September 22, 2021
Music Spotlight: Tate McRae
Tate Rosner McRae was born July 1, 2003. At the age of thirteen, she gained recognition as the first Canadian finalist on the reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance. In 2019 Tate McRae caught the attention of RCA Records after her original song “One Day” went viral on YouTube, which paved the way for the release of her debut EP, All the Things I Never Said (2020). McRae soon gained wider recognition after her song “You Broke Me First” became an international hit. The song gained popularity on the social platform TikTok, where it has featured in over a million videos. It currently has over 1 billion steams across platforms, 525 million combined streams on Pandora and over 700 million streams on Spotify. The song is the 3rd most streamed song released by female artists in 2020, and the second most streamed song by a female solo artist.
McRae was born in Calgary, Alberta. At age four, due to her father’s work, she moved with her family to Oman, where her mother taught dance lessons, and lived there for three years. During her time in Oman, McRae attended The American International School Muscat. McRae began recreational dance training at age six, attending Canada’s prestigious Alberta Ballet for 11 hours a day, filling her free time with competitions and galas. Wanting to refine her skills in dance, McRae was so dedicated that she took lessons in rhythmic gymnastics with to improve her flexibility. From age 11, she began training in all styles of dance at YYC Dance Project, a dance company owned by her mother, and undergoing ballet training at the School of Alberta Ballet. She was awarded a two week scholarship at the Berlin State Ballet after winning the silver medal at the 2015 Youth America Grand Prix; the world’s largest student ballet competition.
In 2016 Tate McRae auditioned for the US TV series So You Think You Can Dance, performing a stunning routine that had judge Paula Abdul declaring: “You are a gift from God.” She was a gifted dancer, and it was something that came natural to her. Her musical career though came about by chance. After her success on So You Think You Can Dance, she set up a YouTube channel called “Create With Tate”, where she posted videos showcasing her choreography. In it’s fourth week, her camera corrupted and all her dance footage was erased. Determined not to skip a post, she decided to upload a video of her singing instead.
‘One Day’ an original song of McRae’s was that video, which has been viewed over 37 million times. This prompted her to release the song as an independent single, which would eventually go on to be certified gold in Canada, making it the first certification of her career. From 2017 to 2019, McRae continued to upload and release independent singles as part of her “Create With Tate” series. Some of those songs include “Dear Ex Best Friend” which has over 40 million YouTube views and “Dear Parents” with over 20 million views. The series led to her being named a YouTube “Artist on the Rise”.
By 2019, McRae had been offered deals by 11 record labels, but she eventually signed with RCA records because they supported her maintaining a dance career in parallel with her music. The label then gave her a song written by Billie Eilish and Finneas called ‘Tear Myself Apart’, which would become her first studio official single. It was of course the follow up single ‘You Broke Me First’ which she co-wrote with Blake Harnage and Victoria Zaro, which would catapult McRae into pop stardom.
Her third single ‘Rubberband’ became a radio hit, and from then on Tate McRae became a household name. Her EP ‘Too Young To Be Sad’, featured six songs that deal with doomed relationships, written about a crush she had at the age of 13. My favourite song off that EP with out a doubt has to be “Wish I Loved You in the 90s”, written and produced by Greg Kurstin and Tate McRae.
As her success continues to steam roll, she has teamed up with a number of huge artists including, Regard and Troye Sivan, Blackbear and most recently Khalid. Keep up to date with all of Tate McRae’s social media’s below