At this time last year, we were including Tate McRae in our rising pop stars to watch list — 12 months later she’s officially risen. McRae became one of music’s next big things last year, with a monster 2021 that included singles like “Darkest Hour” for Amazon’s Panic, collaborations with Khalid and Troye Sivan a late night performance, and even a headlining tour. Whew, are you tired yet?
Closing out 2021 with a dramatic break-up single, “Feel Like Sh*t,” she’s already back in early 2022 with more new music. And “She’s All I Wanna Be” fits in with the lamenting nature of plenty of McRae’s oeuvre, this time with her attention focused on another woman that she’s jealous her man might like more. “You want the girl with the small waist / and the perfect smile,” she begins. “She’s got everything that I don’t have / And she’s all I wanna be so bad,” McRae finishes on the racing chorus.
Even though the song is just ostensibly just as sad as plenty of Tate’s other hits, it gets a pop-punk guitar, some glittering synths, and heavy percussion to elevate it from sad girl anthem into actual anthem. Check out the new single above, this one has all the earmarks of a hit.