Tatum Rosner "Tate" McRae is a Canadian singer, dancer and voice actress. At the age of thirteen, she gained prominence as the first Canadian finalist on the American reality TV show So You ThinkYou Can Dance. McRae caught the attention of RCA Records in 2019 after her original song "One Day" went viral on YouTube, subsequently releasing her debut EP, All The Things I Never Said, in January 2020.
Early life
Tatum Rosner McRae was born in Calgary on July 1, 2003, to a German mother and a Canadian father. At age four, she moved with her family to Oman where her mother taught dance lessons. On her return to Calgary in 2011, McRae began doing recreational ballet training at age six. At age eight, she began dancing competitively with Drewitz Dance Productions, before eventually partaking in lessons at Alberta Ballet Company.
Career
2013–2018: Competitive dance
Shortly after McRae began dancing competitively, she was awarded Best Female Dancer in the "Mini" category at the 2013 Dance Awards in New York City. After gaining some prominence, she became a brand ambassador for the American dance manufacturer Capezio. She became a finalist at the New York City Dance Alliance's 2014 National Gala. In 2015, McRae was awarded a two week scholarship at the Berlin State Ballet company after winning the silver medal at the 2015 Youth America Grand Prix. She danced in the music video for Walk off the Earth's platinum-certified single "Rule The World". For the second time, McRae was awarded her Best Female Dancer award at the 2015 Dance Awards, this time in the "Junior" category. McRae had been a consistently active voice actress for the Lalaloopsy franchise, voicing the part of "Spot Splatter Splash" since the show's inception in 2013. In April 2016, McRae performed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as part of the DancerPalooza troupe. She also performed with Justin Bieber as part of his Purpose World Tour in June 2016, before taking part in the of American television show. While competing for the America's Favorite Dancer title as a non-American, she was mentored by American dancer and actress Kathryn McCormick. She advanced further in the competition than any other Canadian in the show's history, placing third on the final episode. Canadian TV host Murtz Jaffer from Toronto Sun reacted, "The fact that Canadians couldn’t vote for Tate makes her third-place finish all the more impressive. While she might not have been voted America’s favourite dancer, she certainly might be Canada’s." She performed at the 2016 Teen Choice Awards as a finalist from the SYTYCD.
2018–present: Music
Since its creation in 2011, McRae had been uploading a fairly consistent stream of primarily dance videos to her YouTube channel. In 2017 she started a "Create With Tate" video series, focused on showcasing original songs which she wrote and recorded in her bedroom. Her upload of the series' first song "One Day" attracted over 32 million views, causing her to self-release the song as an independent single. Over the course of 2018, McRae continued to upload and release independent singles as part of her "Create With Tate" series. For the third time, she won Best Female Dancer at the 2018 Dance Awards in Las Vegas, this time in the "Teen" category. Her earlier upload of "One Day" caught the attention of RCA Records, where she signed in August 2019. Following her signing, McRae announced her debut EP All the Things I Never Said in December 2019. She released the five-track EP on January 24, 2020, and announced her first headlining tour of Europe and North America. The EP's lead single, "Tear Myself Apart", was co-written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, and together with "All My Friends Are Fake" has amassed over 10 million streams online. The EP's final single, "Stupid" clocked 4 million Spotify streams in December 2019, and charted in Ireland and Canada, making significant radio airplay performance in the latter. McRae's debut single "One Day" was certified Gold in Canada in April 2020, making her first certification in her career. She released the single "You Broke Me First" amid the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, ahead of her second EP which is yet to be titled. The second single from the EP, "Vicious" featuring American rapper Lil Mosey, was released mid-June 2020.
Reception
McRae has been described as "the teen dance star turned future pop idol" by i-D, "Canada's answer to Billie Eilish" by Elle, and "one of pop’s bright young hopes" by The Independent.
