Before there was Tate McRae, ultra-polished pop performer, there was Tate McRae, preteen from Calgary, Alberta, writing songs at home and uploading them to YouTube.<\/p>\n
And while McRae\u2019s high-caliber, intricately choreographed performances and visually striking, maximalist music videos have arguably become the focal points of her public image today (manifesting in a fierce alter ego she calls Tatiana), it\u2019s her other side that Billboard is honoring as this year\u2019s Women in Music Hitmaker \u2014 the one who used to take solace in crafting lyrics to sing not in front of more than 10,000 screaming fans but alone in her bedroom. The 22-year-old\u2019s underappreciated pen is just as lethal as her performance capabilities. After a modest debut in the familiar lane of Gen Z pop melancholia \u2014 making her first Billboard Hot 100 appearance in 2020 with \u201cYou Broke Me First\u201d \u2014 McRae enlisted fellow hit-makers Ryan Tedder and Amy Allen to help craft pristine, radio-friendly pop bangers that she could actually move to, tapping into her upbringing as a competitive dancer onstage and channeling past pop icons such as Britney Spears (to whom she\u2019s now frequently compared).<\/p>\n
\u201cTate was dedicated and disciplined to become the absolute best,\u201d recalls renowned choreographer Sean Bankhead (Lil Nas X, Victoria Mon\u00e9t, Normani), whom McRae tapped specifically to help with her transformation, of first meeting her. \u201cI have always wanted to mold the next big pop girlie who could not just write amazing songs and sing them live but of course command every stage she stepped foot on. And with Tate we accomplished that in a very quick two years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read the full interview here.<\/a><\/p>\n Watch Billboard\u2019s Women in Music 2026 live on YouTube.com\/Billboard and Billboard.com on April 29, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET\/6:30 p.m. PT. For more coverage on Women in Music, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n \t<\/a><\/p>\n Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox<\/p>\n