Tate McRae: From Nightmares to Arena Stages, a Pop Prodigy Forges Her Own Path

Key facts

• Tate McRae, 22, from Calgary, Alberta, has 55 million monthly Spotify listeners, comparable to Beyoncé.
• Her song 'Greedy' surpassed one billion streams across platforms.
• McRae placed third on Season 13 of 'So You Think You Can Dance' in 2016.
• She signed with RCA Records in 2019 after her YouTube video 'one day' went viral.
• McRae and The Kid LAROI confirmed their relationship in April 2024; he announced their split in July 2025.
• McRae's song 'Tit for Tat' and The Kid LAROI's 'A Cold Play' are widely seen as responses to their breakup.
• She has 8 million Instagram followers and 13 million TikTok followers.
• McRae performed at the 2024 MTV VMAs wearing a replica of Britney Spears' iconic 2001 Dolce & Gabbana dress.

The Stage as Sanctuary

For Tate McRae, an average night in 2025 means performing to tens of thousands of screaming fans in arenas around the world. Flanked by dancers, the 22-year-old Calgary native undulates across the stage as blinding lights strobe in time with thundering power-pop beats—whipping her waist-length hair, twisting her form into impossible shapes—while she commands the stage with the intensity of a seasoned pop veteran. But when the lights go down and she finally closes her eyes, the scenes that follow are far less glamorous. McRae says she doesn’t dream, she only has nightmares. And they’re not about missing cues onstage or losing her voice. Instead, McRae says that when she sleeps, her subconscious conjures darker images, like visions of 'a massive spider crawling on my wall coming to attack me.' That tension—fear after the lights go out, fearlessness under them—sits at the core of McRae’s appeal. At 22, the dancer-turned-songwriter channels her energy into sleek, high-impact pop, building an arena-size community that sees itself in her extremes.

A Childhood Forged in Movement and Words

McRae’s journey began early. At four, she trained with her mother, a dance teacher. By six, after her grandfather gave her a piano, she taught herself chords, started singing lessons, and began writing songs. 'I realized that poetry is the same thing as music,' she says. The family spent three years in Oman—McRae’s father is an oil and gas attorney—and after she turned eight, they moved back to Calgary, where she enrolled at the School of Alberta Ballet, the training school for the prestigious Alberta Ballet Company. 'We were a very competitive family,' McRae says. 'My brother played hockey. My dad was watching my brother's hockey games [while] my mom was watching me in the studio.' The studio wasn’t just a place to express herself, it was a refuge. Bullied at school, McRae left in middle school to learn at home. '[Dancing] was almost like a shield,' she says. 'I could go into the studio and block everything out. That was my one thing that I knew I was good at, and I knew I could feel safe.'

From Reality TV to Viral Stardom

Her first big break came in 2016 when she placed third on the 13th season of the Fox reality show So You Think You Can Dance. Judge Paula Abdul was so moved by McRae’s audition that she told the then-12-year-old: 'I wish there was a word that would describe how much you touched me. That was perfection, and I mean that.' Meanwhile, she was growing as a songwriter. She launched a YouTube channel in 2011 for her dance videos, and, in 2017, uploaded a spare video of herself singing an original ballad called 'one day,' which drew millions of views and led to an independent release. In 2019, McRae signed to RCA Records and recorded a run of minimalist, melancholic bedroom-pop songs—'Tear Myself Apart' (co-written by Billie Eilish and FINNEAS), 'All My Friends Are Fake,' and 'Stupid.' When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, McRae went viral again upon sharing the down-tempo 'You Broke Me First,' which would go on to soundtrack millions of TikToks.

