Tate McRae is again, and she or he’s baring all of it. The rising pop famous person has formally entered her subsequent period along with her extremely anticipated third studio album, So Near What, out now by way of RCA Data (Feb. 21).
Greater than only a assortment of songs and dance-floor-ready beats, the album is a full-blown assertion—an unfiltered deep dive into the emotional chaos of younger maturity, wrapped in slick, addictive pop manufacturing. McRae doesn’t simply sing about love, heartbreak, and self-doubt; she lets listeners stay contained in the turbulence along with her.
Main as much as the discharge, she constructed anticipation with viral singles like “It’s okay I’m okay,” which soared to No. 1 on Billboard’s Scorching Dance/Pop Songs chart, and “Sports activities Automobile,” which caught hearth on TikTok with over 1,000,000 creations. However So Near What isn’t only a assortment of hits—it’s a totally realized physique of labor that performs out like a cinematic journey, capturing each the frenzy and the wreckage of younger maturity.
The album leans into collaborations, including new textures to McRae’s signature sound. Whereas the colourful “Bloodonmyhands” feat. Flo Milli shakes issues up with a fiery, rap-infused vitality that cuts by means of McRae’s usually wistful supply, “I Know Love,” a duet along with her boyfriend, The Child Laroi, gives a extra intimate second—however recording it wasn’t as easy as one would possibly assume.
“It was a very humorous course of, as a result of me and Laroi have by no means actually, like, taken one another critically,” she admitted with fun. “You understand whenever you’re in a relationship and also you sing round one another, however you don’t actually, like, sing? So it was a bit worrying being within the studio singing and writing in entrance of him, however it was a cool expertise to look at him in his course of.”
Sonically, the album finds its stability between high-energy confidence and uncooked introspection, due to shimmering pop manufacturing from hitmakers like Ryan Tedder, Julia Michaels, Grant Boutin, and Amy Allen. However at its core, So Near What isn’t nearly love and heartbreak—full-circle reflection on development, self-discovery, and the chaos of life in your early 20s. McRae’s signature vulnerability continues to be right here, however there’s a noticeable shift in perspective.
The place her earlier album Assume Later was all about reckless selections and dwelling within the second, So Near What sits within the messy aftermath—determining what all of it meant and who you’re as soon as the mud settles. That stress—between nostalgia and reluctant development, impulsivity and hesitation—bleeds into each monitor, from the daring self-assurance of “Miss Possessive” to the eerie, dreamlike “Revolving Door.” The latter’s music video, directed by Aerin Moreno, visually mirrors this theme, trapping McRae in a surreal liminal area, dancing by means of doorways that lead nowhere.
With the album out, McRae is losing no time bringing it to life on stage. Her Miss Possessive Tour kicks off March 18 in Mexico Metropolis and can take her by means of Europe, Canada, and North America, with newly added exhibits because of overwhelming demand. With Zara Larsson and Benee becoming a member of on choose dates, the tour is shaping as much as be one of many greatest pop spectacles of the yr. She’s already given followers a preview with a dynamic efficiency on The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon, and her upcoming Saturday Night time Reside debut on March 1 will solely add to the momentum.
Driving the momentum of her sophomore album Assume Later—which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and catapulted her into pop’s higher ranks with the smash hit “Grasping”—So Near What appears like Tate McRae’s most confident period but.
At simply 21, she’s already amassed billions of streams, a number of platinum hits, and high-profile collaborations, however this album appears like a defining second—one which proves she’s not only a one-hit marvel, however a mainstay. With So Near What, McRae isn’t simply knocking on the door of pop superstardom—she’s tearing it off its hinges.
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