    just like, whoa, that that actually kind
  • 00:17:30
    of shows me in a way the way that they
  • 00:17:33
    decide to view me, you know? It's no
  • 00:17:35
    longer like it's like oh they've taken
  • 00:17:38
    on the approach that I've just changed
  • 00:17:40
    with Hollywood or something you know.
  • 00:17:42
    Let's talk about the making of this
  • 00:17:43
    record. Okay so Obsess comes out you
  • 00:17:46
    take that first step and people are
  • 00:17:50
    trying to figure out what it means to
  • 00:17:51
    Addison Ray and then there was a
  • 00:17:54
    concerted amount of time in between that
  • 00:17:56
    and your return. What were you doing in
  • 00:17:58
    that time? I was writing. I was in
  • 00:18:00
    sessions. I was meeting people. I had
  • 00:18:03
    met Charlie in between that time
  • 00:18:04
    actually for the first time in a session
  • 00:18:06
    and um when obsessed came out you know I
  • 00:18:09
    love obsessed I think obsessed will get
  • 00:18:10
    its flowers someday um and I actually I
  • 00:18:13
    mean it did really well when it came out
  • 00:18:14
    so I was like you know that so why is
  • 00:18:17
    the your reaction to that song when you
  • 00:18:18
    think back on it now not just it did
  • 00:18:20
    really well why do you make the
  • 00:18:23
    statement I love obsessed what was the
  • 00:18:26
    counter point to it people weren't ready
  • 00:18:27
    to receive that or me as an artist which
  • 00:18:30
    is completely understandable and
  • 00:18:31
    actually I think the reason why people
  • 00:18:33
    are so much more open to it now is
  • 00:18:35
    because there is an obvious difference
  • 00:18:38
    of how much I put into it. Well, also I
  • 00:18:42
    think this I think the subject matter,
  • 00:18:43
    if I can be really honest with you, was
  • 00:18:44
    a lot for people to try to get their
  • 00:18:45
    head around because it was like and I
  • 00:18:47
    think anyone who loves music understood
  • 00:18:49
    what you were doing was you were taking
  • 00:18:50
    the public image of people seeing you
  • 00:18:51
    and being obsessed over the way you were
  • 00:18:53
    online and you were owning it. You were
  • 00:18:55
    like, "Well, I'm obsessed with me, too."
  • 00:18:56
    It was very tongue and cheek. Totally.
  • 00:18:57
    But I think people can choose to not
  • 00:19:00
    find it funny. Right. Right. Right. And
  • 00:19:02
    then it's like something that's funny.
  • 00:19:03
    We can be like, "No, I'm not in the mood
  • 00:19:04
    to find you funny on that right now, so
  • 00:19:06
    I choose to think that you're taking
  • 00:19:08
    yourself really serious." Totally.
  • 00:19:10
    Totally. Do you think that's what
  • 00:19:11
    happened? Yeah. 100%. I actually never
  • 00:19:13
    really thought of it that way, but that
  • 00:19:14
    is so true. And I think even at the
  • 00:19:16
    time, you know, my confidence and my
  • 00:19:18
    ability as a songwriter to even get that
  • 00:19:20
    across maybe in the way, you know, maybe
  • 00:19:22
    my execution just wasn't as good as I
  • 00:19:24
    thought it was going to be on that. And
  • 00:19:25
    maybe that's the reason why people
  • 00:19:26
    misunderstood it or were able to have
  • 00:19:28
    the space to misunderstand that. Um, but
  • 00:19:30
    I think now, you know, I'm so I'm so
  • 00:19:33
    involved in every single element of
  • 00:19:36
    everything. It's it's become like almost
  • 00:19:38
    OCD to be overly involved in everything.
  • 00:19:40
    I mean, it's a big part of the creative
  • 00:19:42
    pursuit sometimes is a comp is some kind
  • 00:19:43
    of obsessivempulsion. It is. Yeah. And I
  • 00:19:45
    think at the time I was, you know, still
  • 00:19:47
    really young and and figuring it out and
  • 00:19:49
    also figuring out what I even wanted my
  • 00:19:51
    own music to sound like. I was obviously
  • 00:19:52
    very um inspired and excited and and new
  • 00:19:56
    to it all. And um I mean I love
  • 00:19:58
    Obsessed, like I said, and I love the
  • 00:20:00
    music video and I love what it meant to
  • 00:20:02
    me at the time and what it means to me
  • 00:20:04
    now and for my career. Um but I think
  • 00:20:07
    now and in between that time of, you
  • 00:20:10
    know, putting out Obsessed and then even
  • 00:20:11
    the EP coming out, I really honed in and
  • 00:20:14
    figured out who I was as a writer, I,
  • 00:20:16
    you know, lessened the amount of people
  • 00:20:18
    that was in the room, which I think in
  • 00:20:19
    the beginning was really hard because
  • 00:20:21
    when I first started making music, I
  • 00:20:23
    mean, I hadn't really done this in my
  • 00:20:25
    whole life. You know, in Louisiana, it's
  • 00:20:26
    not like I was in sessions in Louisiana.
  • 00:20:28
    You know, I was very much just dancing
  • 00:20:31
    and going to school and, you know, doing
  • 00:20:33
    things that you do when you think you're
  • 00:20:35
    you're figuring out what you're going to
  • 00:20:36
    do in your life. And so when I moved
  • 00:20:38
    here and I started doing sessions, I was
  • 00:20:40
    like, I need as much guidance as
  • 00:20:42
    possible. I need, you know, two
  • 00:20:44
    songwriters in the room aside from me. I
  • 00:20:47
    need, you know, a producer. I need
  • 00:20:49
    sometimes even another songwriter in the
  • 00:20:50
    room. And I was switching around between
  • 00:20:52
    rooms all the time with different
  • 00:20:54
    people. and and I was involving myself
  • 00:20:56
    and I was, you know, feeling like a
  • 00:20:58
    little shy with it and I definitely
  • 00:21:00
    would feel like the inferior subject in
  • 00:21:03
    the room because I'd be like, "Oh, well,
  • 00:21:04
    they know what they're doing." And, you
  • 00:21:05
    know, you're in the room with Benny
  • 00:21:06
    Blancc who couldn't be a better and more
  • 00:21:07
    generous collaborator, but he's one of
  • 00:21:09
    the most successful writers and
  • 00:21:10
    producers in modern history. Yeah. Him
  • 00:21:12
    and Blake did a great job working on the
  • 00:21:13
    song, which was really nice and very
  • 00:21:15
    generous. But whenever I was writing it,
  • 00:21:17
    I think I was kind of taking a backseat
  • 00:21:19
    on my own cuz I was like, I am
  • 00:21:21
    inexperienced. I know this, you know,
  • 00:21:22
    and I was acknowledging that in
  • 00:21:24
    experience when I was working. And then
  • 00:21:26
    over time, you know, I really started to
  • 00:21:28
    lean on myself. I really started to lean
  • 00:21:30
    on my abilities. And after obsessed, I
  • 00:21:33
    think I I wanted to prove to myself that
  • 00:21:37
    whatever people would say was going to
  • 00:21:40
    be impossible to say again whenever I
  • 00:21:43
    would put
  • 00:21:44
    in work. The you juice, you need to
  • 00:21:47
    drink it. Sometimes you need a little
  • 00:21:49
    bit of that kind of revenge therapy in
  • 00:21:50
    order to get the best out of you once in
  • 00:21:52
    a while. It's it's powerful energy. Um,
  • 00:21:56
    but it, you know, it doesn't work unless
  • 00:21:58
    to your point, you're self-aware enough
  • 00:22:00
    to know where you need to work and what
  • 00:22:04
    you need to do. So, what was the turning
  • 00:22:07
    point for you when you realized, okay, I
  • 00:22:10
    kind of know where I'm going now? So, it
  • 00:22:13
    it's actually not as as far away as it
  • 00:22:17
    may seem. I think when I went into the
  • 00:22:20
    session with Charlie to write Von Dutch
  • 00:22:21
    Remix, that was a really big turning
  • 00:22:23
    point for me. I think when the EP came
  • 00:22:25
    out, um, and obviously the songs got
  • 00:22:27
    leaked, which was really devastating,
  • 00:22:28
    but it happened and it happened for good
  • 00:22:30
    reason. And I think, thank God it
  • 00:22:32
    happened, honestly. But, um, when that
  • 00:22:33
    happened, I I think I was still pretty
  • 00:22:35
    insecure in my songwriting abilities. I
  • 00:22:37
    I never had felt sure about it, you
  • 00:22:40
    know, as as one does. is and I think you
  • 00:22:42
    know every day an artist will go into a
  • 00:22:44
    session and I mean I was in a session
  • 00:22:45
    yesterday and I was like am I just the
  • 00:22:47
    worst songwriter of all time you know
  • 00:22:49
    happens every time course but with Von
  • 00:22:50
    Dutch remix um when Charlie had reached
  • 00:22:52
    out to me to do Von Dutch remix I sent
  • 00:22:55
    her back like a note she had sent me the
  • 00:22:57
    track and was like oh this is the track
  • 00:22:59
    that the remix track that I I wanted to
  • 00:23:01
    do with you and you know it here's the
  • 00:23:03
    original song so you know what the the
  • 00:23:05
    topic is or what it's based off of and I
  • 00:23:06
    was like great and she was like I want
  • 00:23:07
    to rewrite the whole thing it's going to
  • 00:23:09
    be nothing like the the original song
  • 00:23:11
    and I was like, "Amazing." Um, well, let
  • 00:23:13
    me just send you some lyrics that I've
  • 00:23:14
    written down in the past and like they
  • 00:23:16
    kind of coincide with this topic. And
  • 00:23:18
    sent her a whole like note. It was like
  • 00:23:20
    must have been like, you know, 10 lines
  • 00:23:23
    of things and just like information that
  • 00:23:25
    I was storing up about kind of a similar
  • 00:23:27
    topic of like, oh, you know, while
  • 00:23:29
    you're sitting in your dad's basement,
  • 00:23:31
    like I'm chasing my dreams. And I was
  • 00:23:32
    kind of just in this like bratty time,
  • 00:23:34
    which no pun intended. Pun very much
  • 00:23:37
    intended. No. Yeah. All pun intended. I
  • 00:23:39
    was in a bratty time in my own life.
