“I love you guys!” Addison Rae exclaims. We’re wrapping up a Zoom call with Interview magazine editor Mel Ottenberg, the creative director behind Rae’s music video for “Diet Pepsi”, her latest single, out now. As the budding pop star, certified scream queen, and proto-TikToker waves goodbye and makes a heart symbol with her hands (the classic way, not the Gen Z way , in case you were wondering), a bunch of cutesy red hearts unexpectedly fill the screen.
Rae screams, then laughs. It’s a sweet, out-of-left-field, IRL-to-URL moment that just feels so Addison Rae – and, by the same token, perfectly summarises Addisoncore. It’s only natural, after all, that one of the first TikTok users to find mainstream fame outside of the app – opening the floodgates for scores of dancers and singers after her – should lend her name to a certain vibe, boiling down to a beguiling mix of nonchalance, effervescence, and good old-fashioned star power.
Indeed, the release of “Diet Pepsi” – which arrives almost a year after Rae dropped her first EP, AR , following a series of much-discussed, and beloved, demo leaks online – proves that Rae just “gets it”, Ottenberg says. She gets pop music, fashion, the internet, and, above all, herself. Here, Rae and Ottenberg join Vogue to talk about all things “Diet Pepsi”, Tumblr, and pop-girl summer, as well as to give further context to the term Addisoncore .
Mel, Addison, I love this song and video, and I love you two working together. But before we go there, this video is so perfectly Addison. It’s what we’d call Addisoncore.
I’d love to know if either of you can give that a definition. Mel Ottenberg: I saw this tweet about the Richard Kern photo of Addison smoking a cigarette with her toes in the “I’m Sorry” [by Petra Collins for Ssense] campaign. It said something like, “If you’re chill, you’re down for Addison Rae”, and I really loved it.
I’m going to find it, but that’s it. I agree. Addison Rae: You know, chill-girl energy.
[ Laughs. ] Ottenberg: There’s a certain kind of chill vibe that Addison is giving off. That, to me, is Addisoncore.
Addisoncore is very healthy, fun, and energetic. What do you think Addisoncore is, Addison? Rae: That’s such a hard question. I would assume Addisoncore is lots of laughs, a good time, and openness.
Is that a weird word to throw in there? No, you are one of the most open people I know. Rae: Really? I actually was talking to my therapist about openness the other day. Yeah, I feel like it lines up.
I love that. I’m also curious about how this mash-up happened. How did you decide to work together? Ottenberg: We met at a dinner, but we had already planned to do the Interview shoot.
I really wanted to style it, work with Addison, and do it in person. I loved her vibe – so hot and fun – so afterwards, I wanted to do a little more. Rae: The Interview shoot had just happened, and I was like, I love Mel so much and [I want] to work on more with him more intimately in my own projects.
I got lucky that Amanda [Silverman, her publicist] and you are very close. Ottenberg: I went to the Charli [XCX] show, and when Addison came on, everyone was screaming. I was like, oh, it’s pop-girl summer and I really need to do more stuff.
I had never creative directed a video before, but I’ve always been there [on set] and thought of what I would do but kept my mouth shut. Addison was down, and I’m very lucky to work in that capacity with such a fun person. She came to my house and played me the song and had ideas that were not what I expected, and I really dug them because Addison has really good taste.
That’s a fact. She knows the references and is also a sponge for more references. She played the song and said she wanted to do a black-and-white video.
Rae: Which is scary! People don’t want to do black-and-white videos. Ottenberg: People have zero attention span. I thought it would be cool and beautiful and timeless.
We started texting references and a million images. I had just watched The Last Picture Show , this movie by Peter Bogdanovich with Cybill Shepherd. Cybill in that movie is exactly the sort of reference of the girl: she’s got this barrette in her hair, she’s really virginal.
Rae: Very pure, innocent feeling. Ottenberg: An American beauty. Rae: Very youthful but very healthy.
A very natural skin with light make-up and beautiful set hair. And we love the barrette aspect of it. No one really wears barrettes anymore.
Bring those back! What else was in those texts of references? Rae: Oh my gosh, so much. Ottenberg: There’s a lot of Marilyn [Monroe] in the texts. We’re both into Marilyn.
I was showing Addison a bunch of clips from the director Russ Meyer, who’s one of my favourite directors. Rae: I was sending you pictures of myself. Lots of bras.
[ Laughs. ] Ottenberg: She was sending me photos of the stuff she owns, stuff in her dance bag, all of this incredible vintage lingerie. She wore a lot of that in the video.
It’s absolutely amazing. These Showgirls outfits. [There are also some] photos of a young Kate Moss without make-up, young Laetitia Casta, Cindy Crawford, baby Madonna! Addison really gave me the groundwork of what she was feeling, and I kept thinking about the song.
I had just met the director Sean Price Williams at a screening I hosted at the Metrograph. He had directed this movie The Sweet East that I was really into, and I really liked his vibe and asked him if he would do the video. And then Addison, she had seen a screening of the movie.
Rae: Talia Ryder had invited me to a screening of The Sweet East , and I had become a fan of [Sean Price Williams’s] at that moment. It was just very picturesque. The key to my heart is when something really captures something [so that it] feels like it came to life, and he did that in The Sweet East .
Mel brought up Sean as someone perfect for the video, and I thought there couldn’t be anybody better. He was just the best energy. He got the vibe very quickly, and it felt very collaborative.
Ottenberg: It was the funnest shoot day, truly. She has the best hair. No extensions now or during the video.
