Tate McRae's So Close to What: A Pop Star's Quest for Originality

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Tate McRae's third album, So Close to What, marks a significant milestone in the Canadian pop star's career, with 12.9 billion streams and counting, as well as extensive world tours and co-signs from pop's new guard. However, despite her onstage star power, McRae's music often seems misaligned with her unprovocative take on pop. On So Close to What, McRae amps up the 2000s pop-inspired tracks, dials up the sex, and sprinkles in the ballads, resulting in a more enjoyable but less original album than its predecessors.

McRae's second album, THINK LATER, traded bedroom-pop ditties for club-ready bangers, aiming to position her as the next Britney Spears. So Close to What represents her most mature record yet, with contemplations of returning to toxic exes feeling more considered than the naive callouts of the past. The album's standout tracks, such as "2 hands" and "Revolving door," showcase McRae's growth as a songwriter and performer. However, the album's dependency on callbacks to other pop stars, such as Calvin Harris and Ying Yang Twins, detracts from its overall impact.

The pursuit of perfection often leads to sterilized artistry, but So Close to What finds McRae embracing life's rough edges instead of skirting around them. The album is chock full of danceable bops, including the standout "2 hands," whose tinny, pitched-up refrain sounds like Calvin Harris' "Slide." However, the breakup track "bloodonmyhands" is competent but features Flo Milli outshining McRae, and the Miami-bass embellishments might have fared better if it wasn't following in the footsteps of several others who embraced the rollicking 808s more impressively last year. Some of the album's tracks include:

• "Revolving door"
• "Sports car"
• "2 hands"
• "bloodonmyhands"
• "Miss possessive"

Given the underdeveloped mimicry of So Close to What, it's possible that McRae would fare better as the highlighted dancer of a girl group, like Lisa of BLACKPINK or Megan of KATSEYE. In the music video for "Sports car," Tate McRae dons 12 high fashion looks, from Vegas showgirl fantasies to Roberto Cavalli cheetah-print corsets. As she taste-tests every type of pop star she can be, it feels like a microcosm of So Close to What's shortcomings. While the video is visually stunning, all its quick cuts mean that it never lingers too long on a single moment, never giving McRae enough time to fully embody any one character, and never giving the viewer a clear, close look at the performer at its center.

Tate McRae's upcoming world tour and return to Canada are highly anticipated, with the singer excited to take her show across the country and perform in arenas. She has also been working with top collaborators like Ryan Tedder and Julia Michaels, who co-wrote and produced "Revolving Door" and her latest hit "Sports Cars." With her passion for music and performance, McRae is sure to continue making waves in the pop music scene, even if So Close to What doesn't quite live up to its full potential.