2019–2023: Social media fame and career beginnings Rae joined the social media app
TikTok in July 2019, uploading dance videos to trending songs on the platform. Within a few months, Rae gained over one million followers on the app, leaving LSU in November. She joined the TikTok collective
The Hype House in December 2019 for a brief period of time. As of January 2026, she has amassed over 88 million followers on the app. She later signed with talent agency
WME in January 2020. In July, Addison released a weekly
Spotify-exclusive
podcast alongside her mother,
Mama Knows Best, covering their personal and career lives. Rae later relaunched this podcast under the name
That Was Fun?. (left) in 2021 In March 2021, Rae released her debut single, "
Obsessed". The single was intended to be the lead single for her then-upcoming project but was temporarily shelved. That same year, Rae launched her own cosmetics line, Item Beauty, but it discontinued in 2023. Rae also founded her own fragrance line. In August, Rae made her feature film debut as Padgett in the
Netflix comedy film ''
He's All That (2021), a remake film of the 1999 teen comedy She's All That''. The film was the most streamed film on its release week. In February 2022, it was announced that Rae had joined the cast of a film titled
Fashionista, produced by
Paramount. That same month, multiple songs from her unreleased EP leaked on YouTube, which Rae initially thought "could mark the death knell for her music career". The EP received generally positive reviews, In November, Rae appeared as Gaby in the slasher film
Thanksgiving (2023).
2024–present: Musical breakthrough with Addison In March 2024, Rae featured on
Charli XCX's remix of
"Von Dutch" which went on to appear on Charli XCX's remix album ''
Brat and It's Completely Different but Also Still Brat'' (2024). Rae also appeared on
A. G. Cook's album
Britpop (2024) on a song titled "Lucifer" with Charli XCX. The song was commercially successful. It went on to peak at number 54 on the US
Billboard Hot 100 marking Rae's first entry. Rae performed the song live at
Madison Square Garden with
Troye Sivan and Charli XCX on the
Sweat tour. In October 2024, Rae released the single "
Aquamarine". A remix of the song with
Arca was released a month later. for
Lana Del Rey at
Wembley Stadium in July 2025 In February 2025, Rae released the single "
High Fashion" and its accompanying music video. Following the single's release, she was featured on the cover of
Vogue France. In April, Rae performed "Aquamarine / Arcamarine" at
Coachella with Arca. Rae's debut album,
Addison, was released on June 6, 2025, and was preceded by the release of the additional singles "
Headphones On" and "
Fame Is a Gun". The album found widespread success, debuting at number four on the
Billboard 200. It sold 48,500
album-equivalent units in its first week, consisting of 23,000 pure album sales and 25,500
streaming equivalent album units from 33 million streams. Rae celebrated the release of
Addison with a live concert at New York City's The Box. The concert was produced in partnership with
Spotify. From August through November 2025, Rae embarked on her first headlining tour,
The Addison Tour, with shows in Europe, North America and Australia. In August 2025, Rae was invited to perform at a spotlight event hosted by the
Grammy Museum. She was invited back again in October 2025 for another event with the museum's audience. In October 2025, Rae appeared on
The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, performing "
Diet Pepsi" wearing a sparkling gold gown first worn by the
burlesque star
Gypsy Rose Lee in the 1950s. She appeared in the third season of Netflix's biographical crime drama anthology television series
Monster: The Ed Gein Story as
Evelyn Hartley. In November 2025, she was nominated for
Best New Artist at the 2026
68th Annual Grammy Awards where she also performed "Fame Is a Gun" as part of a medley along with the other nominees in the Best New Artist category. In December 2025, Rae was named artist of the year by
The Guardian, while
Addison was named the best album of 2025 by
The Washington Post and
The Fader. In January 2026, Rae performed at Spotify's 2026 Best New Artist Party. In March 2026, she performed at South American editions of
Lollapalooza, including the festivals in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil in March 2026. Rae performed on the main stage at
Coachella in April 2026, bringing out special guests
Maddie Ziegler and
Olivia Rodrigo. Rae appeared at
Madonna's surprise performance in West Hollywood in April 2026. Rae will star in the live-action animated road comedy film
Animal Friends alongside
Ryan Reynolds and
Aubrey Plaza, which is set to be released on January 22, 2027. ==Artistry==