Tate McRae says it used to “hurt” to sing “you broke me first,” but now, “it feels so empowering”Tate McRae says it used to “hurt” to sing “you broke me first,” but now, “it feels so empowering”

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Tate McRae just launched a new headlining tour, and of course, she’s performing her breakthrough hit, “you broke me first.” But Tate says it’s a very different experience for her to sing that song now, compared to when she first wrote it.

“I mean, when I first wrote it, it definitely was more of a sad song to me, like it definitely hurt to sing,” Tate tells ABC Audio. “Because I remember being like, ‘Ugghhh.’ I still feel icky about certain situations. And now, it, like, literally feels so empowering.”

“And, y’know…I heard a story of someone, seeing someone in their car literally just screaming this [song] with all the windows down by themselves at like 12:00 in the morning,” she adds. “I really have seen the impact of how empower[ed] people can be when they listen to this song.”

“It’s taking control of a situation and moving on for the better, rather than, like, diminishing yourself in a relationship,” Tate says of the song’s theme. “Which makes me so happy because…I wasn’t like, ‘I’m gonna make a song about girl power!’ It’s not how I wrote it, but I’m so happy that it actually turned out that way!”

Tonight, Tate performs in Santa Ana, CA. The tour is set to run through April 16; next week, GAYLE will join the tour as a special guest on a handful of shows. 

Tate is also up for two awards at the Junos, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys, which take place May 15 in Toronto, CA. This fall, she’ll open for Shawn Mendes on his Wonder tour.

Tate, whose current single is “she’s all i wanna be,” will release her debut album this spring.

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