Addison Rae is stepping into the spotlight with her highly anticipated debut album, and the internet has plenty of opinions.

On a humid summer Sunday in Red Hook, the Brooklyn enclave across the water from Wall Street, Addison Rae, 25, appeared almost as a mirage as she stepped onto the sunbaked pavement for this W shoot.

It’s fair to say that no one saw it coming: Among the revolving door of influencers in the Hype House, Addison Rae wasn’t necessarily a shoo-in for pop stardom. In 2019, she had no persona or shrewd ...