A Public Romance and a Private Split

One of Gen Z’s It couples called it quits a few months ago, and now that The Kid LAROI‘s second full length album, Before I Forget, is hitting streaming services, we’re looking back at his relationship with Tate McRae. The two confirmed their relationship in April 2024 when the Australian artist called the 'Greedy' singer his girlfriend on stage during his The First Time tour. 'She’s the hardest working artist I’ve ever met in my entire life. And I don’t say that because she’s my girlfriend,' he said about McRae in an interview with Elle. However, speculation of their breakup arose in early 2024 when the two wiped their Instagrams of each other. The Kid LAROI confirmed that they were no longer together romantically in July 2025, responding to a fan post on X where he claimed 'Tate and I are on good terms.' While The Kid LAROI and Tate McRae haven’t explicitly stated the real reason why they broke up, it’s heavily implied that they had internal problems that affected their relationship. In his song 'A Cold Play,' The Kid LAROI sings, 'Fix you, I wish I could.' In her song, 'Tit for Tat,' which is believed to be a diss back at her ex’s song, McRae sings the lyric, 'Fix your f—in’ self.'

Navigating Heartbreak in the Public Eye

In an interview with Rolling Stone, McRae reflected on the public perception of 'Tit for Tat' while also confirming that the two had broken up in June 2025. 'I had been traveling so much, and I felt like I was spreading myself thin, and I had no idea what was going on in my core,' she told the publication. 'I was going through a lot emotionally.' The song and public reaction were new territory for McRae. 'It was really scary and overwhelming,' she recalled. 'I would never talk that way, even about my friends’ lives. I didn’t realize how much it would affect me, the public knowing my private life — because no one knows the full story of anything, ever. I also hate people painting a situation that’s worse than it is.' McRae also acknowledged that she and the 'Stay' singer use music to cope with the breakup. 'What I’ve had to realize is that he’s going to write songs and I’m going to write songs, and that’s our way of expressing ourselves. That’s our art, that’s our job. And once it’s out there, it’s not mine anymore,' she said.

The Numbers Behind the Momentum

Her footprint is undeniable: 8 million followers on Instagram, just over 13 million on TikTok, and nearly 55 million monthly listeners on Spotify, in line with global icons like Beyoncé (56 million) and rising forces like Alex Warren (54 million). Her biggest song, 'Greedy,' has cleared a billion streams across platforms. Most impressive, though, is her blueprint for longevity. In a pop economy without a monoculture, McRae has engineered momentum that doesn’t depend on a single omnipresent hit. It stacks—venue by venue, post by post—into staying power, grounded in an unusually direct connection to her fans (affectionately nicknamed 'Tater Tots'). '[It’s] so ironic that in front of 20,000 people I have way less fear than sitting in a small room,' she says. 'I feel safe on stage, and I feel like this is my moment, where I can take it as far as I want.'

A Private Soul in a Public Spotlight

An arena tour filled with fans is any budding pop star’s fantasy, and for McRae, it’s no exception. Yet offstage, McRae considers herself a 'raging introvert.' When she’s not on tour, she spends most of her nights at home (or, more realistically, a hotel room), hanging out in a face mask, doodling, and watching a movie like The Shawshank Redemption. She keeps a tight circle of friends (including fellow pop titan Olivia Rodrigo and actor Iris Apatow); she is intensely spiritual; and the Los Angeles transplant’s happiest place is a Malibu beach at night, once the crowds have dispersed. She also tends to avoid social media whenever possible. 'I think when people meet me, they get really confused because of my public persona [versus] who I am,' McRae says over breakfast (eggs and an iced matcha with almond milk) at her favorite West Hollywood all-day cafe. When asked about her musical influences, McRae cites a range of artists, including Lana Del Rey, SZA, Frank Ocean, and Fleetwood Mac. 'I have such a hard time pinpointing, because I listen to every genre,' she says. 'When I was younger, my parents would play lyric-focused acoustic music, and then in middle school I was in ballet class being exposed to classical music. As I got older, I got into country and storytelling… it really depends on the day.'

The bottom line

• Tate McRae has built a dedicated fanbase through relentless touring and a direct connection with fans, amassing streaming numbers comparable to global icons.
• Her early start in dance and songwriting, including a third-place finish on 'So You Think You Can Dance,' laid the foundation for her pop career.
• McRae and The Kid LAROI ended their relationship in June 2025, with both artists addressing the split through their music.
• Despite her onstage confidence, McRae describes herself as an introvert who struggles with nightmares and finds solace in performance.
• Her 2025 deluxe album 'So Close to What' and sold-out arena tour mark a new peak in her career, underscoring her staying power in a fragmented pop landscape.