As die-hard Tate McRae fans, the Deluxe Album, “So Close to What,” was arguably the biggest music highlight of 2025 for us. Announced during Tate’s last show on her Miss Possessive Tour, the album was a complete surprise to many since she never hinted at it previously. She wrote and produced the new tracks while on tour, truly capturing her feelings as she traveled around the country. Each track on her deluxe tells a different part of her story, and here are our honest reactions.
Horseshoe: 6/10
There’s always that one song on an album that’s pretty forgettable. This one seems to take the spot. It’s not a bad song, but it’s not memorable either — especially compared to the stronger tracks on the deluxe album.
The song overall feels underwhelming. Lines like “I got a horseshoe ‘round my neck” are clearly meant to symbolize good luck and protection, but the idea doesn’t really go anywhere. The lyrics feel repetitive and surface level which makes it unclear what the underlying meaning was. We really wish she expanded the message of the song to make it more unforgettable.
The production definitely fits her pop sound, but nothing about it screams “It Girl.” It’s almost like a filler track or something added to round out the deluxe rather than to elevate it. However, if she were to ever play this song on tour, its mid tempo and sing-along quality could easily complement her other stunning concert performances, whether it be playing piano on a rising platform in the middle of the arena or performing high energy choreography on a narrow stage. After all, she is known for her immaculate stage presence and amazing work during her tours.
NOBODY’S GIRL: 7.5/10
If independence had a soundtrack, this would be it. “NOBODY’S GIRL” is basically her saying, “I’m single, I’m thriving… and yeah, sorry, Laroi, you lost me” (shoutout to the Kid Laroi fans). With sass, beats and fire lyrics, McRae serves self-love on a silver platter.
The line “I am nobody’s girl… does it mess you up?”shows her teasing her ex while celebrating that she’s finally free. And when she sings, “And when I ask the angels to sing, they say, ‘Real love doesn’t clip your wings,’” it reflects the messiness of their breakup. She still displays her self-love throughout the song and her priority to herself, which we love so much, showing that freedom and confidence feel way better than clinging to a past relationship.
While the music video was artistic, it was not at all her vibe. There’s a vintage, grainy feel, angel wings, random images of hallucinations and glowing lights, symbolizing freedom. Conceptually, it’s impressive and many fans are calling it her best visual work yet — but honestly, it felt a bit weird and hard to connect with. The visuals don’t really match the essence of the song and were kind of awkward to watch.
If you’re looking for a confident, dance-pop track with poetic, empowering lyrics, “Nobody’s Girl” is worth a listen.
ANYTHING BUT LOVE 8/10
If we’re talking drama, pettiness and amazing music all mixed into one, “Anything But Love” pretty much checks every box. Tate McRae goes off in this song, not hinting, not being subtle, but straight up calling someone out. And yes, you guessed who it was — The Kid Laroi.
What makes this song even better is how fun it sounds. The beat is extremely catchy, mixing pop and rap. It feels similar to the energy of her previous song “exes” in her album “Think Later,” but this time she layers the song with smoother vocals, strings in the background and a rhythm that honestly fits her way more than we expected. The real reason people keep replaying it though, is because of the lyrics.
She goes IN. The line “My fans hate you, my friends hate you, and Ryan hates you, and I do too” basically blew up the internet. She’s clearly saying that once the breakup went down, everyone took her side. She also says, “Say you hate me, but let’s be real, you're only here because you like the drama.” A lot of listeners think this is her calling the Kid Laroi out for turning their breakup into some kind of public competition. It lines up with all the online mess where Laroi denied shading her on social media but still somehow kept getting caught in situations that looked…pretty messy.
What makes all of this even crazier is on her main album, “So Close to What,” she released a whole love song with him called “I Know Love.” They literally made a song and music video about how in love they were—oof. Now the deluxe version has her roasting him in every way possible, calling out his behavior and giving fans all the breakup tea they wanted. And believe us when we say that we are so here for it.
TRYING ON SHOES: 8.5/10
Three minutes and two seconds. That’s how long it took me to fall in love with this song.
“TRYING ON SHOES” starts off with a soft, dreamy quality, instantly setting it apart from the other songs she recently released. We feel like it was an homage to her “Sad Girl Era” that we all know and love, connecting her present life to her past self.
The narrative of the song tackles the almost universal struggle of changing yourself for someone else. We love how Tate has a conversation with herself throughout the song, contrasting her true self with the person that she is trying to be in lyrics like, “I used to idolize you, baby, took a year to reveal it (and the hard truth).”
But not every song is perfect. To be honest, we don't completely understand lyrics like, “Favorite blue, take a pretty picture,” and we feel like they don’t really connect with the overall message of the song. It just seems like Tate threw them in there so that she could rhyme.
Overall, the song takes Tate’s ability to tell a story through music to a whole new level. The whole analogy of “trying on shoes” as changing personalities to see what fits someone else best is so relatable, and that’s why we love this song so much.
TIT FOR TAT: 10/10
Number 1 on U.S. Spotify Daily Top Songs Chart. Number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Number 6 on the Billboard Global 200.
Clearly, people love “TIT FOR TAT,” and we can’t say that we’re any different. The opening lyrics of "Thought I might love you again… Now that you’re acting like that I never will” immediately draw you in. And as always, Tate puts her own spin on it. Her iconic synth beats layer in the background, making the song an instant earworm. It gets stuck in my head so much to the point that I’ve memorized all the lyrics. But in order to truly understand the song, you have to know the history behind it.
To give a quick summary, Tate McRae and The Kid Laroi’s year-long relationship ended in July, and he released “A COLD PLAY", a single about their breakup. On Sept. 5. Tate immediately responded with the iconic single three weeks later.
In “TIT FOR TAT”, she responds to “A COLD PLAY”, but then goes even farther to establish that she will tell her side of the story and stand up for herself, making the song powerful in its own right. Even though the song originated from a messy breakup (The Kid Laroi was totally in the wrong by the way), “TIT FOR TAT” quickly evolved into a timeless melody that perfectly captures one of the most prominent teenage girl canon events.
By the end of the album, McRae clearly shows how much she has grown both emotionally and musically. Each track captures different stages of her break up, confidence and self-realization, which truly makes her songs feel honest and personal. While we admit some aspects of her deluxe songs are off, the authenticity of the music keeps us listening to the album on loop. This era proves to us that McRae is owning her story, and we’re right there with her.
