Tate McRae Is More Than Just A Sound On Your FYP

Intuitive. Savage. Torn.

These are the three words that Canadian singer-songwriter Tate McRae says define her upcoming sophomore album Think Later, out on Dec. 8. “A lot of my songs go back and forth between love and hate and wanting to and not wanting to, and the feeling of being torn between whether you should leave or stay in situations,” she tells Elite Daily.

While some might label McRae as just another TikTok sensation — she has nearly 6 million followers and her song “greedy” has been used in almost 2 million videos and counting — the 20-year-old is ready to prove she’s more than a fleeting sound on your For You page.

Not only did McRae perform two songs on SNL in November, but she recently wrapped a North American tour and is making waves with her recently released single “exes.” Hypnotic and energetic, McRae is a breath of fresh air in the world of otherwise cookie-cutter pop music. She challenges the notion of what it means to have a hit, offering lush and vibrant lyrics with catchy beats and irresistible vocals.

Of course, when she does have some downtime, she finds herself hanging with her close friend and fellow superstar Olivia Rodrigo. Together, the two find themselves grabbing dinner, going on long drives, working out, and watching movies. McRae even made a cameo in Rodrigo’s latest music video “bad idea right.” “I adore Olivia,” McRae says. “She’s one of my closest friends in LA, and I think she is one of the most talented people I've ever met. We have a lot of fun.” While McRae says the two usually just hang out when they’re together, she’s not opposed to working with Rodrigo on something in the future. *insert eyes emoji*

Below, McRae talks about her new album, TikTok fame, and what’s next.

Elite Daily: Your sophomore album is here. What can you tell me about it?

Tate McRae: I am so excited. I’ve put so much time and effort into this album; it feels like a whole other side of my personality. And I touch on a lot of stories that I've never talked about in my music and it also feels like going into a world of pop that I've never gone into before. I'm very excited for people to hear it.

ED: What subjects are you going to broach on this album that you didn't on your debut?

TM: I talk about a lot of different scenarios. I think the biggest shift is I turned 20 this year and I feel like I grew so much as a person. I started writing my debut album when I was 17 years old. The growth from 17 to 20 is pretty drastic. A lot of the concepts talk about the feeling of falling in love and feeling things wholeheartedly and with so much passion and sometimes not even thinking about it before you dive into situations.

ED: Tell me more about the title, Think Later. What does that mean to you?

TM: Think Later comes from the quote, "Live now, think later; dance now, think later; sing now, think later." The idea of being super present in life and living with your intuition in your heart rather than your head. I've been a pretty big overthinker and perfectionist my whole life. In the last year and a half I've made a lot of decisions and gone through a lot of experiences without thinking as much, which resulted in me falling harder in love and feeling things way more intensely, but then also making completely different decisions than I ever would.

I feel like God came into the room and handed us a song. It was a really special moment.

ED: What song off the new album are you most excited about?

TM: I'm really excited about the next single, which is the focus track of the album called "run for the hills." This was one of the first songs we wrote on the album, and the melody and the chorus are crazy. This song gives me such a boost of serotonin every time I listen to it and I'm so beyond excited to perform it on tour.

ED: You just dropped your music video for "exes." Can you tell me about the inspiration behind it? I heard you wrote it in 30 minutes.

TM: This process was honestly, I would say, one of the biggest “live now, think later” moments. We wrote it the day that we were handing in the album to the label. We wrote it in 30 minutes and finished it, recorded it, and produced it all within I think 60 to 90 minutes. We decided the next day that it was going to be the next single. Because there was no pressure anymore and it was the last moment, the last chance to write a song, I feel like God came into the room and handed us a song. It was a really special moment.

ED: How is the process of writing self-empowerment bops, like "greedy," different from writing breakup anthems, and which can we expect more of on your new album?

TM: I'm so happy that “greedy” turned into this big empowerment anthem. Honestly, it was just me being in the studio writing from a feistier side of my personality and wanting to push the boundaries on the stories I was telling and open up my perspective and talk about different things. My album talks about a lot of things. It talks about not being able to leave specific relationships and feeling so utterly obsessed with one person and becoming a little blindsided because of it. But then also you have the songs like “exes” and “greedy” that feel a little more just straight-up empowering, confidence boosters and are so fun to play with your girls.

ED: Who are some of your dream collaborators, like anyone you could duet with on a future album?

TM: I've always been a massive fan of Post Malone and The Weeknd. That would be pretty surreal to do a song with them. And I love Rosalía. I think she's really incredible.

It's so crazy to have a personal song you've written interpreted in many different ways. It was nuts when the Tube Girl trend started happening all around the world.

ED: You’re embarking on a 53-date global tour next year and headlining a show at Madison Square Garden. How are you going to prep for all this?

TM: Oh, I am so beyond excited for tour next year. Hopefully, a lot of dancing and just getting creative with the visual aspect of it. I like to have a lot of input and creative direction on all of my visuals on tour, so I'll spend a lot of time making mood boards and talking to whoever I create the show with about what we want it to feel like and where we want to take people.

ED: Do you have any hacks or rituals for beating pre-show jitters or pumping yourself up before you go on stage?

TM: I do this one specific vocal warm-up every single time before I go on stage. I have this little vocal spray that numbs my throat. I don't know if it does anything, but I take it every time. And then my tour manager has been putting on my mic pack since I was 16. I'm very superstitious, so she always has to do it.

ED: You've had a lot of success on TikTok obviously. What was it like seeing a song like "greedy" take off on TikTok before it was even released?

TM: It's so wild when you see other people using your song. It's so crazy to have a personal song you've written interpreted in many different ways. It was nuts when the Tube Girl trend started happening all around the world. I was seeing it in so many different train stations everywhere, and it was so neat to see it. You never really know what to expect with TikTok trends. So it was fun to see them all.

I don't like to think about TikTok when I write music. It kills the art aspect of it.

ED: What's it like to go to a train station right now, especially because you have this trending song with the Tube Girl moment?

TM: I haven't been on a train in the past couple of months, but I think it's so funny when people can actually do the trend on the train. I'd be too scared to whip out my phone and do the Tube Girl trend in front of that many people.

ED: How much do you factor a platform like TikTok into your songwriting process?

TM: I don't like to think about TikTok when I write music. It kills the art aspect of it. I try to perfectly articulate the stories that I want to tell and if it hits home for me and feels like I have completely released a specific emotion and perspective into a song, then I've done my job. But focusing on TikTok is something I do way, way later in the process after all the creation has been done.

ED: Do you use TikTok to discover new music? And if so, who are some of the artists or sounds you're into right now?

TM: It depends on what TikTok is showing me at the moment. I discovered D4VD. His music popped off on TikTok and he's got incredible music, so I've been listening to him a lot lately. You just find a lot of cool, dark indie artists — like really sad music.

ED: What are you looking forward to in 2024?

TM: I am so looking forward to my tour. I have some really, really fun performances that I'm doing that I literally cannot wait for, festivals and things in the summertime that I've been dreaming of for a very long time. So I cannot wait to get on the stage and dance and sing.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.