So Close to What – Tate McRae Album Review

November 21 Tate McRae released 4 new songs as the deluxe version of her album “So, Close To What. She also included her single “Tit For Tat” that she released September 26. 

Tate McRae is a young pop star who has just kept rising as she keeps releasing. She came into the spotlight through her talent of competitively dancing and then started writing her own songs on YouTube. She broke into the industry with her hit song “You Broke Me First”. She has now released 2 EPs, 3 albums, and has been on 3 world tours. 

“So Close To What” is already an outstanding album with popular hits such as “Sports Car”, “2 Hands”, and “It’s ok, I’m ok”. Her addition of the 4 new songs has made the album even greater.

The first song on the deluxe is “Trying on Shoes”. I love this song so much because of its vulnerable side. She uses the effect of glamorizing her life to distract her from how she truly feels and in the eyes of how someone else is seeing her as she isn’t. The vibe of this song is slow and her vocals really shine through. Fans on social media have been calling this song “Purple Lace Bra’s sister” because of the similar sound and emotion to “Purple Lace Bra” from the original album, which I totally agree with. 

The second song on the deluxe is “Anything But Love”. This song has actually been leaked on YouTube since the release of the original album almost a year ago. I have loved this song since I heard it. Her alter ego “Tatiana” which is her performance personality really comes out in this song with the sassiness of the lyrics and is one of her more upbeat pop sounds. This song embodies resentment to someone and knowing her worth to not deal with someone. 

The single and song that was released with a music video is the third track which is “Nobody’s Girl”. As the music video shows Tate as an angel and is filmed with a very retro style, the song gives off the exact same vibe. She talks about how she needs to be just with herself and focus on her career, as like the title being nobody’s girl. This song is very self empowering and an amazing track for a lift of your spirit and confidence. 

And the best for last, “Horseshoe” is the fourth track on the deluxe. This is my favorite song out of the 4 and probably top 10 out of every Tate McRae song. This song is a beautiful rendition of the feeling of weight on your chest, guilt, and for her a true ballad of pop star struggle. She captures the feeling of how she should be lucky with her life since it should be “perfect” since she’s a pop star. But, in reality it’s full of stress, problems every human deals with, fame or not, and this pressure of needing to be happy all the time. She expresses a deal of gratitude with sadness. This song really reminds me of the song “Lucky” by Britney Spears because it captures the same type of story. This song really had me connected to it and it gives people who don’t understand young stardom a point of view. I also love the pace of the song and how she is singing plays into the emotions of the lyrics. 

Overall, “So Close To What” deluxe version is artistry in a lyrical and pop music standpoint. Tate McRae keeps proving to the world that she is one of this generation’s best performers, dancers, and singers. She is here to stay to make pop music thrive.

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