Tate McRae Breaks Down Her Most Iconic Music Videos (Greedy, You Broke Me First & More)

Allure Magazine

Tate McRae breaks down her most iconic music videos, from "greedy" to "you broke me first." Watch as Tate gets into all the nitty gritty details of every music video shoot, explaining how it all came to life and why they chose certain outfits and makeup looks.    Stream Tate McRae's sophomore album 'THINK LATER' out December 8. Tickets to the ‘THINK LATER TOUR’ are now available.  Director: Isabella Roman Director of Photography: Lauren Pruitt Editor: Christopher Jones Talent: Tate McRae Producer: Sydney Malone Post Producer: Krystal Knight Production Manager: Natasha Soto-Albors Production Coordinator: Tania Jones Talent Booker: Lauren Mendoza; Jenna Caldwell Camera Operator: Cara Lehman  Gaffer: Meicen Meng Audio Engineer: Michael Guggino Production Assistant: Cerina Shippey; Sonia Butt Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter Supervising Editor: Erica Dillman Additional Editor: Jason Malizia Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds Graphics Supervisor: Ross Rackin

Transcript

00:00 Hi, my name is Tate McRae and I'm gonna be breaking down

00:02 some of my most iconic music video looks.

00:05 (upbeat music)

00:07 ♪ So if you don't get greedy ♪

00:12 ♪ That's your woman ♪

00:14 This greedy music video is my most recent music video.

00:18 I did this with Aaron Moreno.

00:19 This was such a fun project for me.

00:21 I feel like this was my first music video I've ever done

00:24 where I feel like I had full creative input on it.

00:28 From the looks, the styling, the lighting, how it was shot.

00:32 It was all shot on film,

00:33 which was like my favorite thing ever.

00:35 So me and Bradley, my creative director,

00:38 we were sitting in a matcha shop and I was like,

00:40 I feel like it would be the craziest thing ever

00:42 if I was in this crazy outfit, big heels on,

00:46 and I'm driving a Zamboni.

00:47 Then we went to Aaron and we were like,

00:49 okay, can you write a treatment for this?

00:50 And literally two weeks later, we were with Sean Bankhead

00:54 and we were dancing in an ice rink on a Zamboni

00:56 and it was the best day ever.

00:58 This was my favorite glam I've ever had.

01:01 I had Lily Keys and Chad Wood doing my glam.

01:04 That was a look that I definitely wanted to accomplish.

01:07 Just like hair down to my knees.

01:09 Like I just wanted like super long, fun hair in pigtails.

01:13 I also just like love extensions.

01:15 I think they're so fun to play with.

01:16 This was the last scene of the day.

01:18 So I was exhausted.

01:20 Everyone was exhausted.

01:21 We were like, we don't even know

01:22 what this scene is gonna look like.

01:23 So we hadn't planned it out.

01:24 I'm wearing like boxers, like one latex glove,

01:29 like this like double bra situation.

01:31 I remember Aaron just being like,

01:32 just do whatever you want on this like

01:33 little workout machine.

01:35 So that's why I did like the whole like leg

01:37 and did all the stretching poses.

01:39 And this honestly was my, I think my favorite look

01:42 from the video, just 'cause it feels so me.

01:44 Like even on tour, I've been wearing like boxers on stage

01:47 and just like one hockey glove.

01:48 And I feel like the kind of randomness of it

01:51 kind of sums up my personality

01:53 and how I like to dress, kind of tomboy.

01:55 So it's cool.

01:56 I thought I was gonna be like racing around this ice rink.

01:59 I was going a solid three miles per hour,

02:02 literally just going in circles.

02:03 I had this one guy who was like one of the heads

02:06 of the rink or something.

02:07 He was sitting right, like in this shot,

02:10 this like one shot where I'm like lip syncing.

02:12 He's literally sitting right next to me.

02:15 And he was like, don't let this be the last time

02:17 someone drives a Zamboni.

02:18 I'm like, oh my God, like the pressure's on.

