Spring 2020, we were all at home, scrolling TikTok mindlessly because of the pandemic. Challenges and dances were amongst the TikTok clips we saw but what we also saw was a musical explosion by many artists blowing up via the app. Though, one artist in particular, Tate McRae, who blew up because of the app, wasn’t completely unknown before “you broke me first” became a 2-time Platinum hit.
The Canadian native first became a familiar face in 2016, when she placed third on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation. From there, McRae has danced with the likes of Demi Lovato and winning countless dance competitions. Soon enough, she moved her passion to showcasing songs that she has started writing, while also dancing. Almost a year and a half post her massive hit, she’s finally performing to festival crowds and gearing up for an extensive tour in 2022. While on her fest run, we had the privilege of sitting down with Tate at The Governors Ball Music Festival to discuss everything from her 2022 plans to the pandemic and even Post Malone.
Despite having an early Friday set and consecutive press all day long, the pop-songstress was still a joyful, down-to-earth person, who was extremely easy to talk to. “This is the first time I’m really out of my house. In a way, I feel like we’re in a whole new world now,” she noted.
While in her house, she stayed busy by continuing to work on music. McRae released a handful of tracks, some including featured from blackbear, Troye Sivan and Khalid, just to name a few. When asked who was on her wishlist, she ecstatically said, “Post Malone. I would die! I love him.” Posty, if you’re reading this, hit up Tate immediately!
Collaborations aside, McRae has also been busy working on her debut album. “I’m writing an album right now, my debut album, so it’s a big deal to me. Just wrapping up, some final touches and stuff. I have a few more songs to write. I’m very excited to release this out to the world finally next year!” When describing the album, she states, “It hurts. It hurts to listen to for me, personally, because it’s such a personal experience album and it’s all written mostly by myself and you know, straight from the heart so I’m very excited about it.”
Prior to the world shutting down, McRae only did a handful of live performances. This festival run is only the beginning for her. In early 2022, she’ll be hopping over the pond for some UK shows and then back to her homeland of Canada to kick off her North American tour. Let’s just call this a warm up though, because just last week, McRae announced she’ll be joining fellow Canadian, Shawn Mendes, on select dates of his Wonder: The World Tour next fall. “He’s the best. I love him. He’s so talented, so sweet. I’m so excited. I’ve been a fan forever. I met him like 4 days ago. He’s the best. I honestly have no idea how that happened. I’m pumped.”
With Tate keeping busy, we hope her fans, also known as the tater tots, are thrilled, because we know we are! While discussing her fans and the past year and a half, McRae wanted her fans to know how “grateful I am for all of their support. Sometimes you don’t even realize like who’s listening to your music but you know, when they come up to me, every single person means the world to me and I can’t thank them enough for everything.”
Pay attention to Tate McRae, because she’s about to become the next big thing in pop music. Check out her tour dates here!
