Tate McRae understands why she’s often compared to Britney Spears. The 21-year-old Canadian pop star, who first gained attention as a finalist on the 2016 season of “So You Think You Can Dance,” has perfected the art of dance-pop in videos like the one for her new single, “Sports Car.” In the video, McRae delivers whispery vocals and high-energy dance sequences that echo the influence of Spears.
While promoting her third album, “So Close to What,” McRae is addressing the comparisons to Spears, telling the U.K.’s Independent that she feels “so much more confident in my taste and the way I am as a person” now. She began writing music at 16, and her 2022 debut album “I Used to Think I Could Fly” already feels distant to her.
With her high-pitched vocals and captivating choreography in hits like her 2023 Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 “Greedy,” McRae said she’s okay with being likened to a young Britney, though she finds it intimidating. “I find that flattering and scary,” McRae said. “It’s such a crazy statement because no one can compare to Britney Spears. It’s like comparing someone to Michael Jackson! That’s the blueprint.”
McRae collaborated with her boyfriend, singer The Kid Laroi, on the new album, a dynamic she described as unexpectedly rewarding. “It was a really funny process, because me and Laroi have never really, like, taken each other seriously,” she said during a Q&A Spotify listening party in Los Angeles. “You know when you’re in a relationship and you sing around each other, but you don’t really, like, sing? 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.”