  • 00:23:40
    Intend that punch. I mean it. I was
  • 00:23:43
    being a brat at that time. And so I was
  • 00:23:44
    like really feeling that and I sent her
  • 00:23:46
    that note and she was like, "Oh my god,
  • 00:23:48
    we have to use while you're sitting in
  • 00:23:50
    your dad's basement." And then there was
  • 00:23:51
    a bunch of other lyrics in there that
  • 00:23:52
    inspired, you know, what ended up being
  • 00:23:55
    the final version of it all. But I uh I
  • 00:23:57
    sent her that and she was like, "Yeah,
  • 00:23:58
    we we're going to use all of this. Like
  • 00:24:00
    we need to use all of this in the song."
  • 00:24:02
    And I was like, "Oh my god." Like, "Are
  • 00:24:04
    you sure you don't want to like change
  • 00:24:05
    it up or or make this better? like
  • 00:24:07
    you're amazing and I trust you and and
  • 00:24:09
    this is your song, you know, and I just
  • 00:24:11
    want to aid your artistry and your
  • 00:24:13
    vision on this. You felt seen. Yes, I
  • 00:24:15
    felt very seen. And then I had, you
  • 00:24:17
    know, hummed out that hook melody, um,
  • 00:24:20
    you just want to scream my name. That
  • 00:24:22
    little melody that we do for the the
  • 00:24:23
    hook of the song. I hummed that out in
  • 00:24:25
    my car and I sent it to her and she was
  • 00:24:27
    like, "Great. This is this is the hook."
  • 00:24:28
    And I was like, "Oh my god." I had never
  • 00:24:30
    felt so seen and understood and also
  • 00:24:34
    just trusted. I think she trusted me so
  • 00:24:36
    strongly with what I thought was cool
  • 00:24:39
    for that. Um, which really gave me
  • 00:24:41
    confidence in my taste and I already
  • 00:24:43
    knew I had good taste. Like I I know
  • 00:24:44
    that about myself. I actually really
  • 00:24:46
    pride myself on my taste. I think I have
  • 00:24:48
    pretty refined taste in my own way. You
  • 00:24:50
    know, see that's the thing in my
  • 00:24:52
    experience of I've known Charlie for a
  • 00:24:53
    long time. But we can even just, you
  • 00:24:55
    know, talk about other artists of
  • 00:24:56
    Charlie's caliber, very different and
  • 00:24:57
    unique, but of their within the same
  • 00:24:59
    circle of brilliance. Taste is the key.
  • 00:25:03
    Yeah. And they are looking for people
  • 00:25:04
    with taste. Like some of the greatest
  • 00:25:08
    artists of all time aren't technically
  • 00:25:09
    the greatest singers. Learn how have to
  • 00:25:12
    learn how to be great performers. Have
  • 00:25:13
    to figure it out. But if their taste is
  • 00:25:16
    there at the very beginning, the rest is
  • 00:25:18
    just a matter of time. Exactly. Because
  • 00:25:19
    the taste will lead the way in all
  • 00:25:20
    things creative. It's so true. And I
  • 00:25:22
    also think too, you know, such a a huge
  • 00:25:26
    part of my taste has always almost been
  • 00:25:29
    the lack of knowledge in a way. I think
  • 00:25:32
    when I would go into sessions really
  • 00:25:33
    early on and you know even now I think
  • 00:25:36
    with Luca and Alvivera they're
  • 00:25:38
    incredibly talented and trained and
  • 00:25:41
    musical and you know I don't really play
  • 00:25:43
    any instruments. I can play a few chords
  • 00:25:45
    and I can get on the you know keyboard
  • 00:25:46
    and play around and inspire sounds or
  • 00:25:49
    inspire chords but I I'm not one to just
  • 00:25:51
    sit at the the keyboard and kind of play
  • 00:25:53
    a song like that. Um but with them
  • 00:25:56
    almost my lack of knowledge of where
  • 00:25:58
    things should go or where they
  • 00:26:00
    technically you know I guess in the
  • 00:26:03
    certain formulaic way where they should
  • 00:26:06
    go or where it should sound. I think
  • 00:26:08
    they appreciate my lack of knowledge in
  • 00:26:10
    that and that different instinct. Yeah.
  • 00:26:12
    You know, I there's this quote and it's
  • 00:26:13
    taste is the enemy of art. And I think
  • 00:26:15
    that is so beautiful in a lot of ways
  • 00:26:17
    because I think taste can be can be
  • 00:26:20
    messy. And that is kind of what what
  • 00:26:23
    that quote is is emphasizing is that
  • 00:26:25
    taste doesn't have to be, oh, I have the
  • 00:26:27
    best taste cuz I'm I'm award-winning
  • 00:26:29
    this and that and and it's refined. It's
  • 00:26:31
    like it doesn't need to be refined in a
  • 00:26:33
    in a typical way. It's it's like your
  • 00:26:35
    interpretation of of what is great. And
  • 00:26:38
    then that can be messy and also
  • 00:26:40
    misunderstood and it can be, you know,
  • 00:26:42
    but you're describing yourself
  • 00:26:43
    perfectly. You know that it can be messy
  • 00:26:45
    and misunderstood and tasteful and all
  • 00:26:47
    the things that you just don't seem to
  • 00:26:48
    be afraid to be. And you know, I think
  • 00:26:50
    people have gotten used to this idea of
  • 00:26:52
    the pop star coming out and it's all
  • 00:26:53
    sort of buttoned up. There's a ribbon on
  • 00:26:55
    it and all you got to do is just take it
  • 00:26:56
    off the shelf. It's ready, man. It's
  • 00:26:58
    ready to go. And I just think that um I
  • 00:27:00
    think what's been really interesting for
  • 00:27:01
    all of us certainly on the show and and
  • 00:27:04
    people who are becoming fans of your
  • 00:27:05
    music and the way you're moving is that
  • 00:27:07
    um like I said at the beginning of the
  • 00:27:08
    of our conversation, you know, you you
  • 00:27:11
    seem to be totally okay with breaking
  • 00:27:14
    things. Yeah, I appreciate that. You
  • 00:27:16
    know, which is funny because I actually
  • 00:27:17
    feel like some people will feel like,
  • 00:27:19
    oh, this is the most manufactured thing.
