Tate McRae on the Making of “greedy”
Watch the "greedy" acoustic performance and read the interview below.
FASHION CREDITS
TATE wears top DION LEE, jeans GUCCI, necklace TATE'S OWN, bracelet and rings ARSN, shoes R13
Michael— A lot of stars don’t really do acoustic covers of their own songs, yet you have quite a few. What drew you to doing acoustic covers of your own music?
Tate— When I first started writing songs, I used to post videos on Youtube with just me and my piano. And that's still my favorite thing to do — just strip back with only my voice and an instrument. I feel like that’s when I’m the most artistic and the most raw — when I’m playing an acoustic set. Sometimes when I'm on stage, my dancer instincts kick in and I just like to overperform. At the same time though, it’s really good for me to just sit down and get really into the music. That’s when I’m the most true singer version of myself.
When I first was introduced to your music — on a Spotify playlist — I didn't know your backstory at all. I heard one song and thought, “Wow, this girl is an amazing vocalist.” but I wasn’t aware of the fact that you emerged as a dancer. At what point did you realize that you could also sing?
Honestly, I've never thought of myself as a vocalist. I think I was really like an emotional kid. I had a lot of feelings but as a dancer you're told to shut up. And that's how you live your life: You shut your mouth and you dance. And I think there’s something about that that’s very wrong. Obviously, there’s so much that I want for dancers. But the biggest thing for me — aside from dancing — was writing. I’d dance for however many hours a day, and then I’d go home to my keyboard and write poetry and short stories and songs. That was my only way to express myself, communicating to people. So during middle school, I’d go through troubles with friends and relationships, and I’d always just go to my piano and process it through my own vocals. That was the only way I could get a perspective on things — if I wrote about them. I’d call myself more of a songwriter than a vocalist, because I feel like the songwriting is more the passion and the catharsis.
Did dance ever start to feel like work?
When I was around 16, I felt like I missed out on a massive part of my childhood. I didn't go to school very much. I was at an all girls ballet school and I was like, “Oh my God, I never got to experience anything that a normal child experiences.” And so I went through a phase where I absolutely hated dance, and all I wanted to do was hang out with my friends and write music. I really drifted away from it until recently, when I re-found my love for dance as a singer, because I realized it doesn’t have to be stressful, it doesn’t have to be forced. This is my true passion — I’ve loved dancing ever since I was a baby, and it came back this year just about when I turned 20. I feel like my passion has resurfaced, but it took a second, for sure.
Let’s talk about “greedy,” which is charting more than anything else you've released. How do you feel about that? I heard it was considered a risky decision to release a song like this?
I don't know why, but my natural instinct is just not to write a song like "greedy". It was really something that I pushed myself to do because I wanted to be able to dance. I was scared, I kept asking myself if I really could put it out, thinking that “This could potentially be the worst release in my career,” but I couldn’t refuse the sound at the beginning of the song, it's so new to me, and that ecstasy was too good to stray away from.
Once I first heard it I was like, wow you've really grown up — not that your other songs were younger — but , somehow this feels like it could be like number one, it has got that spell on it, you know what I mean?
Yeah, this one definitely feels like a progression and surely feels as if I have matured. At the same time, it feels like me exactly at this point in time in my life, which is a lovely reflection. That fear ahead of making it available to the public — also comes with great excitement, that particular point where you’re like “ok, crossing my fingers, hope this doesn't ruin everything.” I'm really happy with how people are reacting to it, they are loving it!
Besides for us just now, have you performed it live for an audience yet?
Yeah, last week in Philly actually. I performed it with the audience about an hour before it officially came out and — even the parts that I’ve only teased so far — they know every single word, the whole lyric. It's a very surreal sensation.
How do you feel about platforms such as Tik Tok, in relation to promoting your music?
There's a part of me that hates having to do social media. I hate posting, I hate commenting. I hate doing shit that stresses me out. Yet when it comes to teasing, it's the same shit I’ve been doing since I was 13, I just put my favorite sections of the song lyrics on a screen. So that part doesn't really feel like a pain in the ass. Neither does connecting with my fans. It doesn't feel like a chore but overall — going on social media, logging on Twitter, posting on Instagram — makes me wanna die sometimes, because I feel like it's such a draining thing. Unfortunately, today there seems to be no way to escape it, it follows the so-called business model.
I hear you’ve also been writing in Sweden — what’s that like, why is Sweden such a hub of pop?
Writing in Sweden was an incredible learning experience, but aside from that it was also so much fun. The writers and producers I worked with approach pop music as math — quite literally figuring out which equations make for the catchiest melodies. It really broadened my understanding of all the ways I can tap into my artistry and live out my pop girl-era, especially working with Max Martin Camp, he’s like the king of pop.
