The internet’s favorite “bad bleep” is back. Addison Rae — TikTok supernova, “He’s All That” (2021) lead and newly minted pop star — resurfaced on Oct. 25 to release her latest single, “Aquamarine.” The track, just shy of three minutes, is short, catchy and sensual with captivating visuals building on the song’s luxuriousness. After a series of lukewarm half-bops, like her 2021 debut single “Obsessed,” Rae uses “Aquamarine” — the follow-up to her smash-hit “Diet Pepsi” (2024) — as the marker of a new era that solidifies that she’s a pop star here to stay.
The track — written by Rae, Elvira Anderfjärd and Luka Kloser — begins with plucky synths that give way to a swell of vocals and seductive lyrics as Rae sings, “Aquamarine / Honey, dive into me.” Rae’s voice is ethereal, siren-like and almost distant under a wave of robotic notes.
Then the beat kicks in and the sexual undertones shift to blaring ones: “The world is my oyster / Baby, come touch the pearl,” Rae sings. The ocean references are cheeky, just shy of trite. They create a carefree bop that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
When Rae switches to falsetto, she employs a smooth sensuality reminiscent of Britney Spears’ record “In the Zone” (2003) with a breathy and impressively consistent timbre. At one point, she self actualizes touching on a moment of evolution both in the song and her career with the slightly over-syllabic, “I’m transforming and realigning.”
“Aquamarine” is smart. It wears its influences, but it doesn’t become them. Rae echoes Spears but does not emulate her. She uses an electronic vocal skitter on the words “Give me,” but the musical effects aren’t overdone. One can even feel a reference to Charli xcx — who featured Rae in “Von dutch a. g. cook remix featuring addison rae” (2024) this March — in the groovy nostalgia of the beat.
Between nods to her contemporaries and fresh moments of her own, Rae crafts a pop hit that is arguably stronger and more unique than her quickly beloved “Diet Pepsi.” And her visuals are no less impressive than those for her last hit, as the “Aquamarine” cover art features a blurred cigarette dangling from Rae’s pink-stained mouth.
Nonetheless, “Aquamarine” demonstrates the areas where the star needs some polishing. Her vocals need improvement as a few lyrics fall short, perhaps drowning in the track’s oceanic vibe. But Rae’s confidence, choreography and carefully constructed image make her new era promising. With TikTok still stuck in a “Diet Pepsi” storm, Rae is an artist worth watching and she knows it, declaring boldly in an Instagram post, “The world is my oyster.”