  • 00:27:22
    And it it's so silly because it's just
  • 00:27:24
    obviously not. I think it would be done
  • 00:27:26
    in a much cleaner way if it was that
  • 00:27:28
    manufactured. You know, I'm not sure
  • 00:27:30
    anyone can look
  • 00:27:31
    at any of the art you're creating and
  • 00:27:34
    listen to any of the art you're creating
  • 00:27:35
    and not feel like you're invested 100%.
  • 00:27:37
    Maybe they're not really listening to
  • 00:27:38
    it. And that's the problem with
  • 00:27:39
    Obsessed, right, is that people make a
  • 00:27:41
    decision before they give it a chance,
  • 00:27:42
    but you've already figured it out,
  • 00:27:43
    right? You're like, it'll take as long
  • 00:27:44
    as it takes, right? Right. At the end of
  • 00:27:45
    the day, okay, let's talk about this
  • 00:27:47
    album in more detail cuz I've heard it
  • 00:27:49
    from top to bottom. It starts with New
  • 00:27:51
    York. Mhm. Easily the most written about
  • 00:27:53
    city in the history of popular music. No
  • 00:27:57
    question about it, right? But so it only
  • 00:27:58
    made sense, you know. Of course. No, no,
  • 00:28:00
    but you have to, right? You have to if
  • 00:28:01
    if you're inspired by it, then you got
  • 00:28:03
    to put your song on the playlist, the
  • 00:28:05
    endless playlist, and and it will not be
  • 00:28:06
    the last one written about it. Um, you
  • 00:28:09
    move to New York. Is that too literal a
  • 00:28:10
    question? Um, not yet. This city has
  • 00:28:12
    nothing for me anymore. Los Angeles.
  • 00:28:15
    Yeah. You're done with it? I'm done.
  • 00:28:16
    You'll be back. I'll be back cuz I love
  • 00:28:18
    the beach and I love the weather here.
  • 00:28:20
    But I don't know, New York, I think I'm
  • 00:28:22
    at this place in my life where I'm
  • 00:28:25
    feeling over routine and over the
  • 00:28:29
    expected and what's happening. And I
  • 00:28:30
    think here I had such a routine created
  • 00:28:32
    over the past 5 years that I'm like, I
  • 00:28:34
    need to break that and I need to feel
  • 00:28:36
    like a new experience is around the
  • 00:28:38
    corner. And you don't really feel like
  • 00:28:39
    that here because you have to plan
  • 00:28:40
    everything out because it drives, you
  • 00:28:42
    know, it's like there's no spontaneity
  • 00:28:44
    within living in LA. It's very planned
  • 00:28:46
    and meticulous and your day is pretty
  • 00:28:49
    much based around one thing, you know,
  • 00:28:50
    like me coming here. It's like, you
  • 00:28:52
    know, it's it's out of the way. So, it's
  • 00:28:53
    like this whole this whole day is now
  • 00:28:55
    around this, which I'm grateful for.
  • 00:28:58
    But, you know what I mean? Like in New
  • 00:28:59
    York, we could just walk around the
  • 00:29:00
    corner kind of way about school. No,
  • 00:29:03
    it's true. It's all right out in your
  • 00:29:04
    front doorstep. And it's also very good
  • 00:29:05
    for anxious people. What I always loved
  • 00:29:06
    about living in London and living in New
  • 00:29:08
    York was it it it was a sponge for
  • 00:29:09
    anxiety because once you're out there,
  • 00:29:11
    you're sort of in the moment. You can't
  • 00:29:12
    really sit. you just can't be stuck in
  • 00:29:14
    your own head as much as you can in
  • 00:29:16
    other cities like Los Angeles where I
  • 00:29:17
    feel you can really get lost in your own
  • 00:29:20
    head. So, how do you sort of manage your
  • 00:29:22
    mental health, especially in the kind of
  • 00:29:23
    jobs that you're in now where there's an
  • 00:29:25
    enormous amount of attention? Um, do you
  • 00:29:27
    acknowledge that it's taken its toll or
  • 00:29:29
    do you have more of a balanced? Are you
  • 00:29:30
    able to balance? No, I acknowledge the
  • 00:29:32
    toll it's taken for sure. How do you
  • 00:29:34
    manage it? I mean, I think it's a
  • 00:29:36
    learning a learning process every day. I
  • 00:29:38
    think I'm trying to figure it out more
  • 00:29:40
    and more. Um, I think for me an ounce of
  • 00:29:45
    stability is always helpful. I think
  • 00:29:48
    having some sort of place to call home
  • 00:29:50
    or, you know, friends that you really
  • 00:29:52
    trust and rely on. That's been such a
  • 00:29:54
    big part of it for me. Um, luckily,
  • 00:29:56
    everybody that I get to create with are
  • 00:29:59
    my best friends. And so, I'm I'm really
  • 00:30:01
    thankful for that sense of stability and
  • 00:30:03
    understanding. I love that you put it
  • 00:30:04
    through people and not just a place
  • 00:30:06
    because it's not really a job for
  • 00:30:08
    places, right? Like I don't know if you
  • 00:30:10
    actually apart from home home. Do you
  • 00:30:12
    feel like you even have a home? No. I
  • 00:30:14
    think it is just where I am for the most
  • 00:30:16
    part. You know, I don't really say that
  • 00:30:18
    there's a like when I'm like time to go
  • 00:30:20
    home. I'm like, well, time to go
  • 00:30:22
    wherever my stuff is. Wherever. Exactly.
  • 00:30:24
    Wherever I have to go next. Yeah. Yeah.
  • 00:30:26
    So, does that suit you? Yeah, it does.
  • 00:30:28
    Cuz I like that unpredictability and I
  • 00:30:30
    like that exercise of growth. And I
  • 00:30:32
    moved a lot when I was a little kid, so
  • 00:30:34
    I was kind of used to making new friends
  • 00:30:35
    or making new environments or finding a
  • 00:30:37
    new place to go every morning, you know.
  • 00:30:39
    But once I do get to a place, I do like
  • 00:30:40
    to create a routine pretty quickly. And
  • 00:30:42
    I think that is is how I nurture myself.
  • 00:30:45
    How would your parents have described
  • 00:30:47
    you when you were when you were a kid?
  • 00:30:48
    Oh my gosh, probably a
  • 00:30:50
    diva. Loud. Yeah. I always had a really
  • 00:30:53
    loud voice. I remember teachers telling
  • 00:30:54
    me like, "Well, you're the only one
  • 00:30:56
    that's going to get in trouble cuz your
  • 00:30:57
    voice carries." And I'd be like, "Why
  • 00:30:59
    me?" I wasn't even talking. Um but yeah,
  • 00:31:02
    loud
  • 00:31:04
    diva, probably
  • 00:31:06
    really dedicated, hardworking. Did you
  • 00:31:09
    have a happy childhood looking back on
  • 00:31:10
    it? Yeah, I did. I I learned a lot about
  • 00:31:14
    myself and about people from a really
  • 00:31:16
    long young age. And so I think that
  • 00:31:18
    Where do you think that came from? Just
  • 00:31:19
    kind of because that requires powers of
  • 00:31:21
    observation, which most kids aren't
  • 00:31:23
    really afforded at that point. They're
  • 00:31:24
    just focused on whatever the job is. But
  • 00:31:26
    for you to step outside of your own
  • 00:31:27
    activity, whether it's on a playground
  • 00:31:29
    or in the living room or in your
  • 00:31:30
    bedroom, whatever, to observe people,
  • 00:31:32
    what inspired that? Where did that come
  • 00:31:34
    from? Do you know? I don't know. Maybe
  • 00:31:35
    dance. Maybe, you know, when I grew up
  • 00:31:39
    and and was in the dance studio all the
  • 00:31:40
    time, most times when we were dancing
  • 00:31:42
    and I was doing competitive dance, so
  • 00:31:43
    we'd have to like watch the older girls
  • 00:31:45
    dance. We'd have to wa we'd go in and
  • 00:31:46
    watch their classes sometimes if we had
  • 00:31:48
    free time. And or in between our class,
  • 00:31:50
    we went to, you know, a different
  • 00:31:52
    teacher who had a set of the older
  • 00:31:54
    girls. And I think that maybe is where I
  • 00:31:56
    I started shaping this this belief that
  • 00:31:59
    by watching people, you just can learn
  • 00:32:01
    so much more and you don't have to go
  • 00:32:03
    through sometimes the pain of
  • 00:32:05
    experiencing that for yourself. Um, but
  • 00:32:07
    I also do think I was experiencing so
  • 00:32:08
    much when I was little. I mean, you
  • 00:32:10
    know, my family had lots of ups and
  • 00:32:13
    downs in their relationships and and
  • 00:32:16
    connections and, you know, like I said,
  • 00:32:18
    I moved all the time and so I I really
  • 00:32:20
    got to experience a lot of things
  • 00:32:22
    firsthand. And I think, you know, when
  • 00:32:25
    you're experiencing experiencing things
  • 00:32:26
    firsthand, you're still experiencing
  • 00:32:28
    them very strongly, especially when
  • 00:32:29
    you've seen like that kind of experience
  • 00:32:31
    happen with your own eyes within of the
  • 00:32:32
    most sacred places, which is your home.
