Addison Rae performs on stage at "The Addison Tour" held at Terminal 5 on October 03, 2025 in Manhattan, New York. Mother Jones illustration; Getty; Christopher Polk/Billboard/Getty

The staff of Mother Jones is, once again, rounding up the heroes and monsters of the past year. This is a non-exhaustive and totally subjective list, giving our reporters a chance to write about something that brought joy, discontent, or curiosity. Happy holidays.

“Diet Pepsi,” the lead single from Addison Rae’s debut album, Addison, dropped last August, and I haven’t stopped thinking of it since. The viral TikTok dance originally turned me on to the song, which is fitting considering Rae’s former life as a TikTok princess. But two new covers that dropped this year kept me coming back for more. 

I, admittedly, am a sucker for a good cover. Ten years later, I’m still showing Childish Gambino’s cover of Tamia’s “So Into You” to anyone who will pay attention. Dolly’s “I Will Always Love You” invokes entirely different feelings for me........

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