02:20 Not like that good of a driver.

02:22 But yeah, it was fun.

02:23 I felt like a badass.

02:24 I feel like this is definitely a new chapter

02:26 in music videos and all my visuals,

02:29 even my single cover arts,

02:30 everything that's been doing recently,

02:32 it feels like a, definitely a new era.

02:34 ♪ Broke me first ♪

02:38 You Broke Me First, a part of the EP,

02:41 Too Young to Be Sad.

02:42 So I filmed this video March, 2020,

02:45 right when the pandemic broke.

02:47 And this whole situation was a bit of a whirlwind

02:50 because I remember we weren't even gonna get

02:53 a music video for this song.

02:55 We were just gonna put it out there.

02:57 I had just been on like this little tiny tour

02:59 of like five shows, just like my OG YouTube fans.

03:03 And I got sent back home to Canada.

03:06 Basically like our border was closed down.

03:08 So like I couldn't go anywhere.

03:10 And all of a sudden this song starts like exploding

03:13 out of nowhere.

03:14 We filmed this in Calgary.

03:16 Me and my friend went up to this like rooftop.

03:18 He starts like driving backwards.

03:20 I taped my phone to the front of my mom's car.

03:24 I was 16 and stacked it against a tissue box,

03:28 taped it, I said, "Don't watch me."

03:30 'Cause I'm about to film a music video.

03:31 And I like set it up,

03:33 press like three, two, one.

03:34 And we filmed this entire music video on my phone.

03:37 This was like four hour leftover makeup

03:40 from when I did it in the morning.

03:43 I don't even think I did anything to my hair.

03:45 Like I don't even think I curled it.

03:46 This is like just out of the shower.

03:48 I can't believe this is a music video.

03:50 Honestly, I was so shocked how this turned out

03:53 because how low budget this video was.

03:56 Like my hair wasn't done.

03:58 I had like one streak of eyeliner and like a little concealer.

04:01 This was like a jacket I threw on in my closet.

04:04 We have three whole videos of this entire music video.

04:07 Three takes.

04:08 They're all one shot.

04:09 We basically did it like one under the parking garage

04:12 and then one on the roof and then one more on the roof.

04:14 And then I remember going home this night

04:16 and editing lyrics on the screen.

04:19 And I send it to my label and I say,

04:21 "Here's the music video."

04:23 And then they were like,

04:24 "Okay, we should put in a little bit of budget

04:25 to make these lyrics look a little better."

04:27 I remember at this point in time,

04:29 becoming a singer was never really something

04:33 I thought was possible.

04:34 I thought I was gonna be like a backup dancer.

04:37 So then when I released this song

04:38 and all this started happening,

04:40 it was all happening from my family home's basement.

04:44 And it was getting played all over the radio

04:46 all around the world and I couldn't leave my house.

04:49 Would I ever think that this would have played

04:52 at award shows and on big screens

04:55 and it's filmed on my phone?

04:57 Like never.

04:58 So it's been really crazy.

04:59 ♪ And she's all I wanna be ♪

05:01 ♪ All I wanna be ♪

05:03 She's All I Wanna Be, directed by Michelle Dolly and Tusk.

05:06 Off my debut album, I Used to Think I Could Fly.

05:08 I didn't really know if I was gonna release this song or not.

05:12 And me and my mom were talking one day at my apartment

05:17 and we're like, "Just close your eyes, listen to my songs

05:20 and what do we visualize?"

05:22 My mom has been my dance teacher my whole life.

05:24 So she's a big part of the creative process.

05:26 I talk to her about all my ideas and everything.

05:29 We were sitting there and we were watching Chorus Line,

05:33 the movie.

05:34 Then we started listening to this song and I was like,

05:35 "Oh, what are these feelings of jealousy

05:37 and comparing yourself to other people?"

05:39 And I was like, "That really reminds me

05:40 of old dance auditions."

05:43 The feeling of standing there in a line with girls

05:45 and being like, "You're cut, you're through,

05:48 you're not good enough, you don't look the part."