  • 00:32:34
    I came from a divorce background and you
  • 00:32:36
    know I just remember it felt like there
  • 00:32:38
    was just a snap and after that I just
  • 00:32:40
    felt like I was looking at everything
  • 00:32:42
    and it took me a long time to really
  • 00:32:44
    kind of develop what my version of a
  • 00:32:45
    trusted relationship was after that
  • 00:32:47
    because I felt like my security had been
  • 00:32:48
    kind of compromised a little bit as a
  • 00:32:50
    kid. I don't know if that rings true for
  • 00:32:51
    you, but yeah, you know, I always think
  • 00:32:53
    it's interesting because with like kids
  • 00:32:55
    of of divorced parents, I either feel
  • 00:32:57
    like they're desperate to find like
  • 00:32:59
    really great love to prove to themselves
  • 00:33:01
    that it's possible or they just
  • 00:33:03
    completely don't agree in it and like
  • 00:33:05
    don't believe in it, think it's nothing,
  • 00:33:06
    you know, they're like it's never going
  • 00:33:07
    to exist ever again. Like it's not real
  • 00:33:09
    in life. But um I'm definitely the the
  • 00:33:11
    one that's like oh true love exists.
  • 00:33:13
    Like I'm such a big believer in like
  • 00:33:15
    true love and finding that. And I think
  • 00:33:17
    my parents' challenges in their own
  • 00:33:18
    relationships really taught me how
  • 00:33:20
    important it is to to really vet people
  • 00:33:25
    that you're going to get into a
  • 00:33:26
    relationship with and really understand
  • 00:33:27
    their intentions and your intentions and
  • 00:33:29
    do they line up and just being really
  • 00:33:31
    open and honest about it. I think that
  • 00:33:33
    is one thing that I I noticed in my
  • 00:33:36
    parents' relationship. There wasn't a
  • 00:33:37
    lot of communication when it came to
  • 00:33:40
    problems or issues or alignment. And I
  • 00:33:43
    think that is the killer. Yeah, that's
  • 00:33:45
    the killer. Yeah. Yeah. Because that's
  • 00:33:47
    the work. Mhm. Right. Well, and it's
  • 00:33:50
    like, you know, I just my therapist and
  • 00:33:51
    I have been having great conversations
  • 00:33:53
    about like directness and what that
  • 00:33:54
    means for a relationship. And I've been
  • 00:33:56
    literally burning this to the ground cuz
  • 00:33:57
    I'm just like, this means everything.
  • 00:33:58
    Like, everyone needs to hear this. You
  • 00:34:00
    think compromise in a in a relationship
  • 00:34:02
    or even in work, you think compromise
  • 00:34:05
    means disregarding what you want and
  • 00:34:07
    giving somebody else what you think they
  • 00:34:10
    want. And most times you don't even know
  • 00:34:11
    what they want. You
  • 00:34:13
    just probably would like me to act this
  • 00:34:15
    way or put this song out and you give
  • 00:34:18
    that to them completely, you know,
  • 00:34:20
    disregarding what you want. And most
  • 00:34:22
    times you fall short because you don't
  • 00:34:24
    even you weren't even clear on what they
  • 00:34:25
    wanted and you got nothing that you
  • 00:34:27
    wanted. And guess what? At the end of
  • 00:34:29
    that experience, you see, you sw the
  • 00:34:30
    seeds of resentment. Totally. Totally.
  • 00:34:32
    And that is a killer of the relationship
  • 00:34:34
    really is the resentment. Yeah. And then
  • 00:34:36
    you trace it back and you're like, man,
  • 00:34:37
    I resent you so much. But if I trace it
  • 00:34:38
    all the way back, it's because I wasn't
  • 00:34:39
    actually honoring my own. Yes. I wasn't
  • 00:34:41
    open. I wasn't honest. I wasn't direct.
  • 00:34:43
    And directness is closeness, you know.
  • 00:34:45
    So, you're a direct human being or
  • 00:34:47
    learning to be a direct human being in
  • 00:34:49
    your life. Um, and putting it through
  • 00:34:50
    your music. Um, let's talk a little bit
  • 00:34:52
    about getting this album completed. Um,
  • 00:34:55
    we had a funny conversation. You know,
  • 00:34:56
    Renee Rat, we had a funny conversation.
  • 00:34:58
    She's amazing. And she was like, uh,
  • 00:35:00
    yeah, people were telling me to finish
  • 00:35:01
    my album. And, I was like, I'm
  • 00:35:02
    going to take two more years just cuz
  • 00:35:04
    you said that. And so I I just I I
  • 00:35:06
    wanted to sort of use that as an example
  • 00:35:08
    of like what it takes to hold the line
  • 00:35:11
    and and how much you've had to even with
  • 00:35:14
    the best of intentions keep your team in
  • 00:35:16
    a place of of trust me. Like trust me, I
  • 00:35:19
    know what this needs to be. Is that a
  • 00:35:22
    reality for you? Yeah, I think it's
  • 00:35:23
    actually anyone from the label that
  • 00:35:25
    would be watching this is gonna feel
  • 00:35:27
    like, damn, that is the most true thing
  • 00:35:28
    ever because I wouldn't send them
  • 00:35:30
    anything for the longest time until I
  • 00:35:32
    had at least five songs from the album.
  • 00:35:35
    And I was like, then you can hear where
  • 00:35:37
    I'm going with the album and this is
  • 00:35:38
    where where I'm taking it. Yeah. Right.
  • 00:35:41
    Right. Right. And um and that was really
  • 00:35:43
    essential for me because I think
  • 00:35:44
    otherwise I would have felt insecure you
  • 00:35:48
    know and I think sometimes people give
  • 00:35:50
    notes for the sake of giving notes and
  • 00:35:51
    feeling involved. And I think most times
  • 00:35:53
    most times most times it's like I get it
  • 00:35:55
    you want to be a part of this but you
  • 00:35:57
    are a part of this by by listening and
  • 00:35:58
    and letting me express myself in this
  • 00:36:01
    very honest and vulnerable way. And so
  • 00:36:03
    um yeah I didn't play them any music
  • 00:36:05
    until I had about five songs to play
  • 00:36:07
    them and I was like this is what the
  • 00:36:08
    album is going to be like. And so here
  • 00:36:10
    it is. And what was the reaction? Did it
  • 00:36:11
    surprise you? You know, when I had first
  • 00:36:13
    been like, "Diet Pepsi is the one."
  • 00:36:15
    Like, "Did I played all the songs and I
  • 00:36:16
    was like, "Diet Pepsi to me is the first
  • 00:36:17
    song." There were people that were like,
  • 00:36:19
    "Oh man, we think you should keep
  • 00:36:21
    working. We don't know if Diet Pepsi is
  • 00:36:23
    the one. People aren't going to get it.
  • 00:36:24
    It's not what people are expecting from
  • 00:36:26
    you." Fair enough. And I was like,
  • 00:36:28
    "Okay, well, it's the first one. Like, I
  • 00:36:30
    just know it's the first one." And I was
  • 00:36:32
    like, "I already have the video idea.
  • 00:36:33
    Like, I want to shoot in black and
  • 00:36:34
    white." And they were like, "Black and
  • 00:36:36
    white?" Like, people also feel a way
  • 00:36:37
    about black and white music videos.
