Tate McRae has been a staple on the Canadian charts for years now, but the pop singer's new single "Greedy" has catapulted her into the global spotlight.
The track spent two weeks at the top of Billboard's Pop Airplay chart this month and made it to the No. 1 spot on the singles charts in Canada, the Netherlands and Norway. It was released on the album Think Later, which made it to the No. 4 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. This all came after McRae courted more Spotify listeners than Beyoncé last month.
These are big feats for a musician who's not old enough to buy a beer while she's touring in the U.S.
McRae told BBC she was shocked by the success "Greedy" has experienced. "The song genuinely scared me – how fast it was and how much energy it had," she said. "This is not my usual sound."
The 20-year-old made local headlines over the weekend when she was spotted at an NHL game in her hometown. The singer cheered on the Calgary Flames as they played the Tampa Bay Lightning on the night of Dec. 16, Daily Hive reported. A broadcaster mentioned that McRae was at the game with her brother Tucker. He's the captain of the Okotoks Oilers, a team in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. McRae was spotted celebrating when the Flames clinched their 4-2 victory.
Hockey is clearly very important to the singer. The music video for "Greedy" was shot at a local ice rink where McRae was filmed riding around on a zamboni. She also donned hockey shorts, padded gloves and a bejeweled mouthguard to match the video's athletic theme. The bulky equipment didn't stop McRae from performing a series of stunning dance moves.
The star actually began her time in the spotlight as a dancer. She performed alongside Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato, appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show, and even came in third place on the 13th season of the American version of So You Think You Can Dance back in 2016. She also went on to study with Canada's Alberta Ballet Company and Germany's Berlin State Ballet.
McRae's music career took off in 2017 when she posted a video of an original piano track called "One Day" to her YouTube channel. In the intro, the young singer said she had written the entire track the night before in less than an hour. The clip has since been viewed more than 40 million times.
The star told BBC her newest single "Exes" was also written in less than an hour. "It was all instinct. I was just singing melodies and whatever first came out was what we used," McRae said. None of the lyrics were written ahead of time. "I thought I had nothing left to say on this album, then I started singing about how I can be self-destructive in a relationship and ruin things before they begin," the singer said. "It's like your brain wants to say something, before you even know it. It's hard to explain."
McRae will return to Calgary for a hometown show at the Cowboys Music Festival on July 5.
It's part of a bigger worldwide tour the singer announced back in November. She will visit North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. McRae plans to begin in Dublin on April 17 and end in Wellington, New Zealand, on Nov. 21.
"This is one of the most ridiculous touring schedules I’ve seen in a min," one Instagram commenter said of the star's tight agenda. "You’re a machine!!!"
Check out a full list of the upcoming tour dates below:
Wed Apr 17 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Olympia Theatre
Thu Apr 18 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Olympia Theatre
Sat Apr 20 – Glasgow, UK – Glasgow Academy
Mon Apr 22 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
Wed Apr 24 – Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo Manchester
Fri Apr 26 – Wolverhampton, UK – The Civic At The Halls
Sun Apr 28 – Cologne, Germany – Palladium
Mon Apr 29 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – AFAS Live
Tue Apr 30 – Antwerp, Belgium – Lotto Arena
Thu May 02 – Stockholm, Sweden – Annexet
Fri May 03 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum
Sat May 04 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Falkonersalen
Mon May 06 – Hamburg, Germany – Sporthalle
Tue May 07 – Berlin, Germany – Verti Music Hall
Wed May 08 – Prague, Czech Republic – Forum Karlin
Fri May 10 – Warsaw, Poland – COS Torwar
Sun May 12 – Zurich, Switzerland – Halle 622
Mon May 13 – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer
Tue May 14 – Munich, Germany – Zenith
Thu May 16 – Milan, Italy – Fabrique
Fri May 17 – Paris, France – Zenith
Mon May 20 – Barcelona, Spain – Sant Jordi Club
Tue May 21 – Madrid, Spain – Palacio Vistalegre
Wed May 22 – Lisbon, Portugal – Coliseu de Lisboa
Fri Jul 05 – Calgary, AB – Hometown Show*
Sun Jul 07 – Woodinville, WA – Chateau Ste Michelle
Tue Jul 09 – San Francisco, CA – Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Thu Jul 11 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
Sun Jul 14 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Financial Theatre
Wed Jul 17 – Austin, TX – Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park
Fri Jul 19 – Houston, TX – 713 Music Hall
Sat Jul 20 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Sun Jul 21 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
Wed Jul 24 – Cincinnati, OH – The Andrew J Brady Music Center
Sat Jul 27 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Sun Jul 28 – Sterling Heights, MI– Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
Tue Jul 30 – Saint Louis, MO – Saint Louis Music Park
Thu Aug 01 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory
Tue Aug 06 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
Wed Aug 07 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
Fri Aug 09 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway
Tue Aug 13 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
Wed Aug 14 – Philadelphia, PA – Skyline Stage at Mann
Fri Aug 16 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
Sat Aug 17 – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
Thu Aug 22 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden**
Fri Nov 08 – Perth, Australia – Red Hill Auditorium
Sun Nov 10 – Brisbane, Australia – Riverstage
Tue Nov 12 – Sydney, Australia – Hordern Pavilion
Fri Nov 15 – Adelaide, Australia – AEC Theatre
Sun Nov 17 – Melbourne, Australia – Margaret Court Arena
Tue Nov 19 – Auckland, New Zealand – Spark Arena
Thu Nov 21 – Wellington, New Zealand – TSB Arena
* Venue TBA
** Additional support TBA