"So Close To What"

Tate McRae inspires with her third album

Tate McRae wants to make her big breakthrough with her third album - she will be performing at the Wiener Stadthalle in June.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Sony Music (2))

"Greedy", "2 Hands" or "It's Ok I'm Ok": On the radio and on social media such as TikTok, there's been no way around Tate McRae (21) since 2023 at the latest. The Canadian pop singer, who many media outlets are calling "the new Britney Spears", has released her third album - it's called "So Close To What". She is coming to Vienna for a performance this summer.

The musical high-flyer was actually planning a career as a dancer, as her German mother is a dance teacher: at the age of twelve, McRae attended a course lasting several weeks at the Berlin State Ballet School. A year later, she reached the final of the US casting show "So You Think You Can Dance". But dancing is not enough for her: she presents self-written songs on her YouTube channel and is quickly discovered by record companies.

Similarities with Britney
The then 16-year-old's first breakthrough came in 2020 with the TikTok-viral ballad "You Broke Me First", which Britney Spears ennobled as one of her favorite songs. The US pop icon is not only the Canadian's great role model. The two also have a lot in common musically: provocative lyrics about female self-determination, sometimes raunchy music videos and gripping beats. The viral hit "Greedy", with which McRae finally attracted worldwide attention in 2023, also demonstrates this.

On "So Close To What" with a total of 15 tracks, the Canadian once again works with the lead singer of OneRepublic, Ryan Tedder, who co-writes and produces many of her songs. On the title track "Miss Possessive", McRae is jealous and possessive ("Get your hands off him"), while in the single "It's Ok I'm Ok", which was released in September, she gives men a clear rebuff. "In the song, I am the most confident version of myself," explains the 21-year-old in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "I don't need a man, I'm fine on my own. I'm no longer blinded by anyone, I see everything clearly."

Songs from the inside
The modern electro-pop sound is mixed with R&B and hip-hop influences and is partly reminiscent of the early pop sound of the 2000s. At the time, Spears was enjoying great success with songs such as "I'm A Slave 4 U", "Toxic" and "Gimme More". No wonder several media outlets have dubbed McRae the "Britney Spears of Gen Z". But the Canadian can also do things differently: in the guitar ballad "Nostalgia", she sings melancholically about her parents and things they regretted in life. "Daddy studied law and could have been an architect. Now he's 60 and wonders what happened to the big dream," she says in the final song. However, the musician admits that not all the facts are true: "He's 53 and was really offended when he heard the lyrics."

In the up-tempo song "I Know Love", the Canadian sings for the first time with her boyfriend, Australian rapper The Kid LAROI (21). He made his breakthrough in 2021 at the age of 17 with the Justin Bieber duet "Stay". "It's really hard to categorize my style of music," says McRae. It was mainly influenced by her as a dancer. On her "Miss Possessive" world tour, which also takes her to Vienna (Stadthalle) on June 8, the 21-year-old promises: "You can expect a lot of dancing, a lot of energy, simply a complete show." The last tickets for the pop highlight in Vienna are still available at www.ticketmaster.at.