Tate McRae is living life in the fast lane. At just 21 years old, the singer has accomplished things she’s always dreamed of — she released her second studio album Think Later in December 2023, made her SNL debut the month before, performed at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards and 2024 BRIT Awards, and headlined the NHL All-Star Game in February of this year. Despite the whirlwind “the past eight months or so” have been for her, McRae tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview that she’s “proud of how everything came together.”
Before she found success with music, McRae was a dancer — and a good one, at that. In 2016, she finished third place on Season 13 of Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. After the show wrapped, McRae began sharing music on her YouTube channel in 2017. She struck gold on the platform when she posted a video of herself singing her original song, “one day,” which garnered over 40 million views. After that video, 11 music labels offered McRae record deals, and she decided to sign with RCA Records in 2019. Her debut album, I Used to Think I Could Fly, came out in May 2022.
From the outside looking in, McRae made a seamless transition from dance to music, but it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. “I was this really emotional and sensitive girl who just wanted to write poetry, and then I also had this side that wanted to dance to my sad, emotional songs,” she says. “I feel like [music and dance are] such different identities, and I always wanted to do them at the same time,” she says.
Since starting her music career, it’s been a “process” for McRae to try to “find the space where the two worlds meshed together.” She’s found some success, though, bringing her moves into her music videos and live performances — especially while on her Think Later World Tour, which is currently on its North American leg.
McRae is “utterly grateful” for the opportunity to travel the world and perform for her fans. And while she’s been in the spotlight for years, she says “there’s never a better feeling” than getting on stage to sing and dance for her fans, known as the Tater Tots. “It all feels very surreal whenever I get on stage,” she says. “I’m just the luckiest girl.”
Her fave song to perform while on tour? “Guilty Conscience,” she says. “The whole dance on stage [is] just this fight between all the guys and the girls. We just have a blast. We’re laughing and swinging at each other. It’s really fun.”
Not all of tour life is as glamorous as it seems, though, so McRae makes sure to prioritize herself by “taking care of my mental space … doing my skin care, and staying healthy.” One of the ways she stays healthy is by taking care of her teeth. To do this, she’s partnered with Invisalign to correct her smile. “My teeth are very important for me to feel good when I’m on stage,” she says.
So, what’s next for McRae? “I’ve been in the studio a lot recently, so music is in the process of being built right now,” she says. And as soon as her world tour finishes up in November, McRae plans to start building the next world of her music. “I’m excited for the next phase,” she says. “It’ll be coming quick.”