  • 00:36:40
    Why did you want to shoot it in black
  • 00:36:41
    and white? Was it the Madonna effect?
  • 00:36:43
    No, I I think I just was like there's
  • 00:36:45
    something that I've
  • 00:36:49
    heating them for what they are and how
  • 00:36:52
    strongly you had to communicate through
  • 00:36:53
    a black and white video for people to
  • 00:36:55
    take their time to watch it. Especially
  • 00:36:56
    these days, you know, nobody's watching
  • 00:36:58
    black and white stuff cuz they're just
  • 00:36:59
    like, "This is boring. Can't even focus
  • 00:37:01
    on what's going on without like some
  • 00:37:02
    other type of, I don't know, stimulation
  • 00:37:05
    overload." Exactly. And so I was like,
  • 00:37:06
    "That's challenging and I like that."
  • 00:37:08
    And I think this song deserves that that
  • 00:37:11
    treatment of like I I get it. You're
  • 00:37:13
    gonna have to focus really hard on it,
  • 00:37:14
    but I want you to have to focus really
  • 00:37:16
    hard on it to get it, you know? And so
  • 00:37:19
    thankfully the director Sean um was
  • 00:37:21
    like, "Yeah, let's go. Black and white.
  • 00:37:22
    Amazing. I'm so down." See, this is the
  • 00:37:24
    kind of vibe that like um this this
  • 00:37:26
    whole kind of like attention to detail
  • 00:37:28
    and and and the willingness to challenge
  • 00:37:30
    us to to get us to see outside of our
  • 00:37:31
    own comfort zone is what attracts you as
  • 00:37:34
    a creative to people like Araka and to
  • 00:37:36
    people like Charlie. And I I you know I
  • 00:37:38
    saw what Rose said, Rosalia said in the
  • 00:37:39
    article, which is lovely when people
  • 00:37:41
    give a quick testimonial in a piece like
  • 00:37:42
    that. It's an important piece for you.
  • 00:37:44
    It's a cover story. It's like it's
  • 00:37:45
    really powerful. Right. Maybe it was the
  • 00:37:46
    L one, whichever one it was. Yeah. It
  • 00:37:48
    was so nice. It's really cool. Right.
  • 00:37:50
    And and so it it's got to come from that
  • 00:37:52
    place of like um they recognize the
  • 00:37:55
    challenger in you. Mhm. Right. Yeah. And
  • 00:37:58
    I also think too, you know, I mean, it's
  • 00:38:01
    so sweet and kind whenever people will
  • 00:38:04
    say those those things about me despite
  • 00:38:07
    maybe knowing how people decide to view
  • 00:38:10
    me in a way that's like, you know, oh,
  • 00:38:12
    this isn't authentic enough or or she
  • 00:38:14
    wasn't doing music for 10 years, so it
  • 00:38:17
    doesn't mean as much to her, you know. I
  • 00:38:18
    think these people know how artistry
  • 00:38:21
    works and how finding your voice works
  • 00:38:23
    and how much time that takes. And I
  • 00:38:25
    think that's why I respect, you know,
  • 00:38:27
    Rosalia so much. That's why I respect
  • 00:38:29
    Charlie so much. That's why I respect
  • 00:38:31
    Troy so much. You know, these are all
  • 00:38:32
    people that really started from a place
  • 00:38:35
    of of excitement and and trial and error
  • 00:38:39
    and and just non-stop building who they
  • 00:38:42
    are. Yeah. Troy is no is very similar in
  • 00:38:44
    a way from the YouTube era and trying to
  • 00:38:46
    figure out his voice. I know. I was a
  • 00:38:48
    big fan of Troy on YouTube, too. I
  • 00:38:50
    always think it's so funny, but it's so
  • 00:38:51
    wild. I mean, he's completely shaped his
  • 00:38:55
    artistry in a way that that it you're
  • 00:38:57
    like, this is the same person, but
  • 00:38:59
    they've grown. And I think that is what
  • 00:39:01
    is so inspiring to me. It's because I
  • 00:39:03
    don't think I am now myself, you know?
  • 00:39:05
    And I think that's what people maybe get
  • 00:39:07
    misunderstood about. It's like I'm not
  • 00:39:09
    saying, "All right, this is the real me
  • 00:39:11
    now." It's like, no, it's always been
  • 00:39:12
    the real me. And those experiences have
  • 00:39:14
    completely guided and shaped me to where
  • 00:39:16
    I am now. And it's it is about arrival,
  • 00:39:18
    you know? It's arrival to who
  • 00:39:21
    I feel like I've become and who I've
  • 00:39:25
    I've experienced all these trials and
  • 00:39:27
    ups and downs and and great high moments
  • 00:39:30
    um to now land here in this this person
  • 00:39:32
    that I am now. And so it's not cuz
  • 00:39:35
    that's the thing arrival is so temporary
  • 00:39:37
    in itself. We all think that like well
  • 00:39:38
    we've arrived somewhere but right
  • 00:39:40
    there's always a new destination. Like
  • 00:39:42
    where's the fun in that right? It's so
  • 00:39:44
    true. It's like there is no end and
  • 00:39:46
    there to me there's no end in sight you
  • 00:39:47
    know. I think there is no final
  • 00:39:48
    destination. It's always arriving to a
  • 00:39:50
    new place of of depth or internal
  • 00:39:53
    understanding or discovery. How exciting
  • 00:39:55
    to to be able to um take a step back
  • 00:39:58
    from from like we said that kind of very
  • 00:40:00
    modern meta experience of kind of your
  • 00:40:03
    identity being rising and falling
  • 00:40:05
    according to how people feel on you on
  • 00:40:07
    any given day, which is an
  • 00:40:08
    impossibility. I think I experienced
  • 00:40:09
    such a high high when I started TikTok,
  • 00:40:11
    you know, there was arguably that's the
  • 00:40:14
    most visible I was, you know, and I
  • 00:40:16
    think now I'm I'm I almost am like
  • 00:40:18
    working against that version of myself
  • 00:40:20
    because there was such a standard of of
  • 00:40:22
    what was successful or what was viewed
  • 00:40:24
    so much or what was, you know, seen. And
  • 00:40:26
    obviously, Diet Pepsi has totally
  • 00:40:28
    surpassed what that ever meant to me in
  • 00:40:30
    the first place. But I think yeah, the
  • 00:40:33
    the highs and lows are are part of it,
  • 00:40:35
    you know. And I think when you create
  • 00:40:37
    something so strong and that connects
  • 00:40:39
    with so many people, you should never
  • 00:40:42
    expect that the next thing you do would
  • 00:40:44
    also connect in that same way. Or else
  • 00:40:46
    where would the magic in that be?
  • 00:40:47
    There's no learning in that. No, there's
  • 00:40:49
    no there's only pressure and there's no
  • 00:40:51
    discovery or there's no push. It's just
  • 00:40:53
    no, you become addicted to it. Right.
  • 00:40:55
    Okay. So, what is the story? What what
  • 00:40:57
    is the story that you're telling now?
  • 00:40:59
    Now that you've kind of arrived at this
  • 00:41:01
    place, you have a self-titled album
  • 00:41:02
    where it's Addison 12 songs, interesting
  • 00:41:05
    pop music, interesting themes and and
  • 00:41:07
    interesting ideas. Um, what is the story
  • 00:41:09
    that you that you've begun now that
  • 00:41:11
    you're going to tell for the rest of
  • 00:41:12
    your life? Who are you and what do you
  • 00:41:13
    want to do? I think the story for me
  • 00:41:18
    is
  • 00:41:19
    just go with life. Go with life. Let the
  • 00:41:23
    experiences
  • 00:41:25
    happen. Be a good person throughout the
  • 00:41:27
    experiences. Treat people the way you
  • 00:41:29
    want to be treated. Let yourself play.
  • 00:41:33
    Let yourself have fun. Let yourself mess
  • 00:41:35
    up. I think all these things have
  • 00:41:37
    created what the album is. You know,
  • 00:41:39
    it's it's trial. It's it's fearlessness
  • 00:41:43
    within what feels good. And I think that
  • 00:41:46
    to me is what the story behind this
  • 00:41:49
    whole project is, is just feeling things
  • 00:41:52
    and going with them. Beautifully said.
