How Tate McRae Went From Dance Superstar To Music’s Next Big Thing – UPROXX

Despite the pandemics persistent pandemonium, Tate McRae was able to turn the trash year of 2020 into a time of professional triumph. After the drop of her debut EP All The Things I Never Said last January, the 17-year-old Calgary native was christened one to watch by Uproxx, Rolling Stone, Forbes, and more. Following the release of the melodic Tear Myself Apart (written by Billie Eilish and Finneas OConnell), and the Billboard-charting hit You Broke Me First (which would become 2020s fourth most-streamed song by a female artist), she earned an MTV VMA nomination for Push Best New Artist during the summer.

McRaes appealing, genre-bending approach is only bolstered by a winning combination of engaging lyricism and irrefutable stage presence. Although she became a music sensation seemingly overnight, her entertainment industry takeover is nearly a decade in the making, thanks to an impressive run as a commercially-successful dancer.

When people say, Oh, she dances, it blows my mind because thats my original thing, the doe-eyed multihyphenate tells Uproxx over Zoom. I always used to say Im a dancer who sings, not a singer who dances. Thats how it always went.

McRae began dancing at the age of six, and despite hating classes during that time due to the constriction of her boundless energy, she was able to go from being a backrow dancer to a front-and-center star. (I was super terrible in the beginning, she laughs before taking a sip of her Starbucks drink.) At age 11, she joined her mothers company YYC Dance Project and underwent ballet instruction at the School of Alberta Ballet, the home base of the Alberta Dance Company.

Through training [her] ass off and learning her history, McRaes control, awe-inspiring flexibility, and magnetic performance ability quickly developed. Shes not a one-trick pony either, as shes shown great skill in the contemporary, jazz, and hip-hop dance styles. (Tates music videos and performances, choreographed by Michelle Dawley and herself, also feature her versatile moves. The visual for Stupid features hip-hop tinged isolations movements independent from other parts of the body while her contemporary chops are on full display in That Way.)

After taking over Canadas dance scene, it only made sense for McRae to bring her talents to the United States. She was crowned Best Female Dancer at the Dance Awards in New York City, not once or twice, but thrice (2013, 2015, and 2018). In between her training and accolades, she found time to perform on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and on Justin Biebers Purpose World Tour. This merely scratches the surface.

In 2016, McRae became the first Canadian finalist on the hit reality series So You Think You Can Dance, working with Emmy Award-winning contemporary choreographer Travis Wall, husband and wife hip-hop duo NappyTabs, and salsa dancer Stephanie Stevenson during her time on the show. She was second-runner up overall, a massive accomplishment given the competitive nature of her season, which featured dancers ages 8 to 13 for the first (and as of now, only) time.

Post-SYTYCD, McRae continued to work on her own choreography by uploading videos to YouTube for a weekly series called Create With Tate. After a recording glitch during a late-night dance session in 2017, however, the segment inadvertently kicked off her music career.

I had it set in my brain that I needed to post [something] because I made this commitment to my supporters, so I locked myself in my room and I wrote, she says of penning the piano-driven One Day that night. McRae has had an interest in poetry and storytelling since she was young, and her interest in songwriting developed around age 14. However, uploading videos of her original work wasnt [her] intention.

One Day was one of the first songs I wrote that was actually well put together and in the right structure, she continues. It was this round-up of emotions, and then an accident for it to even do anything. By anything, she means garnering 35 million YouTube views, a gold certification in Canada, and a deal with RCA Records upon the tracks official release. Call it a modern-day, fairytale-like break into a notoriously-tricky-to-enter field.

These days, McRae is focused on the upcoming release of her second EP, Too Young To Be Sad, slated to drop on March 26. The six-track project features the calm, acoustic I Wish I Loved You In The 90s, the sunny, ukulele-assisted R U Ok, and You Broke Me First, which has over 800 million streams and has been used in over one million TikTok videos.

McRae says her first EP felt like an intro into the music world, and that her latest offering is a continuation of her developing style and sonic personality. While shes got understandable apprehension surrounding the release of Too Young To Be Sad You never know how people are going to react, she explains shes hopeful that fans will resonate with the content as she works to grow her artistry.

The crazy thing is that Im still trying to find my sound, she reveals, adding that she doesnt want to be labeled or placed into one genre. I think there are a million different ways that you can play around, and a different million different artists [to work with] that will shoot you in different directions. But I cant really define what I do [musically]. I think it changes every month You can do so many things nowadays.

What is definite, however, is Tate McRaes natural affinity as a performer. Her experiences as a poised dance ingenue put her well beyond her years, resulting in her disciplined approach as she transitioned into a full-fledged musician. Though shes an entertainment industry veteran at this point, she expresses her desire to continue elevating as an artist and creative force.

I feel like Im noticing now how much it all kind of pays off, she grins while discussing how her passions have worked in tandem. Im the biggest workhorse, and thats how dancers are. The dance mentality is working under pressure and working hard.

Ive especially learned a lot about my voice that has been super crucial for me, she adds in regard to how her confidence has grown as an artist and person. I get in my head a lot, and I think its because Im so focused on what Im doing that I doubt myself. But Im super proud of everything Ive done. Im so happy that everythings out there.

Too Young to Be Sad is due 3/26 on RCA. Get it here.

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How Tate McRae Went From Dance Superstar To Music's Next Big Thing - UPROXX