05:50 The toxicity of it, kind of.

05:51 And I was like, "That would be so crazy

05:54 if we could recreate this movie for this music video."

05:58 This was really fun to put together

05:59 because I knew almost all of these dancers

06:03 and Michelle Dolly has been working with me

06:05 since I was eight years old, ever since I was a dancer.

06:08 My best friend Finley's actually right next to me

06:10 in this video.

06:11 And then Bailey Salk, who's the main lead of this video.

06:16 She is one of the best dancers ever.

06:19 So I was very honored that she was able

06:21 to be in this music video with me.

06:22 I love a good winged eyeliner.

06:24 I feel like that's usually my signature look.

06:27 I don't usually play around with makeup.

06:28 I get really nervous, but we added a little line.

06:32 It's pushing it for me.

06:33 All the styling replicates Chorus Line.

06:35 It's just like old dance, unitards, leotards.

06:39 We used to wear the leg warmers

06:41 and all those dance auditions.

06:43 And they were such iconic looks back in the day.

06:46 And so I wanted to kind of recreate that.

06:48 I think the shiny blue leotard was pretty iconic.

06:52 I think that was really fun.

06:54 I remember this one take where we're all holding

06:58 the headshots was such a cool moment

07:00 because we were all on stage

07:02 and we're standing with these headshots

07:04 and everyone was looking down.

07:05 And my choreographer was like,

07:07 "Okay, Tay, go freestyle for 10 minutes."

07:09 So in front of everyone in this big auditorium,

07:12 she was giving me directions to rip up the headshot

07:15 and run around and mess with girls' hair

07:17 and go kind of crazy.

07:19 And it was a fun exercise and ended up being

07:21 such a big, important shot in the music video.

07:24 ♪ 'Cause all my friends are fake, fake, fake, fake ♪

07:28 ♪ They just want me for the day, day, until ♪

07:32 ♪ All my friends are fake by Jasper ♪

07:34 On my first ever EP called "All the Things I Never Said."

07:37 This was a big moment for me

07:41 because this was my first legit music video.

07:44 So this was my real one that I got to have a say in.

07:49 And I was so excited.

07:50 But I remember loving the way I looked on set,

07:53 the way my hair was super slick back

07:55 and I had these two little jewels under my eyes.

07:58 And I just thought it looked so Euphoria-inspired

08:01 and I was obsessed at the time.

08:03 And then a big part of this that I was really excited for

08:06 was these glitter tears that came down my face.

08:09 So we had these little trackers on my face

08:12 and it was for CGI.

08:14 And I remember sitting there

08:16 and they would just pin a whole bunch of stickers to my face

08:19 and then I ended up doing a whole bunch of performance takes.

08:22 I loved the way the glitter tears looked.

08:24 I thought it was so sick.

08:25 ♪ 10.35 and I can feel your arms around ♪

08:29 10.35 from last year, directed by Kourtney.

08:33 This is on Tiesto's album.

08:34 This video was a lot.

08:36 I will say we spent, I think,

08:39 16 hours filming this music video.

08:42 There were so many different shots in this hotel.

08:44 The first shot of this music video,

08:46 which is my personal favorite,

08:47 it kinda looks like I'm distorting my body.

08:50 That was the very last take of the whole video.

08:54 It was around five in the morning.

08:58 We had to catch a flight in an hour and a half after this.

09:01 And I'm standing on this water fountain,

09:04 which is the most slippery thing ever.

09:07 And this was all freestyle.

09:09 And I did this for like an hour.

09:10 We did multiple takes over and over again

09:12 and then ended up being the whole first shot of the video,

09:15 which made me so happy

09:16 'cause it was my favorite shot of the day.

09:17 And then I was in this full Versace set

09:21 and I remember I was literally just drenched in water.

09:23 And then I had these huge long braids.

09:25 There were three of them,

09:26 which I wanted so badly.

09:28 I remember I was literally just like soaked.

