Look out everyone, Tate McRae has come to save pop music. Her sophomore album THINK LATER, which dropped on Dec. 8, is filled to the brim with bangers. More and more singers are bringing hip-hop choreography back to the stage and their music videos, and McRae is contributing with her strong background in competitive dance (she placed 3rd on the hit reality show So You Think You Can Dance).
However, along with the danceable anthems that McRae is becoming known for, she’s keeping the raw, tearjerker songwriting that her OG fans fell in love with. The deep cuts of the album are filled with numerous lines that just hit too close to home. McRae has outdone herself — she’s truly made a no-skip album that manages to spill facts time and time again. Many listeners took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share their reactions to such lyrics upon their first listen of the album. Here are 15 lines from THINK LATER that I feel called out by.
- “JUST WANNA CUT MY HAIR, LOSE MYSELF, MAKE YOU SWEAT” – FROM “CUT MY HAIR”
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New hair transformation TikTok audio unlocked! The first line is already making me feel like the ultimate baddie.
- “MISSING A MOMENT WHEN YOU’RE STILL THERE, YOU GOTTA THING YOU CAN’T FIND NOWHERE” – FROM “RUN FOR THE HILLS”
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Chills all over. McRae wrote this one for the situationships!
- “THE WAY YOU TOUCH ME, STRAIGHT TO THE HEART YEAH IT CUTS ME” – FROM “RUN FOR THE HILLS”
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This song makes me ascend. It does things to me that I can’t even explain.
- “SHE’S GOT YOU MAKING UP SUCH PRETTY BOY EXCUSES” – FROM “HURT MY FEELINGS”
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The second that McRae teased this one on TikTok, I knew I needed to hear more. To say that she served would be an understatement.
- “I HATE IT THAT YOU GOTTA BREAK SOMETHING TO REALIZE WE’RE AT ROCK BOTTOM” – FROM “STAY DONE”
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As a chronically delusional girlie whose standards are low, I felt this one.
- “TIME SHOULD HEAL BUT IT DOESN’T, OR MAYBE ‘CAUSE YOU STILL HAVEN’T TOLD THE TRUTH” – FROM “WE’RE NOT ALIKE”
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Where was this song when my ex-best friend and I fell out? It would’ve helped me put a lot of things in perspective.
- “SAID SHE HAD MY BACK BUT SHE HAD THE KNIFE” – FROM “WE’RE NOT ALIKE”
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Ouch! Plus, now all the knife emojis in McRae’s recent Instagram posts make sense.
- “I COULD NEVER DO IT ONCE, AND SHE DID IT TWICE” – FROM “WE’RE NOT ALIKE”
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Ouch again. Toxic friendship/relationship survivors, how are we holding up? McRae has captured the feeling of being backstabbed so accurately, it’s scary.
- “I THOUGHT I HAD MY SHIT TOGETHER” – FROM “CALGARY”
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Same, honestly. When McRae unveiled the track titles, I assumed that “Calgary” would be a sentimental, happy ode to her hometown. Turns out it’s a painfully relatable ballad about how difficult growing up is.
- “I THOUGHT THAT I WAS GETTING BETTER, NO I GOT BETTER AT PRETENDING” – FROM “CALGARY”
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I felt that. Not everything is as it seems on the surface.
- “SAME BAR, SAME STREET, I’M TWENTY BUT I STILL FEEL LIKE FIFTEEN” – FROM “CALGARY”
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Yep, this line hit too close to home.
- “I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING THAT I COULDN’T AFFORD TO LOSE” – FROM “WANT THAT TOO”
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As a people pleaser, I feel called out.
- “TAKING ALL THE BETTER PARTS OF ME IS ALL YOU DO” – FROM “WANT THAT TOO”
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Serious question: how did McRae get into my childhood diaries?
- “IT’S NOT HOW IT USED TO BE, STARING AT PLASTIC PALM TREES” – FROM “PLASTIC PALM TREES”
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Since I moved to LA for college two years ago and had a romanticized view of the city at first, I instantly related to this song. The reality of living here is far from how they portray it in the movies.
Safe to say that much of THINK LATER makes me feel seen. This album has blown my mind in every way possible, and I hope the world is ready for McRae’s pop princess era.