On the last night of her Think Later World Tour at MSG in New York, Tate Mcrae surprised the audience with not only a duet with The Kid Laroi, but she also debuted an unreleased song at the time and teased a new album. The song “It’s ok I’m ok” already had fans playing clips of it on a loop to blast in their cars as everyone’s been anticipating the release for weeks. Finally, the song is officially out.
With her impressive dance background, Mcrae is known for putting on intensely choreographed shows. But the first and only performance of her latest single ‘‘It’s ok I’m ok’’ was her most Britney Spears-esque moment yet. She came on stage with head mics and a dance break that instantly resembled Spears in the 00’s—very promising of a Y2K pop comeback.
During Wednesday night’s VMAs, when asked about the new song and its music video, Mcrae said ‘‘It’s very pop. The music video is very ballsy and daring’’ ‘‘I’m excited to start the new era in a fierce way,’’ adds Mcrae.
As the “greedy” singer is entering this brand new era, it’s important to cherish her ‘Live Now, Think Later’ era one last time. Her latest album ‘‘THINK LATER’’ has been the perfect foundation for Mcrae to establish herself as one of the most exciting popstars of the moment.
Here’s a brief guide to ‘‘Think Later’’ by Tate Mcrae with some of our favorite lyrics, until we officially dive into TM3:
- cut my hair
The album opener instantly pulls you in, wanting more. It’s fun, confident, and sassy. Take a look at the official first lyrics of “Think Later” that boldly invites you into the album:
Lyrics: ‘‘Just wanna cut my hair, lose myself, make you sweat / Go out and get messed up / Find myself in your bed’’
- greedy
Well, ‘‘greedy’’ is greedy. Tate Mcrae’s biggest single that became the number one song on Global 200 and hit billions of streams on Spotify. And for a good reason. Make sure to not only listen to this one but also watch the music video packed with hockey-easter-eggs.
Lyrics: ‘‘Baby, please believe me, I’ll put you through hell / Just to know me, yeah, yeah / So sure of yourself / Baby, don’t get greedy’’
- run for the hills
Arguably the best song on the album, ‘‘run for the hills’’ is one of Mcrae’s best songs to this date. As she runs on a never-ending treadmill only to end up on the same spot in its music video, Mcrae compares this song to a sort of masochistic feeling of not wanting to leave something that is not great for you. In her words, she wanted the song to feel romantic and feel like love, but ‘‘also like a fucked up kind of love’’.
Lyrics: ‘‘Kissing, screaming, straight back to war / I’m walking out until I lock the door / Maybe the danger’s covered by the thrill / ‘Cause I know I should be running for the hills’’
- hurt my feelings
One of the most fun and upbeat songs from the album, ‘‘hurt my feelings’’ depicts the feeling of having an almost forbidden crush on the wrong person—and the crush is so strong that you’re willing to let them hurt your feelings.
Lyrics: ‘‘She wears your number, but I got what you like / She’s got you right now, but I’m still on your mind’’
- grave
After the SNL debut of this song prior to its official release, ‘‘grave’’ was quickly a crowd favorite. According to some, the studio version did not quite live up to the standards set by the SNL live version, but nevertheless, this is a great sad-girl track from the album.
For the lyrics from this song, we’ll just go with Mcrae’s personal favorite part of the song:
Lyrics: ‘‘I hold my grudges like I held you / How does me trying to fix it, turn into “I’ll just forgive it”? / One chance, two chances were lost on you / You can only dig the grave so deep/ Before you start to take me down with you’’
- stay done
With ‘‘stay done’’, Mcrae paints the story of a relationship that’s struggling to come to an end as she sings, ‘‘I know we should break up, but I just can’t stay done with you’’. Lyrically, its a song that feels very narrative and raw.
Lyrics: ‘‘We’re best friends and enemies / We’re good ’til you’re dead to me, yeah / I told you goodbye like hundred million times’’
- exes
There is exes (studio version), and then there is exes (Think Later tour, live version). You might’ve seen one of the many viral videos of Mcrae’s iconic dance break to ‘‘exes’’ throughout the entirety of her tour. It’s certainly a wild ride that never stops and one of the catchiest singles from the album.
Lyrics: ‘‘Kisses to my exes who don’t give a shit about me / Kisses, kisses to the next ones who think they can live without me’’
- we’re not alike
If you’ve been to any of Mcrae’s shows this year, this particular song’s intro might ring a bell. Mcrae asks the audience, ‘‘You know what I hate, more than anything in the world?’’ —and there is one right answer that her fans scream back at her: A fake ‘f*cking’ bitch! In similar fashion ‘‘we’re not alike’’ is all about having to deal with a non-girl’s girl.
Lyrics: ‘‘Said she was a girl’s girl, that’s a lie / Said she had my back, but she had the knife / I could never do it once and she did it twice/ And you wonder why / We’re not alike’’
- calgary
Named after and dedicated to her hometown Calgary, this one is a reflection of Mcrae coming back to her roots. She talked about writing ‘‘calgary’’ when visiting her hometown one night, and after coming back from the bar, she found herself feeling like her old self again.
Lyrics: ‘‘Same bar, same street / I’m twenty, but I still feel like fifteen’’
- messier
From her vocals to the song’s bridge, ‘‘messier’’ is one of the stand-outs from the album. The song intensely builds up, both lyrically and melodically from start to finish, and finally ends on a softer, almost defeated-sounding tone.
Lyrics: ‘‘Cause you’re the only one who can boil my blood / And make that shit cut / ‘Cause you know that I’m always yours, I’m so in love / A punch to the gut’’
- think later
Not only is the title track the perfect concert opener, it also encapsulates the entire concept for this album: living life in the moment in your 20s and thinking about the consequences later. Also for all the Bostoners out there, ‘‘think later’’ makes sure to give Boston a special shoutout—‘‘Met you at a night out in Boston’’
Lyrics: ‘‘My friends got scared, and they called the cops / But I’m just at the Ritz with the door locked / Live now, think later, I do it so well’’
- guilty conscience
This is one of those songs that you can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t a single and got its own music video. A very classic Tate Mcrae number (both lyrically and also sound and choreo wise), the song is about recklessly wanting the wrong person, ignoring the red flags and accepting the guilty conscience that’ll come with that choice (in a fun way).
Lyrics: ‘‘I’ll be wanting you back ’til the cops stop calling / Waist-deep in the mess you started / ‘Cause I need you, darling / Is that wrong?’’
- want that too
Sadly not part of the tour setlist, ‘‘want that too’’ reflects on a past relationship that constantly comes out of the blue just when Mcrae pulls herself together, only to take away all the better parts of her.
Lyrics: ‘‘Taking all the better parts of me is all you ever do / Now, the second I found something good / I know that, you’re gonna want that, too’’
- plastic palm trees
A bittersweet album closer, ‘‘plastic palm trees’’ describes Mcrae coming to terms with the true reality of her ‘‘dream life’’ and noticing some parts to be fake. The lyrics metaphorically compare Mcrae’s own experience in LA to being fooled by the beautiful palm trees only to look closer and realize they’ve been plastic all along.
Lyrics: ‘‘In the mirror really looked like I was happy / Caught in a dream ’til something in my head said / I’m sorry / You were just lookin’ at plastic palm trees’’