  • 00:41:54
    Beautifully said. Fame as a gun. Yeah.
  • 00:41:57
    We're going to focus on that because
  • 00:41:59
    everyone's going to focus on that. So,
  • 00:42:01
    what inspired that song? Oh my gosh. I
  • 00:42:03
    We That's the only song on the album
  • 00:42:05
    other than um the interlude, Life's No
  • 00:42:07
    Fun, that was done in New York. And so,
  • 00:42:10
    I don't know. So, New York wasn't done
  • 00:42:12
    in New York. No. Well, but that makes
  • 00:42:13
    sense, right? Because then I obviously
  • 00:42:14
    had a great experience in New York and I
  • 00:42:16
    came home and you've got an arts
  • 00:42:18
    prepared for that one. Okay, good. Yeah.
  • 00:42:20
    I mean, that's also so funny to me to
  • 00:42:22
    think, too, cuz I'm like, of course, it
  • 00:42:24
    wasn't written in New York. Anyways, um
  • 00:42:26
    but the concept started there, you know,
  • 00:42:28
    I went to You had left your luggage at
  • 00:42:30
    the bow at some point. You were just
  • 00:42:31
    reminding yourself back to that moment.
  • 00:42:33
    Yeah, exactly. Um it's like the fantasy
  • 00:42:35
    of it all, you know, and so um yeah,
  • 00:42:38
    with Fame is a Gun that was the only
  • 00:42:39
    song we did in New York other than
  • 00:42:40
    Life's No Fun, which is just an
  • 00:42:42
    interlude. And um yeah, for Fame, there
  • 00:42:45
    was a lot of like weird intensity in
  • 00:42:49
    that moment. We were working at Jungle
  • 00:42:51
    City and um Ariana was working there
  • 00:42:54
    around that time, too. for the deluxe
  • 00:42:56
    that she had put out. She had came down
  • 00:42:57
    and said hey to us and like was so
  • 00:43:00
    sweet. She's such a sweet person and um
  • 00:43:03
    she she came and and chatted with us and
  • 00:43:05
    we were really struggling at that point
  • 00:43:06
    to to keep writing. So for fame yeah we
  • 00:43:09
    were like we need something uptempo and
  • 00:43:11
    sexy and and a little dark you know and
  • 00:43:13
    and this progressively got darker as we
  • 00:43:16
    went on. We had written some weird other
  • 00:43:20
    version of the hook like lyrically and
  • 00:43:22
    it was like I was essentially like yeah
  • 00:43:24
    you know I'm gonna give the label what
  • 00:43:26
    they want which is like a just a
  • 00:43:28
    straight pop song. Like that was the
  • 00:43:30
    structure idea was like I'm just going
  • 00:43:31
    to give them what they want. And so we
  • 00:43:32
    wrote lyrics that were like really wild
  • 00:43:34
    and just like you know is this what you
  • 00:43:37
    want? Just like this kind of pop song
  • 00:43:39
    and it was so cheesy and so corny now
  • 00:43:41
    that I look back on it cuz we were just
  • 00:43:42
    so annoyed. But then we were like Joe
  • 00:43:44
    Gell is this what you want? Is it? Well,
  • 00:43:47
    Joe would never make me do that. I know
  • 00:43:48
    Joe's the biz, but just like he is the
  • 00:43:50
    best, right? But totally just calling
  • 00:43:51
    people out by names. Um, there are demos
  • 00:43:53
    that exist like that, too. And it is
  • 00:43:55
    really funny. It's so good. Yeah. And
  • 00:43:56
    then we started talking about fame and
  • 00:43:58
    and we had written some other demo
  • 00:44:00
    before that that we never finish, but it
  • 00:44:02
    was essentially about, you
  • 00:44:03
    know, the trials and the tribulations
  • 00:44:06
    that fame, you know, give to you and
  • 00:44:08
    present to you. And then we landed on I
  • 00:44:10
    think I don't even remember how we
  • 00:44:13
    landed on that that final lyric of fame
  • 00:44:15
    is the gun. But I was also really loving
  • 00:44:18
    um the song Glamorous Life by Sheila E.
  • 00:44:22
    I love that song and I love Prince. Um
  • 00:44:24
    but I loved that that concept of like
  • 00:44:27
    yeah I do want the glamorous life and
  • 00:44:28
    that that is what we all strive for is
  • 00:44:31
    this beautiful life of glitz, glamour
  • 00:44:33
    and beauty and and and you know fame is
  • 00:44:35
    almost the price that you pay for that
  • 00:44:37
    life and and I was like you know trying
  • 00:44:40
    to dive deeper into this concept of like
  • 00:44:43
    fame is you know fame is a gun and it's
  • 00:44:45
    really dangerous and you don't really
  • 00:44:47
    know what you're doing with it when you
  • 00:44:48
    experience it. So you are pointing it
  • 00:44:49
    blind and you're unsure of what is going
  • 00:44:52
    to be destroyed by it when you're
  • 00:44:54
    experiencing it for the first time.
  • 00:44:55
    Yeah. And it's just really reckless. And
  • 00:44:57
    so we really dove into this concept of,
  • 00:45:00
    you know, this almost back and forth
  • 00:45:02
    between the innocent side of of all of
  • 00:45:05
    it and trying to understand wanting of
  • 00:45:07
    it, the getting of it, right? So, okay,
  • 00:45:11
    you've experienced fame at a very high
  • 00:45:12
    level. Mhm. You've written a song that
  • 00:45:15
    really cleverly kind of sums up
  • 00:45:17
    ultimately through metaphor what that
  • 00:45:18
    experience has been like for
  • 00:45:21
    you. Do you do you still want it? Yeah,
  • 00:45:24
    I do. I do still want it. I think which
  • 00:45:26
    parts I think the parts of of this life
  • 00:45:31
    that I really
  • 00:45:33
    appreciate are the challenges and the
  • 00:45:37
    the pressure in a lot of ways. I like
  • 00:45:40
    the pressure. I like the the forceful
  • 00:45:43
    choices and understanding of the way
  • 00:45:46
    people work. And I don't know, it feels
  • 00:45:48
    like a a lot of psychology. Honestly, I
  • 00:45:50
    feel like I've gotten to understand the
  • 00:45:52
    way that things can tempt and persuade
  • 00:45:55
    people's minds and and the way that they
  • 00:45:58
    treat people based off of it. Yeah. How
  • 00:46:00
    do you stay a people person, which you
  • 00:46:01
    clearly are, when you've seen a side of
  • 00:46:04
    humanity, a side of us as a species that
  • 00:46:06
    is irrational and is explosive and
  • 00:46:09
    doesn't make sense? I think it gives me
  • 00:46:10
    a lot of compassion. I think it gives me
  • 00:46:13
    a lot of compassion because I also, you
  • 00:46:16
    know, lived a completely different life
  • 00:46:18
    up until I was 19 years old. I was
  • 00:46:20
    living in Louisiana, living with my
  • 00:46:22
    parents. I was, you know, trying to
  • 00:46:23
    figure out what to do with my life and
  • 00:46:25
    feeling pretty miserable, honestly, most
  • 00:46:27
    for the most of that part because I felt
  • 00:46:28
    like I had to sacrifice my passion and
  • 00:46:31
    love for entertainment and and or even
  • 00:46:33
    creation at that time. You know, I I
  • 00:46:35
    felt like I was almost, you know, I was
  • 00:46:39
    told a lot in my life when I was in high
  • 00:46:40
    school like, h, you know, you just got
  • 00:46:41
    to give up on these dreams eventually.
  • 00:46:43
    You got to do something normal, like be
  • 00:46:44
    a nurse or something, you know, let's be
  • 00:46:46
    realistic here and just make get a good
  • 00:46:48
    job that pays, you know, for capitalism.
  • 00:46:50
    Exactly. And I was just like, is this
  • 00:46:52
    what you have to do? Is you have to give
  • 00:46:54
    up on like the sides of yourself that
  • 00:46:55
    have such a deep desire and passion for
  • 00:46:58
    for art? Like, is that is that worth
  • 00:47:01
    doing? And so then when I moved here and
  • 00:47:03
    I realized, you know, everything is just
  • 00:47:06
    everything is much more possible than I
  • 00:47:07
    think I was initially thinking. Small.
