Tate McRae Calls Britney Spears Comparisons 'Flattering and Scary'

Mar. 15, 2025

Tate McRae; Britney Spears.Photo:Lisa Lake/Getty;Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Lisa Lake/Getty;Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Tate McRaehas mixed feelings about being compared toBritney Spears.

The singer, 21, opened up about being compared to the pop icon, 43, in a recent interview withThe Independent, timed to the release of her third studio album,So Close to What, which debuted on Friday, Feb. 21.

McRae said that she finds the comparison to a young Spears to be “flattering and scary.”

“It’s such a crazy statement because no one can compare to Britney Spears,” she continued. “It’s like comparing someone toMichael Jackson! That’s the blueprint!”

McRae, also a professional dancer, competed onSo You Think You Can Dancewhen she was only 13 and finished in third place. Shortly after, the Canadian star began sharing her music on YouTube. She has since accumulated fiveBillboard Hot 100singles and made her debut onSaturday Night Livein 2023.

Tate McRae attends an exclusive listening of ‘So Close to What’ at The Living Room in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2025.Emma McIntyre/Getty

Emma McIntyre/Getty

The “Sports Car” singer told PEOPLEin an exclusive interviewin 2023 that the music video for her single “Exes” drew choreography inspiration from Spears andChristina Aguilera.

“We were obviously taking inspiration from the greats, like Britney and Christina, and really wanted to just do a full dance music video,” McRae said at the time. “I’ve been dreaming of doing a dance music video with full choreography — dance being the most prominent thing in the music video — for so long. So that definitely referenced some of my biggest idols.”

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Tate McRae performs in 2024.Bruce Bennett/Getty

Bruce Bennett/Getty

McRae’s latest album wasleaked online before its planned release. The singer addressed the incident during an album listening event with Spotify at The Living Room in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, saying she felt “devastated” to learn some of her songs had surfaced online ahead of the release.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the album got leaked, which was a f—ing bummer,” she said. “And I think obviously that makes you look at the project differently.”

She continued: “I was just so devastated because I’m like, ‘There’s nothing I can do about this. The whole project is online.' " She added that she decided to “write a couple more songs” in order to “grab as much control back as I could in that kind of situation.”

McRae isset to return toSNLon March 1.

source: people.com