With the release of her third album, “So Close To What,” and an upcoming arena tour, 21-year-old Tate McRae has already cemented herself as a name to watch out for. But how did the pop star get to where she is today?
Dancing queen
While most people know McRae for her music, she first rose to fame as a dancer! The Calgary native began dancing at age 6 and regularly competed in competitions. At age 13, she competed on Season 13 of the reality television show “So You Think You Can Dance” and placed third, becoming the highest-placed Canadian in the show’s history. While McRae’s main focus is now music, she still incorporates her powerful dance moves in her performances, including her music videos for her hit songs “greedy” and “It’s ok I’m ok.”
Youtube sensation
In 2017, McRae began a YouTube channel called “Create with Tate.” She released ”One Day,” her first original song, and the video got over 40 million views. McRae continued releasing songs on her channel, and eventually signed a record deal and released her first EP “all the things i never said” in 2020.
pandemic pop star
While McRae was forced to cancel part 2 of her All the Things I Never Said tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she didn’t let the setback stop her success. In April 2020, McRae released “you broke me first,” a ballad full of heartbreak, filming her music video on an iPhone during the lockdown. The song gained over a billion streams and is still one of her most popular songs to this day. In an interview with the Calgary Herald, McRae describes how she worked with an engineer over FaceTime to continue writing songs during the pandemic and eventually released her second EP, “TOO YOUNG TO BE SAD,” in March 2021.
flying into new heights
In May 2022, McRae released her debut album “i used to think i could fly.” Fans were especially drawn to the song “she’s all i wanna be,” where she expresses her feelings of insecurity and self-comparison. While McRae’s EPs were filled with slow and melancholic songs, this album displayed more variety. McRae maintained her rhythm with songs like “chaotic” and “hate myself,” but also experimented with an upbeat style in songs like “what would you do?” and “don’t come back.”
sad girl switch up
In Sept. 2023, McRae released “greedy,” a song that showed off her versatility and solidified a new era in her music career. Blending pop and R&B, the hit song quickly rose in the charts and solidified McRae as a household name. She released her second album, “THINK LATER,” in Dec. 2023, which continued to radiate confidence and empowerment. From the moment fans heard the lyric “sad girl bit got a little boring” in her opening track, they knew that changes were coming in McRae’s musical style. McRae also embarked on the Think Later World Tour following the release of the album and performed across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
power pop
McRae continues to show depth in her music and has recently released her third album, “So Close To What,” which further shows her shift into more upbeat, dance-pop style songs. Her single “Sports Car” even has people calling her the next Britney Spears. Another song on the album, “I know love” features her boyfriend, The Kid LAROI. The singer plans to begin her Miss Possessive Tour on March 18.
Whether it’s her electric dance moves, her gut-wrenching ballads or her recent viral hits, McRae’s development as an artist has been exciting to watch. There’s no way to predict what the future holds, but the best thing fans can do right now is enjoy this current stage of McRae’s career. She’s definitely been on a wild, sports car-style ride, but every step she has taken on the path toward stardom has made her the artist and person she is today.