Life's No Fun Through Clear Waters: Addison Rae's Life Philosophy

Joshua Miller
Jun 25
5 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ju6RhNI-m8

Video Description

Hi everyone!

Because style is my favorite subject, today I want to talk about Addison Rae's debut album: Addison.

However, I don't want this video to just be another fan talking about why they love Addison Rae.

Instead, we'll discuss Addison Rae's life philosophy and how she communicates it throughout this album.

To Addison, the point of life is to chase your dreams, even if that means choosing the more difficult or unclear path.

Through songs like "New York," "High Fashion," and "Fame is a Gun," she illustrates her values and why being a pop star is so important to her. This ultimately builds to "Life's No Fun Through Clear Waters," which, to me, is the thesis of the album.

Life isn't fun when you choose the boring, safe path, and this doesn't just apply to Addison Rae's dream of becoming a pop star.

I believe we all have our own version of what pop music is to Addison Rae, and this album encourages us to go after it as a way of making the most of the life we've been given.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this video, and if you do, make sure to subscribe and comment down below with your thoughts on Addison Rae and her debut album! I'd love to talk with other pop music fans.

But until then, have a wonderful day, and thank you so much for watching!

: )))

YouTube thumbnail featuring the Addison Rae album cover on the left and a person with glasses and a mustache on the right, gesturing toward the viewer. Large white text across the bottom reads, "you're missing the point." The thumbnail has an orange border.

Transcript

Thrust into the spotlight for doing the Renegade, Addison Rae quickly earned a reputation as TikTok's bubbly influencer, which earned her a one-way ticket to Hollywood. But while this opportunity offered her a genuine shot at pop stardom, it also limited how people saw her. While many people see Addison Rae's debut album, Addison, as a shallow album about fame and fashion, I think it's an introduction to her worldview and the way that she views life.

On Addison, Addison Rae argues that life is most meaningful when going after your dreams, even if that means choosing a path that is more difficult or unclear. And that's exactly what I'd like to argue in today's video.

Hi everyone, I'm Joshua Miller, and welcome to my YouTube channel. I make videos on fashion, pop music, and Pokémon so that you can live with style, confidence, and enthusiasm. But for now, let's get back to Addison Rae.

Starting with the opening track, "New York," this song tells the story of Addison Rae leaving LA, moving to New York, dropping her bags off at a hotel, and then going out to dance in celebration of the new city that she's just arrived in. But I personally think that, in order to interpret the meaning of the song, you need to start by asking yourself why New York City in the first place.

To Addison, New York isn't just LA with less traffic. It's a city that connects her directly to artists like Madonna and Lady Gaga, who are in the direct lineage that she wants to grow into. So when Addison repeats, "I love New York" in the last chorus, she isn't just talking about cream cheese bagels or tacky tourist T-shirts. She's talking about New York City and what it represents for pop music and fashion.

Looking at the song "High Fashion" as well, when Addison Rae sings, "Need your drugs? I'd rather get high fashion. I don't want cheap love. I'd rather get high fashion," she isn't discussing a hypothetical situation where someone offers her the choice between some drugs or a pair of Louis Vuitton heels at a party. She's saying that partying for the sake of partying isn't of interest to her when there's still so much work to be done in growing into the kind of person she wants to be—someone who has artistic influence and relevance in the field of fashion.

A similar problem exists with the song "Fame Is a Gun" as well. A lot of people interpret this song as just being a shallow song about a pretty girl wanting to be famous. Realistically, the song is about acknowledging all of the challenges that come with being a famous person and accepting and embracing them head-on because of what fame is going to bring you.

In other words, this song is saying, "With great power comes great responsibility." Addison is acknowledging the fact that being famous is a huge responsibility, and the gun here is a metaphor for the power of fame. But because pop music is so important to her, like we discussed earlier, she's willing to accept this responsibility as a way of becoming part of something that means so much to her.

This theme is also the core subject of the penultimate track on the album, "Life's No Fun Through Clear Waters." Like I mentioned earlier, to Addison, the point of life is to chase your dreams, even if they feel terrifying or impossible.

You can apply this to her life as well. While there's no guarantee that the unclear waters of transitioning from being a TikTok star to being a capital-P pop star are going to pay off, becoming a pop star is such a big and important dream to her that she's willing to risk it all and push through the unclear waters if it means she has a genuine shot.

To Addison Rae, pop music isn't just a hobby or another way of making money. It's a reason for her to keep fighting. And this passionate unwillingness to give up on pursuing your dreams is what makes Addison Rae as an artist, and Addison as a debut album, so compelling to me.

Because on Addison, Addison Rae enters the canon of 2020s pop with 12 songs that clearly dictate not just who she is as an artist, but how she views pop music at large as well. I also really appreciate how she uses all of this to not just uplift herself, but to uplift the audience in pursuit of their dreams.

Even if you don't want to be a pop star, I believe that we all have our own version of what being a pop star is to Addison Rae. And with that pursuit comes a moment where you have to choose between taking the easier, more familiar path that everyone else walks down or choosing to weather the storm of unclear waters in pursuit of your dream.

To me, that's ultimately what Addison is trying to say with the song "Life's No Fun Through Clear Waters": that following your dreams is what makes life exciting. While becoming a pop star is never guaranteed, the uncertainty isn't a reason not to try. In fact, it's actually part of the fun.

So there you have my thoughts on Addison Rae's thesis on her debut album, Addison. If you liked this video, make sure to give me a thumbs up and hit the subscribe button down below. I'm trying to get back into the swing of making weekly videos again, and your support would mean the absolute world to me.

But until then, make sure to have a wonderful day, and thank you so much for watching.