Pop
What is the secret to Tate McRae's songwriting?
Greedy hitmaker Tate
Tate McRae says the secret to her songwriting is to have the "most extreme open mind".
The 22-year-old pop star accepts that in music "every key has been played" but she knows she can create songs that matter because of her own "unique perspective".
Asked how she defines a hit song Tate told Billboard: "You have to think with the most extreme and open mind when you’re writing … [otherwise] it’s the most uninspiring work.
"Everything’s been done before - every key has been played, every word has been used. All you have is your own unique perspective."
Tate cites Greedy, her 2023 single, as a turning point in her own career.
The track - which was co-written by McRae, Amy Allen, Jasper Harris and OneRepublic lead singer Ryan Tedder - was released in September 2023, as the lead single from her second studio album Think Later, and went on to be a hit all over the globe, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
Asked which of her tracks have been most meaningful to her, Tate replied: "Sports Car is one of my favourite songs of mine. It was such a swing and such a fun song to write.
"Greedy was a very meaningful song to me. When I think back to that phase of my life, I was so lost. I was 19, and this big singing career felt so daunting to me, and it felt like this was one of the first times where I had pure clarity and direction on where I wanted to go visually and sonically."
Tate McRae says Lana Del Rey is the artist who influences her music the most, but she also admires Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Dean, Olivia Rodrigo and Gracie Abrams.
Tate McRae at the iHeart Jingle Ball in December 2022 / Credit: AVALON
The singer also hailed a number of other female artists whom she admires.
She said: "I love Olivia Dean, Sabrina [Carpenter], Gracie [Abrams].
"Olivia [Rodrigo] - I’m so excited for her to drop music again. She’s an unbelievable songwriter. She never fears brutal honesty or laying out all her insecurities or feelings on the table. She’s like that as a friend too, just the most open, honest person."
Meanwhile, Tate previously admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the scrutiny she's faced since hitting the top of the charts.
The pop star split from The Kid Laroi in July 2025 after around a year of dating, and Tate admitted that she struggled to cope with the attention that subsequently came her way.
She told Rolling Stone magazine: "It was really scary and overwhelming, I would never talk that way, even about my friends’ lives. I didn’t realise how much it would affect me, the public knowing my private life - because no one knows the full story of anything, ever."
