Everyone’s eyes were on Tate McRae as she gained international fame while touring her sophomore album, think later. McRae became known for her killer dance moves and vocals, with some even calling her the next Britney Spears. But McRae was aiming to be known as more than the sad girl who wrote “you broke me first,” and that started when she closed out her second headline tour at Madison Square Garden.
With an appearance by her then-boyfriend, The Kid LAROI, and a sold-out show, McRae teased her third era by revealing a new song, catching fans off guard with an unforgettable moment: “Oh, wait. That’s not “greedy”.”
On Sept. 2 from the beach in Bora Bora, McRae showcased the track name, “it’s ok i’m ok,” in the sand with the caption “wait, when?” before announcing its upcoming release.
With the music video airing the night before, it was clear a new era was underway and, suffice it to say, no one was prepared for what followed.
Singles
McRae began her traditional album rollout in the weeks that followed, teasing the next track on Instagram and TikTok with the lyrics “all the memories babe i play them all back,” revealing the second single, “2 hands,” coming out on Nov. 14th. The music video featured nods to Formula 1 racing, causing fans to geek out in excitement.
On the day of the release, McRae announced the name of the album as so close to what, with a release slated for Feb. 21st of 2025, and the internet went insane. Venues around the world began teasing her next tour: the Miss Possessive World Tour, her largest to date, with openers Benee and Zara Larsson.
While preparing for the album, McRae also released a teaser for the new era, featuring another new song, “Dear god,” and some of the songs on the tracklist.
Unfortunately for her, most of the album was leaked shortly before the official release, so she retaliated by teasing her next music video and single, “Sports car,” on Jan. 24th.
An era to remember
“Leak This” became an important phrase for McRae in the weeks that followed. Instead of allowing a leak to derail her release plans, she embraced it and revealed the official tracklist on Feb. 12th, with Flo Mili and The Kid LAROI on tracks “bloodonmyhands” and “I know love,” respectively. The next single and music video for “Revolving door” dropped on the album release day, becoming another instant favorite. Other songs included “Greenlight,” about being afraid to start loving again after a breakup that reminded fans of McRae’s early days as an artist, and “Purple lace bra,” which touches on being objectified as a woman in the music industry.
McRae added appearances on The Tonight Show and SNL to her calendar before heading out on tour, and one of her most popular leaked songs, “Siren sounds,” to the album.
One of the most bittersweet songs, and one that defines the SCTW era as a whole, is her collaboration with The Kid LAROI and their only song together. They have never performed it live, but they made a cute little music video to go along with the release, and it was one of the only times fans really got to see the two stars’ chemistry and relationship IRL.
In March, the album went number one on the Billboard 200, marking McRae’s first time topping the charts. Around that time, she also played a few festivals, most notably Lollapalooza in Latin America.
While McRae was on tour, the F1 movie was to be released in theatres, and to absolutely no one’s surprise, given Tate’s fascination with F1 racing, she had one of the lead singles for the film. On May 25th, she teased the title and revealed that the music video and song “Just Keep Watching” would be out on May 30th.
McRae managed to stop by the movie premiere despite being on tour, and the song is one of her most successful singles independent of one of her albums yet.
So close to what???
Towards the end of her US leg, McRae and The Kid LAROI went through a very public breakup, despite being together for over a year. If you haven’t seen his reactions to her VMA performance that year, well. McRae won two VMAs that night for “Just Keep Watching”, but when he released a song called “A COLD PLAY,” a lot changed.
Towards the end of September, McRae announced a new single, “TIT FOR TAT,” as a comeback to The Kid LAROI, adding it to her tour setlist. The single also came with possible Easter eggs for a deluxe version of the album, hinted at during her tour performances.
On Oct. 14, she teased more new lyrics, and on Nov. 9, she revealed a deluxe version of the album, coming out a week later. The tour ended shortly before the release, and the tracklist was posted on the 17th, featuring four new songs.
McRae also filmed a music video for “NOBODY’S GIRL,” making it readily apparent that the deluxe era would have different color schemes and aesthetics.
To close out the year, McRae was on the cover of Rolling Stone, and she received her first Grammy nomination for “Just Keep Watching.” Though she didn’t win, the nomination is a remarkable achievement for a young artist.
Lollapalooza 2026 & A New Era
After the tour and the deluxe release died down, McRae spent most of 2026 doing magazine shoots and recording new music. When it was announced in March that she would headline Lollapalooza, fans began to wonder: would she debut any new music?
McRae played Lollapalooza and Osheaga in the same weekend with mirroring costumes and setlists (as well as new visuals). Fans went wild when she played the unreleased bridge of “Siren sounds” from the demo, as well as a mashup of “TRYING ON SHOES” and “Feel Like Sh*t,” a combination no one was expecting.
This era is a defining point of McRae’s career. In just a few short years, she went from opening for Shawn Mendes and playing small venues to selling out arenas. The world truly isn’t ready for what comes next from her, and I can’t wait to see what she does.