Tate McRae is in the “see-what-sticks” phase of her fourth studio album.
The Greedy star says she’s currently throwing ideas at the wall as she figures out what her next era is supposed to sound like.
Variety reports that Tate kicked off the project in February with hitmakers Amy Allen and Emile Haynie.
She is is still mood-boarding her way through the record and admits she has no clue what shape it will eventually take.
One thing she does know: she’s steering clear of straight-up pop while writing. According to the interview, she’s been flipping through a Dolly Parton lyric book for inspiration and keeping a playlist called Bubbly Bubbly Brain Refresh filled with Dolly tracks. She told the magazine that listening to typical pop music during the creative process “leaves her uninspired.”
The 23-year-old singer also opened up about the emotional fallout from her Miss Possessive tour, revealing she hit a dark patch once the run ended.
She explained: “I remember reading Sylvia Plath being like, ‘I am her.'”
Explaining that her thoughts felt “so dark” and she was overwhelmed by loneliness, Tate said the intensity of touring left her completely drained.
“I really needed to come back into my body and regulate my nervous system. I was so shot after the tour. I couldn’t really sleep at night.”
The constant self-scrutiny of performing pushed her to a breaking point: “I’d seen so much of myself that I was like, ‘I want to go into a black room and not look in a mirror for six months.’”
She added that she had to actively pull herself out of that mindset.
Tate added: “You’re not the worst person in the world. You’re not the ugliest person in the world. You haven’t done everything wrong. And, you know, you’re just doing what you love.”
Her last studio album was 2025’s So Close to What.