09:30 Everything was getting heavier and heavier

09:32 as the shots were going on.

09:33 I would say one of my favorite looks is the Versace set

09:37 just 'cause the hair felt very badass to me

09:40 and I could like play with it.

09:41 And then also this blue little custom unitard

09:45 with the high boots when I was dancing on water, I loved.

09:49 And I mostly loved that

09:50 because I was standing on one of those boxes

09:52 that like you can't see in the water.

09:54 And then I actually was like standing in the pool.

09:56 Same again, I was drenched, like soaked.

09:58 And then I just had to freestyle

09:59 for like two hours on this pool.

10:02 ♪ Oh I know I just feel like ♪

10:06 This is the "Feel Like S***" music video, 2021,

10:09 directed by Sam, album "I Used to Think I Could Fly".

10:12 This song is really special to me.

10:14 Not only is it my favorite to sing in concert,

10:17 but I feel like we really took the time

10:19 to get into the story of this song.

10:21 I wanted it to feel like as movie-like as possible.

10:25 Like people were watching like a short film.

10:27 So my hair was super dark here.

10:29 My makeup was so natural.

10:30 I really love this outfit.

10:32 I felt like this outfit was like really iconic

10:34 and like really cool in a restaurant.

10:36 And then he's in his little suspenders.

10:38 I thought it was really cute.

10:39 I did this with Mason, who's such an incredible dancer.

10:42 And we were able, like the partnering was just really hard.

10:45 The choreo was hard, it was difficult.

10:47 And I feel like it came across really well on film.

10:49 Me and Mason had met once before,

10:51 but this was our first time like really meeting,

10:53 which is so funny 'cause when you dance,

10:55 you get so close to someone.

10:57 I mean, I think I like kiss him in this video

10:59 and we're like all over each other.

11:01 And yeah, he's like grabbing my hair in one shot.

11:04 Like it was so intense.

11:06 We did the whole thing in like two shots.

11:09 I remember I wanted it to be like a one shot take

11:12 or three shots, I think.

11:14 But it was hard because the final scene of this,

11:18 what we had to do was we had like

11:20 this really intricate hand section

11:22 and we had to like smash plates

11:23 and make sure they were in the right spot.

11:25 He had to like grab my hair.

11:26 We had to do like lifts and we had to make sure

11:29 we like nailed all of this in like two minutes.

11:33 And then we would do it like 30 times.

11:36 I feel like you could feel like the anger with us

11:38 and you can feel all the emotions that you go through.

11:40 I think in a relationship, there's a lot of lust

11:42 and love and passion and you can see

11:44 the beautiful parts in this

11:46 and then it can get so toxic so quick.

11:49 And that's what we wanted to show as dancers.

11:51 ♪ I'm so stupid for you ♪

11:54 ♪ I'm so stupid for you ♪

11:56 Stupid in 2020, directed by Jasper.

11:59 I'm off of all things I never said EP.

12:01 This song to this day is one of my favorites.

12:05 It's very special to me, but I feel like

12:07 the music video still feels like I was very fresh.

12:09 This video is so funny because I feel like

12:12 I was real confused about who I was at this point in time.

12:17 Also, I was so nervous.

12:18 I remember like this first shot, we were like sitting

12:21 on a bed and it was the first time I'd ever like

12:23 really lip synced, like straight onto a camera.

12:27 I just remember being so scared.

12:28 Like I was like, I don't want to make eye contact

12:30 with the camera.

12:31 These outfits, I remember having like no say over.

12:33 My least favorite color of all time is orange

12:36 and I'm literally wearing orange in half the video.

12:38 It feels crazy because I'm watching myself grow up

12:41 on screen and watching my style preferences change,

12:44 my makeup preferences change.

12:46 It's just crazy how much it can evolve in like four years.

12:49 Thank you so much Allure.

12:50 I hope you guys enjoyed me breaking down my music videos.

12:53 I love you, see you next time.

12:54 (upbeat music)

12:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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