Pop star Tate McRae on comparisons to Britney Spears and why she was initially “afraid” of her hit “Greedy”

Tate McRae didn’t always see herself as an artist who would release bangers. But in September 2023, she released her single “Greedy” and took the music world by storm.

Featuring a more confident, mature sound compared to her more bedroom pop-oriented songs like “You Broke Me First” and “Rubberband,” the hit climbed the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 3. The song enchanted fans, as did the accompanying music video, which showcased her dancing skills.

“When I wrote ‘Greedy,’ I was really scared,” she told Yahoo Entertainment. “(My team and the songwriters I work with) were like, ‘What genre is this?’ When we were making it, it sounded so foreign compared to the other music I’ve made. I was like, ‘I don’t know what to name this song.’ I always told my team, ‘This is either going to be a song I throw away or something that’s going to be the main single and the most important thing on the album.'”

Pop stars are constantly evolving, and the sound and image they debut with are rarely the same ones they maintain as their careers reach new heights.

“I think a lot of people expect a complete rebrand every time, especially when a pop girl comes on the scene or a new project starts,” she said. “I always want to be inspired and excited to create a whole new world.”

McRae, 21, reflects on how her music is translated visually and what each performance looks like on stage. She told Yahoo that her competitive dance background (McRae made it to the finals of Season 13 of So you think you can dance at the age of 13) significantly influenced her inclination towards a more optimistic sound.

“I really focused on writing dance songs because I wanted to make cool (music) videos,” she said of working on her second album. Think about it later, which was released in December 2023. “I was like, ‘Why have I been training competitive dance for 12 years and haven’t made a crazy dance music video yet?’ So I was like, ‘Let’s make a song that’s super fun to move to.'”

Since the launch of her “Think Later” Tour in April, McRae has been showing off her skills as a dancer. With her choreographed numbers and explosive dance routines, the Canadian star seems to have successfully captured the nostalgia of late ’90s/early 2000s pop stars who came before her, like Britney Spears.

“Britney is an icon and I adore her. She’s been an inspiration to me for so long,” she said. “I think it’s just a very natural thing that everyone does when a girl releases music. They try to find someone to compare themselves to. Of course, I’m like, ‘Sure. Great comparison.'”

Like Spears, McRae is no stranger to criticism. Some have dismissed her success and attributed her hard work to a board that supposedly created her entire personality from scratch. (That didn’t happen, by the way.) But that criticism hasn’t affected McRae. If anything, it’s made her more confident about who she is and the kind of artist she wants to be.

Whether she’s writing lyrics that are authentically based on her life experiences or expressing her emotions through dance, McRae, who recently partnered with Invisalign, makes it a point to stay true to herself as an artist. But she hasn’t always felt confident. She told Yahoo that she used to have “terrible teeth” that made her self-conscious when she went on stage.

“I also never wanted to wear braces because I was dancing and singing on camera all the time. I just wanted something that was really easy and comfortable to use,” she said of the aligners. “Nothing makes me happier than being on stage and putting on a show. That’s the best thing I love most in the world.”