Just over one year ago, in Dec. 2023, Tate McRae released her celebrated second album, Think Later. The punchy pop project debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 – and introduced fans to McRae’s alter ego: Tatiana. She said in her Billboard cover story at the time that Tatiana is her tour persona, and described her as being “ballsy, so loud and obnoxious.” Those traits came alive on Think Later, especially on breakthrough hit “Greedy,” which became McRae’s highest-charting Hot 100 hit, peaking at No. 3.
On So Close To What, McRae dives deeper into that charismatic cool-girl confidence. She previewed the album with a three-peat of hits: “It’s Ok I’m Ok,” which hit No. 20 on the Hot 100; “2 Hands,” which hit No. 41; and “Sports Car,” which has hit a peak of No. 21 so far. The 15-track set, which clocks in at just under 45 minutes, features just two guests: Flo Milli on “bloodonmyhands” and McRae’s boyfriend The Kid LAROI on “I Know Love.” McRae teamed back up with songwriter-producer Ryan Tedder for much of the album, alongside collaborators including Amy Allen, Julia Michaels and Blake Slatkin, among others.
Earlier this week, Spotify hosted an intimate listening party of So Close To What in Los Angeles. McRae was not only in attendance, but also spoke with her friend and social media personality Jake Shane about the album’s inspiration and challenges. “The album title encapsulates how I felt turning 21,” she shared, “feeling like you’re finally a woman while also wrestling with how the media portrays you.”
She also confessed that “Tatiana, my alter ego, wrote a lot of the songs on the album – including ‘Sports Car.’”
Come March, McRae will head out on her second world tour, named after this album’s lead track, “Miss Possessive.” The outing begins in Mexico City and includes dates across Europe and North America, wrapping in September.
Until you can catch McRae in your city, So Close To What is out now. Below, find Billboard’s ranking of the album’s 15 tracks.
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“Purple Lace Bra”
“Purple Lace Bra” most explicitly speaks to the underlying ethos of the album that McRae explained at her listening event, during which she spoke about the difficulty of becoming a woman while under the scrutinous spotlight of fame. With clever songwriting that touches on the subject of self worth, particular quips could hit even harder on a stripped back version.
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“Miss Possessive”
There’s something subtly threatening – and entirely enticing – about the So Close To What opening track. For fans who have been following along since McRae’s full-length debut, 2022’s I Used to Think I Could Fly, “Miss Possessive” is a far cry from “She’s All I Wanna Be.” Starting her third album with such a surge of confidence not only sets the album’s tone, but also immediately establishes that McRae’s growth isn’t just professional – it’s personal.
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“Like I Do”
The slight R&B production and delivery of “Like I Do” offers some variation in the latter half of the album – but Tatiana makes up for the less punchy production with her biting invitation: “Think you wanna be me? You should go ahead and try to.”
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“No I’m Not In Love”
There’s a cheekiness to the string of lies that make up “Not In Love,” from McRae declaring that the sky has never been blue to saying she doesn’t hate every girl who catches her partner’s eye. Plus, given that elsewhere on the album she states “I know love,” the jig is up before the song even begins – making it a sweet and very clear gag between herself and those listening.
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“Means I Care”
“I like you the most,” McRae repeats on one of the album’s more downtempo songs built around computerized hand claps. Yet, the tug of her past (and slightly toxic) patterns are just as present as her sweet confession. “Little too good, got me second-guessing/Never been good at self-expression,” she sings. “If I cut you off, it just means I care.” But, could this acknowledgement be her first step in repairing such severed lines? Maybe we’ll find out on the next album.
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“2 Hands”
Released in November as the second single from So Close, the intro to “2 Hands” is a bit more alternative compared to the danceable power pop hits that make up much of the album (and also slightly reminiscent of the beloved intro to Calvin Harris’ “Slide” with Frank Ocean and Migos). It’s a refreshing though brief twist, but perhaps previews a path McRae has yet to explore more.