  • 00:47:09
    It can be small. You do the work and you
  • 00:47:11
    get lucky. Yeah, it's very true. And I
  • 00:47:13
    did get really lucky. Honestly, I think
  • 00:47:14
    timing is everything because the way
  • 00:47:16
    that the Tik Tok of it all happened just
  • 00:47:18
    couldn't have happened in any better way
  • 00:47:20
    for me. But you had to have the courage
  • 00:47:22
    to execute, right? You'll never ever be
  • 00:47:23
    the benefit of good timing if you don't
  • 00:47:25
    time it. It's so true. No, it's so true.
  • 00:47:27
    You definitely have to have an eye for
  • 00:47:28
    the timing of it all and and have a good
  • 00:47:31
    intuitive reaction to it. You know,
  • 00:47:34
    speaking of reaction, you know, and
  • 00:47:36
    you've touched a little bit on this in
  • 00:47:37
    in conversation recently, and I just
  • 00:47:38
    wanted to kind of go there for a minute
  • 00:47:40
    with your blessing, is that like that
  • 00:47:42
    the toxic the toxic side of fame, the
  • 00:47:44
    the very sticky addictive side of fame.
  • 00:47:46
    It can be very alluring to not just the
  • 00:47:49
    people who are experiencing it
  • 00:47:50
    firsthand, but the people who are around
  • 00:47:52
    the person experiencing it firsthand.
  • 00:47:54
    Yeah, I was actually thought it was a
  • 00:47:56
    really interesting observation you made
  • 00:47:57
    in a couple of conversations recently
  • 00:47:58
    about how your your parents and people
  • 00:48:00
    around you have scaled back their
  • 00:48:02
    involvement in that side of things and I
  • 00:48:04
    thought that showed self-awareness of
  • 00:48:06
    like okay maybe we all just got really
  • 00:48:08
    swept up in that. Is that how it was?
  • 00:48:10
    Yeah, I think it became really
  • 00:48:11
    overwhelming really fast and and it is
  • 00:48:14
    so true. You know, there are sacrifices
  • 00:48:17
    that are made in order to pursue big
  • 00:48:19
    dreams. Whether that's financially,
  • 00:48:21
    whether that's, you know, in family
  • 00:48:24
    life, emotionally, in friends, these are
  • 00:48:27
    things that, you know, relationships.
  • 00:48:29
    Yeah. They're all really tortured
  • 00:48:31
    sometimes by this this whole idea and
  • 00:48:34
    experience of of fame and I guess just
  • 00:48:37
    um acknowledgement and and eyes on
  • 00:48:40
    everything. And I don't know, I think I
  • 00:48:44
    am really thankful that my family, you
  • 00:48:47
    know, went through what they went
  • 00:48:49
    through and the experiences that had to
  • 00:48:50
    be had to know themselves better. So,
  • 00:48:53
    it's been it's been strengthening in
  • 00:48:55
    some ways. I think so. I think I think
  • 00:48:57
    that's the only way I can look at it
  • 00:48:58
    really. I think yes, it's been
  • 00:49:00
    challenging. Yes, there have been things
  • 00:49:02
    that have been broken and probably will
  • 00:49:04
    never return to their normal shape
  • 00:49:06
    again. But I think that that is
  • 00:49:09
    revealing and exposing exactly the way
  • 00:49:11
    that it needed to be. You know, I think
  • 00:49:13
    that you need to let people make the
  • 00:49:16
    decisions they want to make in order to
  • 00:49:18
    show you who they are. And so I think
  • 00:49:21
    there's nothing wrong with that. I think
  • 00:49:23
    that was what needed to happen in order
  • 00:49:24
    for me to know a lot of things about
  • 00:49:27
    myself and about the people around me
  • 00:49:29
    and about trust and about understanding
  • 00:49:31
    and about delivery towards things and
  • 00:49:33
    and protection. You know, it taught me
  • 00:49:35
    all those things. And so I would never
  • 00:49:36
    take anything back. I think it it
  • 00:49:38
    allowed me to be compassionate and
  • 00:49:42
    protected at the same time. So what are
  • 00:49:46
    you not going to do in order to maintain
  • 00:49:49
    those that balance? Like what's off the
  • 00:49:53
    table just today cuz life is a long time
  • 00:49:55
    and a short time and a short ride. Long
  • 00:49:57
    time short ride. Hey, we want to do a
  • 00:49:59
    reality show because you're doing this
  • 00:50:00
    thing. We want to bring cameras into
  • 00:50:01
    your life and we want to follow you
  • 00:50:02
    around and do this thing. Is that like
  • 00:50:04
    you know what? I don't know if that's on
  • 00:50:05
    the table anymore because that's where's
  • 00:50:08
    where does the intrusion begin and end
  • 00:50:09
    now? Totally. You know, I actually don't
  • 00:50:12
    mind people experiencing
  • 00:50:14
    experiencing me in a very honest and
  • 00:50:16
    open way and really any space as long as
  • 00:50:19
    it is right here. Like I will allow
  • 00:50:22
    anyone in my space. I I actually don't
  • 00:50:24
    even mind a camera when I know that the
  • 00:50:26
    moments are intimate for the people that
  • 00:50:28
    are experiencing it, you know? But I
  • 00:50:29
    think when you start allowing people to
  • 00:50:31
    see this footage or to see you in those
  • 00:50:34
    spaces with zero, you have zero,
  • 00:50:39
    there's not enough to communicate
  • 00:50:41
    really. You know, it's still very
  • 00:50:42
    one-dimensional. I think when you watch
  • 00:50:44
    a video of some experience and so to me,
  • 00:50:48
    I definitely am a little bit more
  • 00:50:49
    hesitant of that because I think people
  • 00:50:51
    can so quickly turn things into a way
  • 00:50:53
    that they weren't even if they add
  • 00:50:56
    dimension to it. Yes. And so I am
  • 00:50:58
    protective of that. Even for my past few
  • 00:51:00
    music videos, we've had somebody filming
  • 00:51:01
    the entirety of the the day and you know
  • 00:51:04
    getting the good moments, the bad
  • 00:51:05
    moments, the the diva moments, the silly
  • 00:51:10
    moments, whatever it may be. And I think
  • 00:51:12
    I was watching all the footage back
  • 00:51:13
    actually last night and I was like,
  • 00:51:14
    "Yeah, I don't know if I want to share
  • 00:51:16
    this because I think it is intimate and
  • 00:51:17
    it is personal and it's in a way that I
  • 00:51:20
    don't want to allow somebody else to
  • 00:51:22
    spin it into something that it's not
  • 00:51:24
    because I know what it is and the people
  • 00:51:26
    that are there know what it is cuz
  • 00:51:27
    that'll affect your compassion." Yeah, I
  • 00:51:30
    think so. And it it it shows me I don't
  • 00:51:32
    want to
  • 00:51:34
    invite an evil perspective of anything
  • 00:51:36
    or a or a damaging perspective to
  • 00:51:39
    things. And I think sometimes people
  • 00:51:40
    will do that not even for any real
  • 00:51:42
    reason other than the fact that, you
  • 00:51:44
    know, they're jealous or because they're
  • 00:51:45
    like, "No, you look really happy in
  • 00:51:47
    that. There's something deeper. There's
  • 00:51:49
    something more. We got to put our
  • 00:51:50
    somewhere." Right. And I understand
  • 00:51:52
    that, by the way, but I'm not going to
  • 00:51:53
    give you my stuff to do that in. You
  • 00:51:56
    know what I mean? Or at least at least
  • 00:51:57
    not knowingly. Yes. Right. Because
  • 00:51:59
    because the comments are going to be the
  • 00:52:01
    comments one way or the other. But if
  • 00:52:02
    you stand by the art, if you stand by
  • 00:52:04
    the decision, then everyone has a right
  • 00:52:06
    to say what they want. But if you go
  • 00:52:08
    into it with your eyes open and be like,
  • 00:52:09
    "Ah, this is going to really start some
  • 00:52:11
    shit." And then you're surprised by the
  • 00:52:13
    reaction. Yeah. Your therapy needs to
  • 00:52:15
    like you need to do some serious totally
  • 00:52:18
    up it to two sessions a week, right? I
  • 00:52:20
    know. I haven't made it there yet. Wow.
