Tate McRae has a knack for dropping songs that perfectly align with whatever I’m going through. The 18-year-old Calgary native grew up as both a singer and competitive dancer, competing on So You Think You Can Dance and releasing original songs on her YouTube Channel. It wasn’t until the peak of the pandemic that her single, “You Broke Me First” completely took over the internet, allowing McRae to resonate with millions across the globe from her bedroom. Nearly two years later, with two EP’s out and a debut album on the way, she’s shaping up to be one of the best songwriters Gen Z’s ever seen.
While there are many songwriters who certainly know how to shred your heart into a million pieces, there’s something about McRae’s lyrics that resonates more than most. Just the name of her sophomore EP, “Too Young to Be Sad,” feels like a hit to the heart. Growing up is hard, but growing up in the world of social media just seems to amplify every emotion. And McRae just gets it, writing about the things we all go through, but perhaps are too scared to bring to words. With each song she releases, I become more and more convinced that we share the same brain.
“she’s all i wanna be” and “wish i loved you in the 90s” are two of her songs that I believe capture the repercussions of growing up in 2022. From comparison to nostalgia, with lyrics that sit heavy and production that compels your ear, there’s a lyric nearly everyone can relate to.
“she’s all i wanna be”
What happens when the girl he told you not to worry about is the one he ends up with? In a way that’s not so much self-deprecating as it is therapeutic, McRae’s latest single, “she’s all i wanna be,” tackles the menace of comparison. Creating a song that doubles as both a confessional and an arena-belting anthem, McRae speaks on the frustrations of never feeling good enough. With downhearted lyrics hidden underneath high-spirited production, in the song’s chorus, Tate sings “She’s got everything that I don’t have / And she’s all i wanna be, all i wanna be so bad.” I’m the first to admit that I’ve scrolled through my phone and wished I looked like the girls staring back at me. And while my heart hopes you haven’t, I know you probably have, too.
“wish i loved you in the 90s“
As someone who romanticizes the simplicity of the past, as soon as I saw the title of this song, I knew I was going to fall in love. With stunningly simple production, this ballad puts to words the fear behind finding love in the digital age. In the pre-chorus, McRae sings, “And I swear / We kinda fell in love with the pain / And I’m scared / We don’t even know the right way / I wish I loved you in the 90s.” Our generation has become so accustomed to ghosting and bad tinder dates that we expect heartbreak more than we do love. Real-life connection deteriorating, we’ve downgraded from flowers and dinner dates to story replies and snapchats as forms of flattery. With all the 90’s rom-coms out there, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the idea of what could have been if we grew up in a time without the internet.
In a way that is unique and comforting, Tate McRae creates pieces of music about growing up and watching it all fall to pretty pieces. And while our generation is figuring it all out together, McRae’s creation is the perfect time capsule of songs to help us all remember when we were all “too young to be sad.”