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“Signs”
Fittingly placed near the middle of the album, “Signs” serves as a metaphor for McRae’s personal growth journey. “Take all my silences/And do your damn best to figure it out,” she instructs at the start. Yet, there’s a nagging self awareness threaded throughout, leading McRae to ultimately admit, “So classic/Assuming you’re telepathic/Just doing it out of habit… Oh no.”
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“Nostalgia”
Keeping on par with the earnest closer “I Still Say Goodnight” on I Used To Think I Could Fly and the acoustic end track “Plastic Palm Trees” on Think Later, the 15th and final track on So Close is – fittingly – strummed and sobering. McRae sings of her dad, mom and brother, Tucker, all while wondering, “Where does the time go?” And even at the end, when she sings “I bite my tongue ten times a day,” it’s hard not to wonder how that compares to her younger self; it’s easy to forget to measure the strides made when time is flying by.
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“I Know Love” (feat. The Kid LAROI)
“We started off friends, how we end up here?” questions Kid Laroi, the album’s most anticipated feature and McRae’s boyfriend. As McRae confessed during her listening event, “It was a really funny process, because me and Laroi have never really taken each other seriously…So it was a little stressful being in the studio singing and writing in front of him, but it was a cool experience to watch him in his process.” The result is a sweet ode to their year-long relationship, which, it seems, has helped McRae to “know love.” Or, as she concludes on the song: “When it hits, when it hits.”
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“Greenlight”
“I’m still waiting at the green light/To tell you what I feel like, but I can’t go,” McRae sings with a touch of relatable defeat. Throughout the song, she details the specific type of paralysis that comes with having the all-clear but feeling frozen by the opportunity. “Guess I never healed right,” she ultimately admits. “Maybe it’s a green light, but I can’t go.”
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“Dear God”
Despite the track being titled “Dear God” there’s nothing holy about this song, which opens with a sort of siren over a bouncy bass drop as McRae sets the scene: “Hands on my chest and my knees on the carpet.” What follows is a series of pleas for God to erase McRae’s memories of a recent ex (on par with the music video for Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends”). Yet, her biggest desire of all is often the hardest to achieve: to no longer want what’s already gone.
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“Revolving Door”
One of the vocal standouts on the album, the song starts without much production in the way of McRae’s own instrument. And even as a meaty beat picks up steam, McRae sounds sturdy and assured throughout – despite being less sure of her own wants and actions as she sings about coming back to the same person again and again. And as she gets more and more in own head, and own way, the song ends in a frenzied manner, with McRae begging, “I need a minute.”
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“Bloodonmyhands” (feat. Flo Milli)
One of just two collaborations on the album, teaming with Flo Milli seemed to encourage Tatiana to come as her best (and most savage) self as the two artists are indeed out for blood here. “Dance like I can’t be bothered, know it kills you/Bounced back and found another, and he hates you,” sings Tate on the chorus with an audible sneer. After reaching peak form, she’s joined by Flo on the bridge as the two sing with no remorse: “I move as fast as I can/And I know it fucks you up so hard.”
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“It’s Ok I’m Ok”
This sassy brush off became McRae’s highest Hot 100 debut – and introduced her third album back in September, when it arrived as its lead single. As co-writer and producer ILYA previously told Billboard: “‘It’s Ok I’m Ok’ is one of those records where it was like, ‘Let’s just have fun; let’s make something weird.’ I think it shows a brand-new side to [Tate]. The more I’ve worked with her, the more I feel like she knows herself as an artist.”
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“Sports Car”
Released just a few weeks ago at the end of January, McRae saved the album’s strongest single for last. The juxtaposition of singing about a speedy sports car in a sultry, hushed tone makes for an irresistible ride – one that requires buckling in and listening up. “Sports Car” is especially celebratory when considering McRae’s trajectory. Just a few years ago, she longed for a time when she thought she could fly; she has a new mode of transportation now, and regardless whose car it is, she’s in the driver’s seat.
