Addison Rae - Aquamarine
The redemption arc gains its newest chapter.
When Addison Rae, one of the world’s most popular TikTok stars at the time, made her first venture into music with “Obsessed” in 2021, the world mostly collectively scoffed and dismissed her as just another influencer whose ego drove them to make music without any reason to do so. I have to say, I was one of the people who thought that song was absolutely awful. Hence, imagine my surprise when, in 2024, Addison Rae is releasing music that I genuinely enjoy. Here, we have what is presumably the second single from her upcoming project, and, while it’s not quite as special to me as the lead single, “Diet Pepsi”, “Aquamarine” still does all it needs to in order to hold its own.
Right from the get-go, the ethereal tone of the song is set by the high backing vocals, and the otherworldly synths, which are somewhat reminiscent of Madonna’s “Music” era, and the 2000s dance pop music that followed. In terms of vocals, Addison and/or her collaborators seem to have firmly selected a sound for her - a somewhat soft and alluring tone positioned just high enough in the clean, tight mix to stand out without overbearing the great instrumental. Her performance won’t blow you away with any stunning technical feats; instead, it’s very pleasant on the ears in a more subtle way. I like the filter that is placed on her voice during the second verse, because, with the rapped delivery she goes for, some variety was required to keep the song interesting, and the filter provided just that. The lyrics aren’t anything particularly revolutionary, but nothing within them stands out to me as particularly weak either - regardless, they’re mostly here to compliment the atmosphere, rather than be the main focal point; they do this job very well - the oceanic theme fits the sound of the track perfectly.
As was previously mentioned, the production of the track is great, with the pulsing drum beat and the bass synth on the chorus particular standouts. The additional layers on the final chorus are worked in very well too, making it a truly grand conclusion of the track. Overall, “Aquamarine” is a very solid, fantastically produced pop track, and a logical continuation of what is likely to be Addison’s first album cycle.
7.0/10