Rae: I want to let my hair do its thing! The showgirl outfit is one I got off of Etsy. We added this beautiful pearly brooch to the front that brought a sense of Addisoncore. [ Laughs.
] So it definitely is a pop-girl summer. Addison, around a year ago you blessed us with the EP. I remember texting you a photo of my friend trying to request “2 Die 4” at the club.
But “Diet Pepsi” is sonically unexpected – less bubblegum pop and a bit moodier and more late summery. Can you tell me a little about what went into the song and the visuals? Rae: You’ve always been a real one! I wrote this song with two of my girlfriends. We just hit it off and made this the day we met.
It was a really special energy. It’s very rare to have female producers in a room, and they’re both incredible. Initially the song was called “Backseat”, and I say that in the song a lot more than I say “Diet Pepsi”.
[ Laughs. ] But that weekend we went to the Boiler Room for Charli’s set, and I played it for her, and she told me I should call it “Diet Pepsi”. I trust Charli, she’s always been so real to me and the best big sister in the industry.
I was like, Well, I love Diet Pepsi. We’re doing it. “Diet Pepsi” feels very Tumblr.
The video would have done numbers in, like, 2011. I’d be reblogging it for sure. Ottenberg: It’s really giving fantasy, chock-full of hit moments.
Rae: Stop! So true. It felt more unexpected. Even sonically, it’s just a different energy.
I think I’m multifaceted, and this was the perfect way to introduce another aspect of me musically. It felt right to lead with this one. I always knew this was the first.
Wait...
first? Is this an album moment? Rae: Shit! [ Laughs. ] Well..
. Okay, you’re blushing. and I won’t push you about this on the record.
Mel, you said Addison has really good taste. I agree, and it’s something people have learned about you, Addison, over the past year or so. I’m curious: when it comes to fashion, what’s in the middle of the Mel and Addison Venn diagram? Ottenberg: I wanted something sexy that wasn’t what everyone is giving in sexy these days – which isn’t a diss.
There’s so many great looks right now, but I wasn’t getting that from Addison when we were listening to the song. It was a whole different vibe. Spencer [Singer] styled the video, and I like the vintage vibes, and Spencer was up on some of my secret go-tos.
Addison got the great white strapless bra from this place in New York, Illisa, which is something that I really gatekeep because if you know about this woman, she’s really the best vintage dealer that I’ve ever known. Madonna’s slip dresses in the “Secret” video are from there. She’s been around for a really long time.
I just loved the idea that it’s really warm – summer – and you’re feeling sexy with your man. Your man looks so great in the most classic way possible, and you feel really alive and fun. But it’s still our kind of fun, which is pretty over-the-top, like an ’80s white bathing suit with rhinestones on it, which on Addison felt very Brooke Shields to me.
José, where do you think the Venn diagram is landing when you see this video? I like what you said about the fun and over-the-top-ness – that is a good intersection between you both aesthetically. There’s a freedom or freewheeling-ness that I always enjoyed about your work, Mel, and Addison as a person. Ottenberg: Thank you.
Okay, I found the tweet. It said, “One way to tell if someone has joie de vivre is if they like Addison Rae”, and that’s it. I feel like we’re both into a nonchalant outrageousness, and I want the over-the-top to look as chill as a jean and a bikini top.
I’m not going to do the showgirl outfit if it feels stuffy, but Addison feels comfortable in it. She’s a dancer. That’s where I saw the fashion going.
Something you both mentioned in your Interview conversation was the idea of the TikToker. Addison, you’re the original TikToker – you helped define what that is and what it looks like, and then you started acting and launched a music career. It’s been so fun since you announced this song to see everyone react online.
People seem to be very excited. How do you feel about this evolution and the release of this song? Rae: To be honest, I don’t know. I’m exploring and learning so much about myself.
A lot of it has to do with what we mentioned earlier: my openness to evolving and changing. I don’t know what I would do if I weren’t creating; it’s a big part of my life and has always been. When I started on TikTok, I didn’t plan on anything specific happening.
I had always had the same dream since I was a little kid, which was to create things. I want to act, I want to sing, I want to dance, I want to perform, I just want to entertain. With TikTok, it was just like, why would I not display this desire whenever I can on a platform? I had Tumblr, by the way, when I was really young.
Probably way too young. I was going to say, definitely too young! Rae: I was way too young to be on Tumblr, but I had a cool older cousin who had it. That’s where I really started learning a lot about fashion and being curious.
Curiosity is such a big part of who I am. I’ve just followed that, and it really means so much that you say all those kinds of things. As long as I’m creating and making things that I love, I feel like I’m doing what my heart wants.
Mel, on your end, you said it’s a pop-girl summer, and you’ve worked with many pop girls. Why did you want to work with Addison? Rae: Yes! Why do you like me, Mel? [ Laughs. ] Ottenberg: I had fun on our Interview shoot, and I just thought she was cool.
I definitely noticed Addison in 2020 wearing this floral earth-toned bikini in a hot tub or a pool. I was like, I don’t know what it is about this girl, but she really seems pretty major. My TikTok in 2020 was also the craziest For You Page.
This crazy kid started my TikTok for me, so I was just following the craziest people, but Addison would somehow be poking in there. She was tearing it up so hard. As soon as we were working with her, I realised she gets it beyond what I thought and I was instantly impressed by how hardworking and [professional] she is but also her coolness and messiness.
There’s a lot that is hyper-produced, and this person was leaving me guessing and I wanted to know more. Rae: That is also Addisoncore! That’s the ethos of Addisoncore: dig deeper. This conversation has been edited and condensed.
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