Tate McRae Praises Britney Spears’ Choreography & Stage Presence: ‘No One Really Did it Like Her’

Tate McRae has big plans for 2024, so she’s taking cues from one of the world’s biggest pop stars. Shortly after announcing that her new album Think Later will arrive Dec. 8 followed by a world tour next year, the 20-year-old pop prodigy — who’s also Billboard‘s latest cover star — doubled down on her love for Britney Spears‘ performance style in a recent interview with Rolling Stone.

“I mean, obviously I watch Britney’s music videos all the time, because I think no one really did it like her,” McRae told the publication when asked where she finds inspiration for her choreography and stage presence. “She always crushed her music videos and the dancing.”

The “Greedy” singer’s Britney shoutout echos what she previously told Billboard in her newly unveiled Nov. 16 cover story. “When I look at my favorite icons or videos or performances, it’s always the biggest pop stars, so I think that’s always a goal,” she said. “I think what defines a pop star is how iconic [they are]: Madonna, Britney [Spears], Christina [Aguilera]; they would put on these shows and blow everybody away and make timeless art.”

“And that’s what I want to do: make timeless art and timeless performances — and strive to keep on doing that,” added McRae.

With production from Ryan Tedder, Think Later will feature McRae’s Billboard Hot 100 chart-climber “Greedy” as well as her splashy new single “Exes,” which dropped Friday (Nov. 17). The Canadian singer and dancer is a finalist at this year’s BBMAs for top dance/electronic song (“10:35”); she’ll also perform at the Nov. 19 ceremony, which you can watch on BBMAs.watch or via the Billboard and BBMAs social media channels.