The song peaked at number ten on the US Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The song was originally intended to be the lead single from Rae's debut album, but the project was shelved due to Rae's lack of confidence. An EP consisting of 4 unreleased tracks, titled AR, was later officially released August 18, 2023, with "Obsessed" as a Spotify-exclusive bonus track on the EP.
Despite her success as a TikToker, a month before COVID-19 lockdown, Rae told talent managers Justin Greenberg and Joe Izzi about her desire to act, sing and dance. Greenberg and Izzi helped her land a role in Netflix's He's All That (2021), which would turn out to be a critical failure but a commercial success. The managers also booked her first songwriting sessions, with Rae herself starting acting and singing classes.[2]
Production and composition
Preceding the release, Rae worked with songwriter Jacob Kasher Hindlin 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.[3] After four months in the Hindlin's studio, Rae and her team developed most of "Obsessed" in one session.[3]
"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 syncing".[6] Zoe Haylock of Vulture negatively compared Rae's use of whispering to Selena Gomez.[7] Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Nick Romano described the lyrics as "[reading] more like a text exchange", while assuming the message was "about how obsessed [Rae] is with herself", in contrast with what Rae intended, writing "the execution may have gotten lost in translation".[8]
Writing for British Vogue in 2023, Amel Mukhtar described "Obsessed" as "fabulously camp" and wondered: "Was it shallow trash, or tongue-in-cheek art?"[9] The same year, Rae revealed to American Vogue that the criticism she received from the song almost made her quit music entirely, as it made her believe that she wasn't good enough for the industry.[10] In a 2024 interview with Rolling Stone, she told Brittany Spanos: "I still think that song's good. I think there's room for constructive criticism. [But] it almost wasn't even about the song. It was [about] me doing it."[2]
Commercial performance
In the United States, the song debuted at its peak of number 10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 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, includes dances choreographed by Sara Biv and Calvit Hodge.[5] On the day of its release, the single was the sixth video trending on YouTube.[4] Kyle Luu was the stylist. In parts of the video, Rae wore catsuits by LaQuan Smith, clothing by Mugler and a fake furGuccibolero. Her white Dion Lee 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" by the Spice Girls.[5]
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