• October 6, 2000
• Addison Rae Easterling was born in Lafayette, Louisiana to businessman Monty Lopez and Sheri Easterling. Her parents divorced when she was young but remarried in 2017. Both mom and dad have their own TikTok followings. She has two younger brothers, Enzo and Lucas Lopez.
• Addison Rae started dancing competitively at the age of six. Her early training and experience in competitive dance played a significant role in shaping her dancing skills, which later contributed to her rapid rise on TikTok, where she became known for her dance videos.
• She briefly attended Louisiana State University, studying sports broadcasting, before dropping out to pursue her TikTok career.
• Rae joined TikTok in July 2019 and gained over one million followers by November of the same year. She signed with talent agency WME in January 2020.
• Forbes reported in 2020 that Rae earned $5 million in one year, making her the highest-earning TikTok star at the time.
• In 2021, Rae signed a publishing deal with Sandlot Records and released her debut single, "Obsessed." The track climbed to #10 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart but was critically panned, almost causing her to quit music.
• In her song "Diet Pepsi," Rae references the popular soft drink, although her personal soda preferences are not widely known.
• Rae is known for her trendy fashion style often showcasing popular fashion trends on social media, and has launched her own cosmetics line, Item Beauty.
• Addison Rae made her acting debut in the Netflix film He's All That, released in August 2021. A gender-swapped remake of the 1999 rom-com She's All That, Rae plays the lead role of Padgett Sawyer, a popular teen influencer who attempts to transform a nerdy boy into the prom king.
  
  "It's been a dream of mine forever to be an actress," she gushed to Glamour UK. "To be really called one now, is just really insane. Growing up, I was always in acting classes and watching movies and pretending I was the character."
• When Addison Rae was a kid, her mom gave her a Hannah Montana doll for her birthday, and hidden inside the packaging were tickets to see Hannah Montana and The Cheetah Girls.
• Addison Rae signed her record deal with Columbia in a highly unconventional way: Instead of playing music, she walked into the meeting with a binder full of colors and descriptive words to show how she wanted her songs to feel. No demos, no tracks, just pure vision. Remarkably, Columbia believed in her, and she went on to create her debut album entirely with a small, all-female team.

Comments

More Songfacts:

Freedom '90George Michael

Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Tatjana Patitz lip-synched George Michael's lyrics in his "Freedom '90" video.

Kung Fu FightingCarl Douglas

Kung Fu was big in 1974, with movies by Bruce Lee and a TV series called Kung Fu. Carl Douglas brought it to the dance floor that year with "Kung Fu Fighting," a #1 hit.

Mr. RobotoStyx

"Mr. Roboto" by Styx was written by their keyboard player, Dennis DeYoung, who used Japanese words and imagery to create an allegory about censorship.

Put Your Records OnCorinne Bailey Rae

Corinne Bailey Rae's 2006 hit "Put Your Records On" borrows the opening line ("Three little birds sat on my window") from the Bob Marley song "Three Little Birds." Both songs have the same message: Don't worry, because every little thing's going to be alright.

On The FloorJennifer Lopez

"On The Floor" by Jennifer Lopez samples the 1989 song "Lambada," which you might remember is about "The Forbidden Dance."

When I Think of YouJanet Jackson

When "When I Think of You" hit #1, Janet and Michael Jackson became the first siblings with chart topping solo hits in the United States.

Editor's Picks

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Grateful Dead CharactersMusic Quiz

Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?