"Obsessed" is the debut single by American singer and social media personality

Addison Rae {{Infobox person , name = Addison Rae , image = Addison Rae - Pandora 2021 3.jpg , alt = , caption = Rae in an interview for Pandora in 2021 , birth_name = Addison Rae Easterli ...

, released through Sandlot Records and

AWAL AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and indepen ...

on March 18, 2021. An accompanying music video was released alongside the single. The song is set to be a part of Rae's debut EP which is expected to be released sometime in 2023.

Background and composition

"Obsessed" is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song. The lyrics are about a relationship and self-hate. At a young age, Rae was influenced by her mother's

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...

which included music from the 1990s and

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. In an interview with '' Vogue'', Rae identifies Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez,

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

, and

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...

as musical influences. She cited

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

as an inspiration for the song.

Production

Preceding the release, Rae worked with songwriter Jacob Kasher Hindlin (Jkash) to study songwriting. Rae released the song through Hindlin's independent label, Sandlot Records. They worked with manager Adam Mersel, and publicists Katie Greenthal and Courtni Asbury of The Lede Company. After four months in the Hindlin's studio, Rae and her team developed most of "Obsessed" in one session. Rae performed "Obsessed" on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh in ...

'', marking her debut appearance on a

late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...

. She released accompanying clothing and poster merchandise.

Reception

"Obsessed" was critically panned; in a review for ''PopDust'', music critic Langa stated "Addison Rae's embarrassing new single 'Obsessed' proves she should stick to

lip sync Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , the same as the word ''sink'', short for lip synchronization) is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with sung or spoken vocals. Audio for lip syncing is generated th ...

ing". Zoe Haylock of ''

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'' negatively compared Rae's use of whispering to

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

. Writing for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'', Nick Romano described the lyrics as " eadingmore like a text exchange", while assuming the message was "about how obsessed aeis with herself", in contrast with what Rae intended, writing "the execution may have gotten lost in translation". Writing for British ''Vogue'' in 2023, Amel Mukhtar described "Obsessed" as "fabulously camp" and wondered: "Was it shallow trash, or

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art?"

Commercial performance

In the United States, the song debuted at its peak of number 10 on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart issue dated April 3, 2021, which serves as a twenty-five slot extension to the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Music video

The music video, directed by

Diane Martel Diane Martel (also known as Bucky Chrome) is an American music video director and choreographer. Awards Diane Martel was nominated for the Video of the Year for her work in "Blurred Lines" – Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell & T.I. in 2013. Fil ...

, includes

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dances choreographed by Sara Biv and Calvit Hodge. On the day of its release, the single was the sixth video trending on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. Kyle Luu was the stylist. In parts of the video, Rae wore catsuits by LaQuan Smith, clothing by

Mugler Manfred Thierry Mugler (; 21 December 1948 – 23 January 2022) was a French fashion designer, creative director and creative adviser of Mugler. In the 1970s, Mugler launched his eponymous fashion house; and quickly rose to prominence in the fo ...

and a fake fur

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty Inc., ...

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It ha ...

. Her white

Dion Lee Dion Lee (born 2 October 1985) is a fashion designer hailing from Sydney, Australia where his eponymous brand was established in 2009. Lee debuted at Australian Fashion Week in 2009 after graduating from FDS (Fashion Design Studio) TAFE NSW the ...

corset was inspired by the Britney Spears' music video for " Sometimes". The catsuit was influenced by the music video of "

Say You'll Be There "Say You'll Be There" is a song recorded by the English girl group Spice Girls for their debut studio album ''Spice (album), Spice'' (1996). The Spice Girls co-wrote the song with Eliot Kennedy after the group left Heart Management in 1995. La ...

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2021 debut singles 2021 songs Addison Rae songs Song recordings produced by Benny Blanco Song recordings produced by Ryan McMahon (record producer) Songs written by Addison Rae Songs written by Benny Blanco Songs written by Ryan McMahon (record producer) Songs written by Leland (musician) Songs written by Madison Love