One artist has been absolutely dominating the pop genre, and that’s none other than the iconic Tate McRae. On Feb. 21, McRae released her third studio album, So Close To What. The album features songs about complicated relationships, confidence anthems, and yes, even a song with her boyfriend, The Kid Laroi. The album also showcases McRae’s alter ego, Tatiana, who fans haven’t been able to get enough of since the album dropped.
McRae has previously opened up about her alter ego, Tatiana, who we have to thank for her electrifying stage presence. Tatiana began as an inside joke between fans, but McRae’s been speaking about this persona in interviews, dating back to 2023.
In a December 2023 interview with People, McRae described this other half as someone completely different from her normal self. “I’m a pretty reserved Canadian who’s pretty shy in big groups. But I get onstage, and sometimes I’ll black out and be like, ‘What the f*ck is up, Boston?’ And my mom’s like, ‘Whoa, where did this come from?'” McRae said. “Just a totally different side of me. She’s feistier and doesn’t really give a sh*t.” After all, don’t we all have our own versions of Tatiana?
A month prior, McRae opened up about introducing Tatiana to her fans in an interview with Genius. “I had to snap into a mentality of not being so vulnerable and so honest and just being like, ‘Okay, there’s a whole other side of my personality that the entire world has no idea about.’ That’s Tatiana, for sure.”
Tatiana is still McRae’s muse, especially in her daring album So Close To What. At her Spotify listening party Q&A with Jake Shane in LA on Feb. 18, Shane posed the question, “Did Tatiana write any of the songs on the album?” to which McRae replied, “I think she wrote ‘Sports car’ for sure…I think she wrote ‘Miss possessive.’ I think she actually wrote a lot of the songs.” The singer added, “I feel like Tatiana, this alter ego, wrote maybe half of this album because I was on tour and I was living in this alter ego.”
Fans of McRae have posted TikToks of the iconic alter ego, who has given us some of the best pop hits of the year.
Everyone, say thank you to Tatiana for feeding us the absolute *best* hype music of 2025.