Amy GardnerThe last few months have seen 17-year-old Tate McRae score an MTV VMA and a breakthrough single: “You Broke Me,” which she recently performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! But due to the pandemic, she’s watched it all unfold while being stuck at home in Canada. However, Tate says there are definite upsides to quarantine.
“I’ve been calling it a bit of a blessing in disguise because I can record everything in my room…without the whole process of, like, getting on a plane, staying at a hotel…it’s much more compact and efficient!” she tells ABC Audio. “The only thing that kind of sucks is, you know, not being with people and in a room with energies and vibes.”
But despite not being able to make personal appearances, “You Broke Me” has still connected very strongly with fans.
“All I want to do is help people…” Tate says of her music. “[With] that song, I definitely tried to touch on knowing your self-worth and being independent.”
“I wanted to be empowering, like, ‘You can live your own life without this person. Their toxicity doesn’t need to be in your life anymore,'” she adds. “I really wanted that to resonate with girls my age. And it did for me, too!”
But believe it or not, despite how personal it sounds, “You Broke Me” wasn’t actually inspired by a devastating breakup Tate went through.
“I took friendships and past relationships, and situations I’d been in and just kind of made it into a story,” she admits. “I mean, I’m 17! I’ve haven’t gone through a crazy heartbreak before!”
“Like, I’ve only lived so much life and experienced so many things,” she notes. “So I’m gonna have to, like, make up situations and exaggerate a bit.”
By Andrea Dresdale
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