Credit: Chloe Zilembo

WSPN’s Chloe Zilembo shares why she thinks Tate McRae is the next big pop star of the generation.

What makes the perfect pop star? Is it killer vocals, great songwriting ability, awesome creative strategy or flawless dancing? The answer is all of the above.

One of the most quintessential pop stars of the 21st century is the legendary Britney Spears. Of course Spears is known for her singing skills, but people often overlook the impact that her dancing skills had on her career. Looking back at her old performances I find myself gravitating to her stage presence, which is strengthened by her athletic dancing skills. Years after her debut in 1999 her spotlight has began to fade. However, carrying on her legacy as a singer with dominant dancing skills is Tate McRae, the next big pop star of our generation.

McRae grew up as a dancer and her first taste of fame was on the popular dance show “So You Think You Can Dance?” where she won third place in season 13. Her background in dancing gives her an edge in the music industry, which is notoriously hard to exceed in.

Of course you don’t need to be an amazing dancer to become a pop star, but having that ability puts you above the rest and really makes you stand out. Being able to watch a performance and not only be captivated by impressive vocal skills, but also be entranced by the singer dancing across the stage can be difficult to find.

McRae’s talents are not the only factor in her fame. She used to post videos of her dancing on her YouTube channel, which, in my opinion, really helped her catapult into stardom. The videos of her dancing gained her followers, which allowed her to start posting more singing related content while already having somewhat of an audience. She would post short “day in the life” videos that revolved around her schedule as a dancer, as well as covers of songs or original pieces that she wrote herself.

By posting singing videos on her YouTube channel, she exposed herself to the music industry and eventually landed herself a contract with RCA records. Since landing her contract, McRae hasn’t stopped using her YouTube channel, although the way she uses it now is different than how she used it previously.

Many artists have YouTube channels to post performances and music videos which McRae does, but she also does something I find innovative and extremely clever. For her second album “THINK LATER,” which came out on Dec. 8, 2023, McRae made simple “mini music videos” with only one scene and set for every single song on the album. For the songs that were released as singles, like “exes” and “greedy,” she released full music videos that you might not be able to find on other artists’ YouTube channels. However, even though she already had full music videos for her singles, she still made “mini music videos” for them. She put a video of an old fashioned TV that was playing the actual music video, which I found extremely creative. Whether it was her idea or the idea of someone on her team, she is doing something right.

McRae has done everything right in her career and has made her claim as one of the most promising up-and-coming artists. I look forward to seeing her become the pop music icon I know she will be. The world deserves to see her talent.