Tate McRae

“My mom used to be a dancer, so I always wanted to be like her growing up.”

“Canada in general is a beautiful country.”

“There are so many situations when you feel like your heart is breaking. I keep those emotions pent up, so I can create stories around them and shape what I would say from another perspective.”

“I'm really good at envisioning things. Even when I haven't experienced something, it doesn't mean that I haven't felt it before.”

“I feel like I kind of go with the flow. The biggest source of pressure is most definitely from myself because my opinion changes every second. One day I'm literally obsessed with all my songs, and the next I despise every one of them and want to throw them all out!”

“I would love a career on Broadway. It's always been my dream ever since I was a little girl and some of my biggest idols are on Broadway right now, like Melanie Moore and Ricky Ubeda.”

“I'm bad at doing social media. I don't feel like I post enough. My content is so random.”

“Part of me is super private, and I'm put in this position where it's scary sometimes because you never know what people are gonna think. It's just making sure that you show what you want to show and making sure that you're presenting your best self always and making the right decisions.”

“I am obsessed with turquoise water, waterfalls, swimming holes... Wherever I am, there has to be lots to do, though, because I am not good at sitting around. I do not enjoy sun-tanning or sitting and always need to be going somewhere or exploring!”

“Usually I'll be with my friends and I'll observe everything, and grab emotions from that to write my songs.”

“I just kind of transitioned right out of the dance world into the music industry. I started writing and I just fell in love with the whole process.”

“The interesting thing is I don't get nervous for big things. I don't know why this happens, but I will get like, puke-nervous when I'm going to do a presentation at school or go fill up my gas, but if I'm about to go on Jimmy Fallon, I am stress-free.”

“Obviously I'm very proud to be Canadian because there's a lot of crazy cool artists that come out of Canada. It's always been my home ground, even if I'm traveling around the world dancing or singing or in L.A. all the time. But Alberta doesn't really have a music industry.”

“My writing was very much like my diary, and I just put it out there to put it out there because I didn't really know what I was doing. The fact that people related to the songs made me feel less alone in a lot of situations.”

“I have this rubber band that I have all the time on my wrist, and sometimes when I get nervous or anxious, I'll do this twiddle thing with my finger and I'll snap the rubber band. A lot of people use rubber bands to cope with things like anxiety and depression and addiction.”

“My favorite way to get into the songwriting process is to get into the studio, and then usually, they play a loop of four chords, or something, or guitar, and then I just start singing.”

“I put the most pressure on myself. I'm so critical and I think that's a hard mentality to live with. You're not really satisfied with anything you do.”

“There's this big rumor that I was a backup dancer when I was 11. Not true!”

“Post Malone is one of my biggest inspirations. I just love his songs and his writing. He's a genius. Then person-wise, I'm a huge fan of Zendaya. I love her. I watch her interviews and everything she does all the time because I think she's just such a crazy good human being.”

“As a dancer, you get trained to carry on no matter what happens. You have to stay professional.”