However, I don't know if I will end up releasing any music from Sweden, because my melodies aren’t my number one priority. My lyrics will always come first, they are my primary element, hence it was amazing to be around people who have various approaches to writing.
You grew up in Canada, is that what inspired the hockey rink in the "greedy" video?
I grew up in Calgary and my brother is a hockey player, so hockey has always been a part of my life. When I was contemplating how I envisioned the Greedy music video, I had just watched “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets”. I was so inspired, envisioning myself dancing in a locker room and driving a Zamboni. With the help of my creative director, Bradley J Calder, it all came together. I am thrilled with how it turned out – I feel my vision was painted perfectly by Aerin Moreno, the director.
The colors are insane. I love it.
Oh my God, yes! Music videos are her language. She helped me execute exactly what I desired -every set up that I would describe to her, I'd be like “The hockey room needs to be green, needs to be this and that,” and she gets it right every time. Her execution is flawless. And it felt right to right to all of us, for every person on our team it just made complete sense.
That's so precious, it’s a rare feeling.
Well, I feel like there have been a lot of earlier things I’ve put out where I just got put in clothes, various colors and elements that just doesn't really translate to me on a personal level, that’s why I felt like I struggled a lot after releasing my first album. I got told to do so many different things and present myself in such a specific way, it made me question the necessity of it all, and myself in the long run.
Around that time, people would always come up to me and say things like “ah, you're so much cooler in person!” And I’m like “I don’t know if that’s a great thing?”. It got me thinking about what I really want to say at the end of the day, and why I am pursuing this. I took a step back, cleared my head, and that space ended up being so crucial for going forward with my vision for this next album.
I really think that's such a common phenomenon - everyone's first set of visuals is usually far from what they really want to be. If you want to describe your next era, like in a certain color, what color would it be?
Definitely green and blue, that’s the vibe. I have always been such a tomboy, always teasing my feminine side but never really exposed it fully. Today I feel like I’m at a point where I’m finally able to mend the two together. I like wearing basketball shorts and crop tops on stage. And if you don't like that, you don't like hockey. I like hockey jerseys. And I like wearing a hockey glove on stage.
That's amazing, speaking about on stage — how is the tour going?
Tour is going on right now! We're almost halfway through, heading for Nashville tomorrow. It’s been awesome. I think the energy of the band has changed in the last year. I feel like they're so pumped and “die hard.” So I feel very lucky.
I just did two nights in New York and it was unbelievable. It was like my biggest venue and I was very grateful to be in front of so many people. It was sold out, full of people who know my lyrics, it’s truly so flattering.
A couple of nights ago you had a fan crying in the audience, how do you navigate those moments, are they socially awkward?
It's a super weird dynamic because if I'm internally feeling awful and feeling socially awkward, then my interactions with my fans are so awkward! But usually, I would say that I'm pretty good at it, like 98% of the time. I believe in the fact that if you want to make something awkward, you can make it awkward but you can just as easily make it less uncomfortable. I mean, I'm singing sad love songs, of course people are going to cry sometimes, it’s a weird profession. It feels a bit like a fever dream.
When you're at this level of success, do you ever have an existential crisis?
I had a massive month-long midlife crisis last year. I was like, who am I? I'm living in LA alone. I've been touring for a year now. What's going on? I can't just keep releasing music that I'm not super proud of. And I think that crisis was really important for me, because I was literally forced to go sit in the grass outside, and be like, “OK, Tate, who are you? What do I want in life? And where do I want to go?” That really brought me clarity. Basically, you have to figure it out for yourself when you're and I think hitting a low, that’s when you know progression is potentially coming your way.
Yeah. So I know that you're in the "bad idea right" video for Olivia Rodrigo, directed by Petra Collins. How was that?
It was so much fun. All those girls are the best girl ever: Iris, Maddie and Olivia, and then Petra is just like a fucking vibe. I finally found a girl group in LA that I think hype each other up and support each other and it's really hard to find some honest people these days. My circle is so tiny, and it’s by choice, because I only want friends around who are able to provide the best vibes for each other; do favors left and right. The video was so inspiring. I love Olivia, she's so talented.
I almost feel like we have entered a new era in pop, where people are generally more genuine towards each other amongst younger generations, do you know what I mean?
Yeah, honestly I think that the fans think there's way more drama going on.
Most of the time we're just best friends and no one gives a shit. There's a lot of bad ass females in this industry right now that are fucking killing it. And I think that we're all like you're in your lane, I'm in my lane. Let's crush it together and I think that's super cool and very unheard of.
Ok, last question. Do you have a favorite song off of GUTS?
Of course, my favorite is “making the bed”. Like the rest of the world, I fell in love with Olivia’s lyrics. The way she takes ownership of herself and her actions in the most poetic and relatable way possible. “making the bed” is so intelligent and elegant. It’s also just gut-wrenchingly beautiful.
