It’s been just two days from the release of So Close to What, Tate McRae’s third studio album. She has been teasing the record since early autumn and had fans invested immediately. So what is the performing trend set by the album so far? And what are people saying online?
Besides the singles
Previously, the singer had put out three singles off of So Close to What. They created a cohesive body of music and fans started speculating that the highly anticipated album might be a love one. Upon release though, the narrative changed. This might have happened because back in January the album got leaked so some songs got scraped.
The singer added two features on So Close to What to replace some of the leaked ones. Fans that bought the physical copies of the album can still listen to Better Than I Was and Call My Bluff since they got taken out of the digital version of the album only after sending out the CD and vinyl albums. The added features are bloodonmyhands (feat. Flo Milli) and I Know Love (feat. The Kid LAROI).
With the release of the album, Tate McRae also premiered the newest single of So Close to What, Revolving Door. The song is a catchy bop that comes with an even catchier video. The choreography is really good and Tate got everyone talking with her scorpion to backwards bridge move. And in heels, might we add.
Live release party
The singer took over the parking lot of the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, for a release party for So Close to What. It was an activation-filled event with fans able to request tickets priced at 8 dollars through Ticketmaster. On site they were able to find food trucks, photo booths and freebies from American Express, Neutrogena and Adidas.
The event was also live streamed on TikTok for the people not able to attend in person. It was a full-blown production that hyped fans up even more for the upcoming Miss Possessive tour, kicking off in one month. Tate McRae stunned with perfect vocals, and amazing choreographies in a bedazzled fit.
All the funds from the event are destined to go to FireAid in order to support LA wildfire relief efforts. The singer has been a big advocate for the cause ever since the tragic wildfires took over the hills of the land of dreams.
Debut day numbers
On its first full day, So Close to What gained 31.7 million unfiltered streams on Spotify. This puts the record on the 4th place as the biggest album debut overall in 2025 and the biggest female album debut in 2025 on the platform.
With these numbers, professionals are expecting So Close to What to debut within the top 5 places on Billboard’s Top 100 chart. Out of the 15 songs on the album, 14 are charting. The highest numbers came in for Sports Car, closely followed by the newest single, Revolving Door, and the feature with Kid LAROI, I know Love.
What does the public opinion say?
Fans took to social media to express their love for the record. Everyone was gushing over Revolving Door, pointing out that the song also ties the So Close to What era to the Think Later one with the lyric “I still think ‘bout that night in Boston”.
Of course Dear God got a high level of appreciation as well since the internet has been begging Tate to release it ever since she started teasing the song. The opening track, Miss Possessive, also got lots of love from the fans. It has the catchiest beat out of the album and the lyrics are the ultimate cool girl, confidence boost vibe. Tate also tied her previous album to this one by creating a lyrical parallel between We’re Not Alike (Think Later) and Like I Do (off So Close to What) that both talk about jealousy between girls.
Girls are also gushing over Signs and Means I care that are basically a guide to a girl’s mind when in a relationship. But besides fun beats and bold lyrics, fans also took their time to post about the deeper songs on the album: Purple Lace Bra and Nostalgia. While the first is about what it feels like to be a girl that wants to feel pretty and confident but being overly sexualised by men, the second is a really personal record for the singer. Many people connected with Nostalgia on a profound level because of its beautiful lyrics that hit deep, as it describes perfectly what living in the everlasting past or future limbo is like.
Overall, So Close to What is a grower on the public. It has the catchy beats that make you want to listen to it on repeat but the clever lyricism requires multiple levels of decoding.
Featured image: Instagram.
