I stumbled into Margret Court Arena to a sea of young girls in oversized football jerseys and short shorts.
Some were giggling in excitement; others singing Greedy to hype up for the show; others making TikToks to show off their Tate-inspired co-ordinated outfits.
Tate McRae is for the girls, I thought, as I climbed to my seat. Tate McRae has become nothing short of an icon amongst the Gen Z crowd through her contemporary sad girl/2000s diva approach to the pop genre.
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Starting her singer-songwriter career in middle school on YouTube, it is obvious that Tate is a natural-born performer. Her live performances are compared to that of Brittney Spears and Sabrina Carpenter, so I was interested if she would live up to the hype.
She sashayed on stage as her luscious bronde hair majestically trailed behind her. Her stage presence is mesmerising; she exudes this seductive confidence in how she carries her body on stage and really makes the show captivating from start to finish.
However what really made the show a standout was the intricate choreography. The backup dancers perfectly complimented Tate’s movements as every song had meticulous dance routines – hair-ography included.
The backups all became one entity as their white tank tops moved in synchronicity behind Tate. With a background in dance herself, she effortlessly mirrored their dance movements without even stopping to breathe. What is most impressive, though, was her ability to maintain her vocals with such gusto.
The crowd roared every single lyric. Crowd favourites include Exes and She’s All I Wanna Be. You best believe I was screaming “Oh I’m sorry, sorry, that you love me” whilst swaying my hips Macrae style. The raspiness of her voice combined with the rawness of her lyrics make her performance very grounded and authentic, but she maintained a refined professionalism throughout the meticulous choreography.
She popped up on a smaller stage in her song Uh Oh to be more intimate with the audience and it all felt very surreal. It felt as if I could touch her as her body glowed from the overhead lighting.
The performance took a more heartfelt turn as she talked to the audience of struggling to accept a heartbreak before transitioning to her songs like One Day and Felt Like Shit. Tate has an unbelievable talent for being emotionally vulnerable on stage, which is what makes her stand out from your regular pop artist.
She ended with her most popular song Greedy after the encore, followed by a downpour of confetti to finish. I left the arena in awe – it’s safe to say I am a Tate fanatic now.
You can’t spell Tate without ate and she really ate this performance UP! No crumbs. One moment I laughed, the next I cried. There is a reason she is so popular in the pop zeitgeist, and she is just getting started.
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