Music
Addison Rae Says "Big Sister" Charli XCX Helped Her Confidence In Music
“[Meeting] Charli XCX was an obviously pivotal moment in my life.”
Addison Rae is still in the midst of her inevitable ascension to pop superstardom, and she has one very special guardian angel helping her on her rise. You might even call her the Number 1 Angel. In her Jan. 21 cover story for Rolling Stone, Rae gushed about how her friend and collaborator Charli XCX has inspired her to be more confident in her music.
“[Meeting] Charli XCX was an obviously pivotal moment in my life,” Rae said. “She has been such a big sister and mentor for me.”
Rae started working with Charli in 2021. At that time, Rae’s demo for “2 Die 4” leaked online, and she recalled Charli reaching out right away. “Charli had texted me and was like, ‘I heard “2 Die 4” leaked. You know I love that song. Let me do a verse,’” Rae said. That text led to the official version of “2 Die 4” featuring Charli on Rae’s debut EP AR in 2023.
It also opened the door for their next hit collaboration: the remix of Charli’s song “Von Dutch.” Rae said Charli’s support for her songwriting on the 2024 Brat track meant a lot to her. “[Charli] respected me and my ideas,” Rae said. “It was the first time I really took the step on my own to be confident in the ideas I had and follow that. I owe that all to Charli.”
Charli also opened up about how she first became so drawn to Rae, recalling the first time she met the singer in a studio. “She burst into the room in Ugg boots and hot pants after parking her pink Tesla in the driveway and exclaimed, ‘Boys are stupid!’ and then immediately was like, ‘Wait, we should write a song about that!’” Charli said. “I know that sounds simple and maybe silly to some people, but to me that was such a sign of instinct and fearlessness.”
Ever since, Charli has marveled at how Rae craft her pop-star persona. “It’s been fun to watch her evolve,” Charli said. “Everything she does relates back to her art — every item of clothing she wears, everything she says in a red-carpet interview, everything she tweets — it all is a part of the world-building.”
