Becoming Tate McRae: The Pop Sensation on Navigating Fame, Treating Work Like ‘a Fantasy’ and Getting Taylor Swift’s ‘Amazing’ Sourdough Bread
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- Tate McRae wrapped her 88-date 'Miss Possessive' world tour about seven months ago — a run that grossed more than $100 million and left her so emotionally spent she says she 'can't remember' the Los Angeles finale
- McRae relocated from Los Angeles to New York's NoHo neighborhood, where she's leaning into the city's anonymity by walking through Washington Square Park, doing hot Pilates, and learning to cook ground turkey, eggs, and sweet potatoes in an air fryer
- Her 2023 sophomore album 'Think Later' produced the Nelly Furtado-indebted single 'Greedy,' which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, while 2025's 'So Close to What' debuted atop the albums chart in February
- McRae scored her first Grammy nomination for 'Just Keep Watching' off the 'F1: The Movie' soundtrack, and her MTV VMAs medley of 'Sports Car' and 'Revolving Door' was nominated for a 2026 Emmy
- In July, McRae attended Taylor Swift's wedding at Madison Square Garden, received a homemade loaf of sourdough bread from Swift, and later delivered the match ball at a FIFA World Cup game in Los Angeles
- To manage the pressure, McRae performs as an on-stage alter ego named Tatiana and treats her career 'like a fantasy,' telling her team: 'Let's go rent a pink Jeep and romanticize the shit out of this experience'
Why it matters: Seven years after posting originals on YouTube as a Calgary teenager, McRae has crossed from rising talent to A-list fixture — $100M tour gross, first Grammy and Emmy noms, Met Gala debut, and seats at both Taylor Swift's wedding and a FIFA World Cup match. The piece captures a 23-year-old star actively constructing a psychological framework (alter ego, journaling, 'romanticizing' the work) to survive the very fame machine she's winning.