  • 00:52:22
    24 years old from Louisiana. What a life
  • 00:52:24
    you've lived so far. Incredible. Um,
  • 00:52:26
    thank you. Very generous with your fans
  • 00:52:28
    in terms of uh your availability and uh
  • 00:52:31
    you clearly clearly are getting to know
  • 00:52:32
    yourself really well. Mhm. Like that's a
  • 00:52:35
    little too well. I don't know what that
  • 00:52:37
    means. I don't know what that means, but
  • 00:52:39
    it sounded funny. But uh No, but it's
  • 00:52:41
    it's like, you know, you obviously
  • 00:52:43
    really understand you're developing your
  • 00:52:44
    boundaries and and
  • 00:52:46
    and you can hear it in the music. You
  • 00:52:48
    can I mean, times like these knows
  • 00:52:50
    itself. I love that one, too. I think
  • 00:52:52
    that one that one might be my favorite
  • 00:52:56
    after high fashion. Yeah. It's a
  • 00:52:57
    different vibe. It is a completely
  • 00:52:59
    different vibe. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um,
  • 00:53:00
    your first show was at the Boiler Room
  • 00:53:02
    with Charlie XEX standing on a desk
  • 00:53:04
    probably having a rave of a
  • 00:53:06
    lifetime. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Pure
  • 00:53:08
    Brad energy. Charlie, like only Charlie
  • 00:53:09
    can do it. Um, where do you go now as a
  • 00:53:12
    performer, as a natural performer who
  • 00:53:15
    has your own art to perform with and to
  • 00:53:18
    sing and to do, which is like the dream.
  • 00:53:20
    So, I can imagine that you're just in
  • 00:53:22
    like the most creative headsp space
  • 00:53:24
    right now thinking about that. Yeah. I
  • 00:53:26
    mean, I think, you know, because where
  • 00:53:29
    we're at in this very space right now
  • 00:53:30
    and the album is not out yet. I'm still
  • 00:53:33
    very It is finished, though. I can I can
  • 00:53:35
    absolutely tell everyone when it's
  • 00:53:36
    finished. Yes, it's done. And um yeah, I
  • 00:53:39
    think I'm in the space right now where
  • 00:53:40
    I'm just really anticipating it coming
  • 00:53:41
    out and I'm like trying to, you know,
  • 00:53:43
    hit all the stops and and even like with
  • 00:53:45
    posting and feeling like, okay, well, I
  • 00:53:47
    really want to make sure I give this the
  • 00:53:49
    the the credit and the the energy that
  • 00:53:52
    it deserves. And I think sometimes I shy
  • 00:53:54
    away from that because I'll be like,
  • 00:53:55
    well, I don't know. I'm already putting
  • 00:53:57
    this out. Like, is it going to be too
  • 00:53:58
    much if I'm just like, all right,
  • 00:54:00
    everybody, you know, the album's this
  • 00:54:02
    many days away like every every two
  • 00:54:03
    days. And I sometimes I'll get on to
  • 00:54:05
    myself about that and I'll be like, no,
  • 00:54:07
    it deserves that. It's a super
  • 00:54:09
    interesting observation because what
  • 00:54:10
    what my base take on that knowing a lot
  • 00:54:12
    well okay yeah I can say the speaking
  • 00:54:14
    the language of the artist for a long
  • 00:54:16
    long time um is that it's it's feels
  • 00:54:19
    it's it's a different feeling to
  • 00:54:20
    anything else you've gotten in front of
  • 00:54:22
    and promoted before right it's a
  • 00:54:24
    different it comes from a deep a deeper
  • 00:54:26
    place like do I do that to this right
  • 00:54:29
    right because I'm like it's so intimate
  • 00:54:32
    and so precious that like I don't want
  • 00:54:34
    it to
  • 00:54:35
    feel you know gim mimicky in that kind
  • 00:54:39
    of way sometimes, which it can feel like
  • 00:54:40
    when you're, you know, used to getting
  • 00:54:43
    paid to promote this or whatever. And
  • 00:54:45
    even whenever I first started TikTok,
  • 00:54:46
    like that kind of feeling of that. But
  • 00:54:49
    no, I think this this project to me
  • 00:54:51
    deserves that energy from me and it
  • 00:54:53
    deserves that um aggressiveness towards
  • 00:54:56
    getting people to open up and listen to
  • 00:54:58
    it because then, you know, why else?
  • 00:55:00
    Obviously, I made it for myself and I
  • 00:55:02
    made it for my friends and the people
  • 00:55:03
    that around me create with me to it. But
  • 00:55:07
    I also think, you know, we want people
  • 00:55:09
    to hear music. That's why we That's why
  • 00:55:11
    we're here. That's why you and I are
  • 00:55:12
    talking. Exactly. Like I want people to
  • 00:55:14
    listen to this. I put so much time into
  • 00:55:15
    this. I put so much of myself into this.
  • 00:55:17
    So it deserves that type of energy, you
  • 00:55:19
    know? I do. I I'm I will for ever as
  • 00:55:22
    long as I can continue to create a space
  • 00:55:25
    for artists to to tell stories about
  • 00:55:26
    their music to deepen the experience,
  • 00:55:29
    especially as we enter into a time where
  • 00:55:30
    efficiency seems to be crawling back
  • 00:55:32
    into the artistic conversation where
  • 00:55:34
    it's like, hey, just do it really fast
  • 00:55:35
    and don't have to practice or learn how
  • 00:55:37
    to do anything. We just just do it. Just
  • 00:55:38
    press a button and just do it. It's
  • 00:55:39
    like, where's the fun in that? Totally.
  • 00:55:41
    Totally. Especially because it felt
  • 00:55:43
    there was a period where it felt really
  • 00:55:45
    artificial to be like I remember a lot
  • 00:55:47
    of artists who would be like my my
  • 00:55:49
    label's making me post a TikTok and I'd
  • 00:55:50
    be like why don't why does it feel like
  • 00:55:52
    that? Like why does it feel like you're
  • 00:55:53
    being forced to promote this? Well,
  • 00:55:55
    you're actually a perfect case study is
  • 00:55:56
    my god our time has come to an end. It
  • 00:55:58
    went by fast. Wow. It's been 5 minutes.
  • 00:56:00
    It feels like it for me. Um, you're a
  • 00:56:03
    classic case study for of the modern age
  • 00:56:05
    in a way
  • 00:56:06
    because if people only if true musicians
  • 00:56:10
    and artists only cared about putting
  • 00:56:12
    something in front of people to get the
  • 00:56:14
    most amount of attention and love for
  • 00:56:17
    it, which is what you were doing through
  • 00:56:19
    Tik Tok, right? You were putting a lot
  • 00:56:21
    of work into those things, but
  • 00:56:22
    ultimately you were giving people what
  • 00:56:25
    they wanted, right? Mhm. If that was all
  • 00:56:27
    that mattered, you'd have been on the
  • 00:56:29
    precipice of AI technology on day one
  • 00:56:31
    going just put my name on it. Totally.
  • 00:56:33
    It's just another version of what I've
  • 00:56:35
    been doing. But the fact you've taken
  • 00:56:36
    years to find your people, a small group
  • 00:56:40
    of people who work on interesting pop
  • 00:56:43
    music to make an interesting pop album,
  • 00:56:46
    that's hard work. Mhm.
  • 00:56:48
    What the are they farming like
  • 00:56:51
    creative IP to make it easy for when the
  • 00:56:54
    person who on paper should have wanted
  • 00:56:56
    it easy wants to work for it? Totally.
  • 00:56:59
    Does that make sense? And so for that
  • 00:57:01
    reason, it deserves every ounce of
  • 00:57:04
    energy being put
  • 00:57:06
    into opening up people's eyes and minds
  • 00:57:08
    and ears to hear it, you know, because I
  • 00:57:10
    think I've I've worked so hard on this
  • 00:57:13
    album and I've Cuz you wanted to.
  • 00:57:16
    Because I wanted to. Because I wanted
  • 00:57:18
    to.
  • 00:57:21
    [Music]
タグ
  • Addison Rae
  • High Fashion
  • Diet Pepsi
  • fame
  • music
  • self-titled album
  • social media
  • artistic journey
  • mental health
  • creativity