Tate McRae: from Sadgirl to Dance-Pop Girl

How she is seizing the moment with her dance-pop hits from her latest album, THINK LATER. And, what can she do to secure the main pop girl spot?

This past month, I’ve had a song on repeat. It’s so catchy and I can’t help but start dancing when the song plays. It’s exes by Tate McRae off of her newly released sophomore studio album, THINK LATER. I remember watching the music video and feeling excited seeing her serving complex choreography and making references to early 2000s pop stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. That was when I saw a glimmer of ‘main pop girl’ potential in Tate. So I wanted to explore what she can do to seize this moment and prove that she’s a contender for the top spot. 

A little bit of background: who is Tate?

If you haven’t heard of Tate McRae, you may have heard of her earlier ballad you broke me first which went viral on TikTok during the pandemic lockdown in 2020. It is one of those classic heart-wrenching ballads that puts you in your feels. It is Tate’s most popular song to date with more than 1.29 billion plays on Spotify as of December 2023…so many tears & tissues!

However, Tate’s music didn’t really connect with me back then. She didn’t stand out enough in a crowded field of many other sadgirl/sadboy artists with emotional anthems, such as Conan Gray, Jeremy Zucker, Billie Eilish, and Julia Michaels. I listened to her debut album i used to think i could fly released in May of 2022 and it didn’t really stick with me.  

So the departure from the sadgirl image to a more sexy badass persona in her latest album THINK LATER came at a surprise, but I think ultimately for the better. Songs like greedy and exes are both upbeat dance-pop songs and cater well to her dance background – yes, she’s an excellent dancer and finished in 3rd place on So You Think You Can Dance when she was only 13 years old. The songs sound fresh and have touches by music’s biggest producers today: Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic who co-executive produced the album, ILYA who came up under the world-renowned hitmaker Max Martin, and Greg Kurstin who’s worked with Adele and Sia. 

Tate seems to have found her edge 

And it’s not just me, but audiences are also loving this new sound. Many fans are connecting with the throwback 2000s era references and Tate’s ability to pull off complex choreography while singing. Here’s what they’re saying¹: 

“I knew right away when i heard greedy that its giving nelly/timbaland vibes. Love.”

“The ‘Dirrty’, ‘Slave 4 U’ and ‘Me Against The Music’ references are INSANE.”

“She’s reviving the 2000s era with masterpieces like these, kudus to her 👏👏”

“Finally, a pop girl in this era that CAN REALLY DANCE”

With greedy topping the Billboard Global 200 charts at #1 for two weeks in December and both greedy/exes placed across many top digital playlists, Tate has almost doubled her listenership from 23M before the album cycle to 55M Spotify monthly listeners currently, hitting a new career peak. She has significantly surpassed the streaming levels of her fellow bedroom pop artist, Conan Gray and has significantly closed the gap between her and Olivia Rodrigo². 

What does Tate need to do to get to the top? 

With this newfound traction, Tate has potential to boost her online presence. She still has quite a way to go compared to other pop girls. In the chart below, it shows that Tate hasn’t built as large of an audience on social media as some of her peers (Sabrina Carpenter, Dove Cameron, Conan Gray) and still has a large gap to close compared to newer pop stars (Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, Lizzo)³. 

Tate has expressed in an interview that she is ambitious and has big goals like playing for a lot of people one day. So how does she build her artist profile and become a main pop girl? I think it comes down to three main characteristics: 

1. Charting and streaming success

2. Unique artist brand 

3. Strong visual eras

Charting and streaming success: To be a big pop star, there needs to be hits that almost anyone can name. We all know who the artists are when we say drivers license, bad guy, Halo, Blank Space and thank u, next. Tate isn’t there yet, but she does have a good start with you broke me first and greedy. I think it would be advantageous for her to choose songs that allow her to express her dance talent on her next projects and to work with top pop producers.

Unique artist brand that’s easily recognizable: Every main pop star has a distinct brand that separates them from the rest. For example, Ariana Grande is known for serving vocals, Beyoncé is the master of performance, and Taylor Swift is a skilled songwriter. 

Tate’s competitive advantage is her dancing background and there aren’t very many pop stars today who are known for their dancing. It would be exciting if her next project leans even more towards this dance-pop image. And creatively infusing smart references to pop culture in her music (e.g. thank u, next and the Mean Girls reference) can help take her to the next level. 

Strong visual eras: commit to an ‘ownable’ visual identity. Pop stars have eras, whether it’s Britney Spears with her Circus era, Rihanna’s red hair during her Loud era, or more recently, Dua Lipa’s retro disco-pop era with Future Nostalgia. Dua’s disco vibes not only existed within the songs from her album, but was also consistent across her visual mediums: Instagram photos, magazine covers, fashion style, music videos, livestreams, and more - see below. Fans were fully immersed in her vibrant and euphoric disco era.

In comparison, Tate’s hockey-themed album cover and fashion doesn’t necessarily help reinforce the early 2000s throwback connection that audiences love about the songs and music video. Hockey is a big part of her Canadian identity and she’s performed with a single hockey glove on her previous tour, but for new Tate fans who may not know her well, the hockey reference could seem a bit random. 

As an idea, can she build on the 2000s throwback theme and release a THINK LATER deluxe edition? There’s still more that Tate can do with the newfound momentum. I would love to see Tate find creative ways to collaborate with 2000s stars like Christina Aguilera, Nelly Furtado, and Fergie. A remix of greedy with Nelly Furtado or exes with Christina Aguilera would be a full circle moment and create a lot of buzz. Leaning into the Britney Spears-inspired fashion style (remember the red latex jumpsuit or the denim-wear?) or covering her hits on BBCRadio1 could help build this world more. 

A pop star in the making 

I am excited to see what the future holds for Tate. It is captivating watching her live and she offers something different than other burgeoning pop acts. She has the ambition and the talent to take her career even further into the next level. Let’s see what kind of moves Tate McRae makes this year in 2024. 💃

1. YouTube, comments from videos: exes music video, greedy music video

2. Chartmetric, Spotify Monthly Listeners: Tate McRae, Conan Gray, Olivia Rodrigo

3. Chartmetric, Instagram and TikTok Followers by artist