On Friday, Jan. 24, young musician Tate McRae released “Sports car,” the third single of her upcoming album, “So Close to What.” The “you broke me first” singer initiated this album rollout with the lead single “It’s ok I’m ok” in September and shortly followed it with “2 hands” last November. Her trend of upbeat, danceable tracks remains linear with “Sports car.” The hit performer teased this new single in December during a dance break within her hit song “greedy” at the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Festival in Madison Square Garden.
Inspired by the sound of early Britney Spears and featuring a similar sound to the 2000s song “Buttons” by girl group The Pussycat Dolls, “Sports car” features whisper-like vocals throughout the chorus and a consistent beat.
Speaking directly to the subject, McRae’s lyrics remain sensual and imply physical touch throughout the track. In the chorus, she sings, “I think you know what this is / I think you wanna, uh…but you got a sports car / we can uh-uh in it while you drive it real far.”
Although a fun and enjoyable track, this sound has been done before. Additionally, the lack of a bridge section provokes curiosity as to when the extended outro will officially conclude.
Paired with a music video channeling the inspired era and reminiscent of looks by Spears in the late 1990s and 2000s — which she claimed is her favorite yet — the direction of McRae’s future releases and impending album are clear.
As the date of her album approaches, her fans can dance and jam to these rhythmic singles as they anticipate the project — potentially commemorating Y2K music and style. McRae’s third studio album “So Close to What” releases on Feb. 21 and includes the three previously mentioned pre-released tracks, “It’s ok I’m ok,” “2 hands” and “Sports car.”
4/5 stars
rross1@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @tatemcrae, Instagram
