Addison Rae's 2024 kicked off with a bang: screaming over mentor Charli XCX's viral remix of 'Von Dutch' and dropping a short, terrifyingly simple earworm to AG Cook. Britpop highlight “Lucifer”. Rae's first solo track of the year, the shimmering Lanacore ballad “Diet Pepsi,” became her first Billboard hit, having received a tidy profile boost since its triumphant live debut at the MSG stop of the Sweat tour. its follow-up, the ridiculous-yet-bewitching “Aquamarine,” played like a Ray of Light Deep cut sung by Nomi Malone. Both singles arrived with great, funny videos directed by Sean Price Williams – cinematographer of Good timedirector of the edgelord tale The sweet East—and creative-directed by Interview mag impresario Mel Ottenberg, for this extra dynamic influence for kids.
So a remix of “Aquamarine” by Rae's dream collaborator Arca — titled, obviously, “Arcamarine” — should be another easy win. In fact, it's probably Rae's first real miss this year, a creative distraction that doesn't make much use of either musician's abilities. There's nothing offensive or inappropriate about “Arcamarine,” but that's its first mistake: both Rae and Arca have used their music to push the boundaries of good taste, and “Arcamarine” sounds a bit like the of secure, anonymous dembow remixes that Major Labels use to form chart numbers. (Arca's best collaborations, like “KLK” and “Watch,” force singers to join her mutated mechanics; on a remix like this, she's limited to working with pre-existing vocals.) The slower pulse cuts down on “Aquamarine “, one of the best pop singles of the year, its mystery and drama. when it ends, you can't help but feel a little blue.
