(Image via 9news.com) 

Staff Writer: Aidan Danforth

Email: adanforth@umassd.edu

From the rise of Sabrina Carpenter, Billie Eilish, and many more, 2024 saw a drastic change to the pop industry. One of the less talked about artists is Tate McRae who went on a tour for her second album Think Later.

During the tour, she released a single, “It’s ok I’m ok,” followed by another single, “2 hands.”  The big announcement happened. Tate announced the work on a third album, which will be released in February 2025, along with another tour. 

Tate is an artist whose popularity continues to soar. From being a ballet dancer to releasing her third album, how did this singer get to where she is today, and what is next for this young Canadian artist? 

A Rise to Stardom 

In her early childhood, Tate’s talent initially wasn’t singing. Instead, it was dancing. At the age of six, Tate began attending ballet school. Tate danced for 11 hours daily while working hard to improve her control and flexibility.  

Her motivation to keep training while working with various professionals led to her winning the 2013 Mini Best Dancer title. In 2015, she won silver at the Youth America Grand Prix. 

Tate’s most notable dancing achievement came in 2016 when she auditioned for and was accepted into the So You Think You Can Dance series. She made it to the final, where she placed third. 

The success she witnessed during the show caused her to create a YouTube channel, Create With Tate, where she showed off her impressive dancing. However, a few weeks into the channel, all her footage was erased. 

This mistake seemingly became a blessing in disguise as Tate tried something different by creating and uploading a song.  

“One Day” was the name of the song in which she used a keyboard along with lyrics to create a three-minute ballad. What was a simple experiment became an instant success, as the song skyrocketed in viewership. 

Tate, at only 14, impressed viewers with her vocals. Her music success would take another step in 2019 when Tate signed a deal with RCA Records. RCA Records turned out to be Tate’s perfect match since they allowed her to combine her talents of dancing and singing. 

Only a year later, Tate’s song “You Broke Me First” became her big breakout. The song reached 17th on the Billboard 100. The following year, Tate released her second extended play, “Too Young to Be Sad.” 

This EP set off the charts as it gained considerable popularity on Spotify, becoming the most popular female EP of 2021. 

2022 saw a big transformation in Tate’s career when she released her first album, “I Used to Think I Could Fly.” Her debut album saw great success, reaching number 13 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and making several national top tens. 

Hits on the album included “she’s all i wanna be,” and “feel like shit.”

Then came Tate’s even more significant breakout. In 2023, Tate released “greedy. ” The song’s combination of a catchy pop tune and Tate’s dancing transformed her success. It appeared first in the Billboard Global 200 and reached third on the Billboard Hot 100. 

“Greedy” popped up everywhere on TikTok and received the Single of the Year award at the 2024 Juno Awards. 

During “greedy’s” success, Tate released her second album, Think Later. Like the single, the album’s more pop-like feel created even more success. Hits on the album included “exes” and “we’re not alike.”

This breakout album led to Tate’s biggest tour in 2024. The tour lasted from April 17 to November 25 and saw her perform 53 shows. 

While Tate performed at mostly sold-out arenas, she released another new single, “It’s ok, I’m ok.” Little did fans know this was only a tease for what’s to come. 

Two months after “It’s ok, I’m ok,” Tate released another single, “2 hands.” On that same day, she announced a third album, “So Close to What,” and another tour called the “Miss Possessive” tour in 2025. 

The sky’s the limit for Tate. Two widely successful albums with many memorable hits and a third coming equals lots of success for any young artist. 

“So Close to What” will be released on February 21, 2025, leaving fans very excited for what new amazing music she will present to the world.