Addison Rae talks about the making of her "Aquamarine" video

With “Diet Pepsi,” Addison Rae proved she was a pop force to be reckoned with. Now her new song “Aquamarine” proves she’s here to stay.

There was great anticipation for the singer’s second major label single. Rae first teased the track in June in an Instagram carousel in which she strolled around a pool in high heels while the track played in the background. Then the song was teased again two months later when a snippet of it played at the beginning of the “Diet Pepsi” music video. For Rae, she feels like the two songs work together.

Addison Rae

Photo by Yasmin Diba

“‘Diet Pepsi’ was always the first thing I dropped,” she says. “This piece just felt right to pursue… I think it’s very different than ‘Diet Pepsi,’ but also in the same universe.” And I think that was really important – that it felt very cohesive and in the same world can exist.”

However, Rae hoped to challenge listeners a bit with “Aquamarine.” She says: “I think people expect that a follow-up to something like ‘Diet Pepsi’ would be very similar to this… and that’s exactly why I couldn’t specify that [it to] them. You know what I mean?”

Addison Rae

Photo by Yasmin Diba

The resulting sound is captivating and proves that Rae cannot be limited to a single track. Those who loved “Pepsi” will be happy to hear more synths and spectral vocals, but this new track is more electro, with a chant-like chorus, a sparkling bridge, and a groove that feels like it’s coming from water .

For Rae, this song is about “changing and figuring out what message you want to tell and what story you want to tell in your life,” and these ideas are only emphasized through the visual.

Addison Rae

Photo by Yasmin Diba

Directed by Sean Price Williams and with Mel Ottenberg as creative director, the “Aquamarine” video begins with Rae at a masquerade event in Paris. Like a modern-day Gatsby party, partygoers dance in beads, masks and feathers until the party finally spills outside, where Rae and her crew wear nude dance leotards. “[It’s about] that rawness and acceptance,” Rae notes.

For her looks, which include sequined dresses, beaded bodysuits, towering feather headbands, Louboutin pumps and more, Rae teamed up with her stylist Dara, who recently dressed the singer for the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards and the Academy Museum Gala.

Addison Rae

Photo by Yasmin Diba

When creating the look for the video, Dara said she wanted to compare Rae’s character to the more judgey, buttoned-up characters from the party at the beginning. “I feel like it was all about creating a language for the Aqua character and about being free in such a space,” notes Dara. “It’s like you’re not afraid to make other people uncomfortable because you feel so comfortable with what you’re doing… you take the mask off and you’re free.”

Dara notes that she was inspired by fashion legends of the 60s and 70s like Jane Birkin and Brigitte Bardot – “those women [who] “I have a really nice dress on, but maybe their hair is messy and there’s not much makeup and no jewelry and they just put it on and went out,” she says. “I love this kind of lightness and effortlessness because it means indulging in glamor in a way that is comfortable for you and not for the rest [the world] understand.”

Addison Rae

Photo by Yasmin Diba

While the team was guided by real-world inspiration when creating the video, it’s clear that there were some artistic inspirations as well. Of course, the title of the title is reminiscent of the popular teen fantasy film Aquamarine (2006), which Rae said he saw a week before the song was written.

“I’ve seen this movie so many times,” she says with a laugh, noting that another lyric in the song — about a “heart of the ocean” — was inspired by her Titanic. (Some think the “ray of light” lyric is also a reference to Madonna.)

Addison Rae
Photo by Gia Soder

“I think the title is so glamorous and beautiful,” Rae adds. “But yes, I like to get inspiration from everywhere and I never shy away from feeling like you can learn something from a film, for example.”

Watch out Aquamarineand the production of this song also helped Rae “fall in love with the journey” on a journey [she] approaches life.” And she adds: “I’ve been through my own journey over the last few years to figure this out and… I plan to evolve, grow, change and refocus on myself and aligning myself with the person I want to be and not compromising on the journey to get there.” Let’s hope “Aquamarine” is just the beginning.