“Don’t Be Sad” by Tate McRae is a powerful alternative/electro pop track about expressing authentic feelings rather than being forced to put on a happy face. Tate’s soulful mainstream vocals are tastefully woven with a heavy deep synth bass, giving the whole song an alluring darker sound. The track starts with a vocoder-type intro and simple piano descending pattern, building with dramatic percussion into an electro chorus, which then moves into a hook with vocal effects and the catchy “you’re my special” hook. It is clear through the performance of Tate McRae in the accompanying music video for “Don’t Be Sad” that she is an incredibly talented recording artist. Even though the video has a minimal approach that mostly shows her singing, her facial expressions alone represent the storyline as she speaks from her heart and surely captivate the audience from the get go.
“Don’t Be Sad” was written by Tate, Lars Principato (Dua Lipa, Halsey) and Jeremy Dussolliet (Anthony Ramos). This songwriting team is, in my opinion, very strong because the track has the edgy quality of the aforementioned artists, while also showcasing Tate’s unique songwriting abilities. The production is of pristine quality and extremely polished. Signed to RCA Records Label, the rising star Tate McRae was nominated earlier this month for an MTV Video Music Award for Push Best New Artist. Her last single “You Broke Me First” has over 90 million streams worldwide and continues to receive top tier pop play listing, which includes Spotify’s Today’s Top Hits and Apple’s A-List Pop.
I had a chance to check out her other videos, and Tate McRae is also an accomplished dancer, which really adds an extra layer to her singing/songwriting and certainly deems her as a triple threat. It is no surprise that YouTube has named her the next Artist On The Rise. She has recently debuted her EP All The Things I Never Said in January, which took her on a completely sold out tour through New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, London, Berlin, and Amsterdam. Her hype has been growing alongside with press attention from major outlets such as Billboard, Fader, Young Hollywood, ET and more. All in all, TheInterns.net said it well when they claimed she is “going to be one of the hottest names in music”, and she is definitely an artist to watch for in 2020. If you like what you hear of Tate McRae, be sure to vote for her MTV nomination at mtv.com/vma/vote, where fans can vote daily.
