Tate McRae just took being a gay icon to the next level.
Fresh off releasing her new album So Close To What, the pop star revealed in a new interview that not only are LGBTQ+ fans her “favorite,” queer people make up her entire team.
“No one beats them. Nobody is better than them,” McRae told Pride of her gay supporters. “My whole team is gay! That’s the only opinion I really want when I’m releasing music. I feel lucky that I have their opinion. We want to do the most and push the boundaries, but it’s also the most brutally honest advice.”
What must McRae’s hiring process look like to sift out the straights? Oh, to be a fly on the wall…
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From a different celebrity, McRae’s statement could sound like pandering — but fans know that the “Sports car” singer has always been here for the gays. Folks recalled when, while promoting her 2023 album THINK LATER, McRae performed at the iconic gay nightclub Heaven in London, a nontraditional venue for a nontraditional pop star.
McRae also reflected on her show at Heaven in the same interview. “That was one of my favorite performances ever! I ditched the mic and just started dancing,” she said. “There was only like 150 people in the room and it was some of the craziest, loudest energy I’ve ever felt. I just wanted to whip my hair, do a kick, and leave! That’s all I wanted to do.”
McRae also gave a message to her queer fans: “I love you guys so much. Y’all are my number ones. You know that as much as you guys ride for me, I ride for you. I feel very grateful to have you guys in my life and surrounding me.”
Elsewhere in the interview, McRae revealed her dream collaborator: SZA.
“She’s one of the coolest and best writers ever. I love her,” McRae said. “I think it’d be a mix of pop and R&B. I’d let her take the charge! I just want to always keep pushing my comfort zone. I never want to recycle and do the same things. As an artist, I want to be uncomfortable and shock myself sometimes.”
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