Addison Rae's Diet Pepsi Song Sparks Fan Debates

Addison Rae has been the talk of the town recently thanks to her new song, “Diet Pepsi.” Her surprising performance of the track on Instagram on August 8, 2024, came partly as the result of her switch from mere TikTok popularity to actual engagement with the music industry. Following her release of “AR” in 2023, which spawned some controversy regarding her interpretation of an unreleased demo by Lady Gaga, “Diet Pepsi” received a far warmer welcome from the audience and critics alike.

The official video clip for the song available on YouTube is a rather odd mix of moody black-and-white scenes and colorful spectacles full of rapid cuts. However, Rae’s performance, in the center of which is her getting out of and washing with a car, naked but for the lingerie, is thought-provoking. It has been a specific point of debate between fans and critics; some consider the performance trashy and cheap, while others read metaphorical and symbolic meaning into it. The switch to brightness and colors once the beverage is named plays into the latter’s hand, and fans mention this in relation to numerous indispensable scenes from pop culture. In either way, fans are definitely not just watching – they are also reacting. Arguably the most popular comment in the thread is a claim that the trashy masterpiece is stuck in the head, for which the fan is thankful. Thus, it is likely that the songstresses’ career will experience a sudden boost after “Diet Pepsi,” and her fans can hope to hear more from her, perhaps even a full album.