Tate McRae is taking a note out of Dolly Parton’s book. In an interview with Variety, the pop star revealed that she’s using the country legend as inspiration for her next album.
McRae largely remained mum about what fans can expect from her fourth LP, as it’s in the “see-what-sticks phase,” according to the outlet. But interviewer Steven J. Horowitz did mention that “all she really says about it [the project] is that she flips through a Dolly Parton coffee-table book filled with her lyrics for inspiration and has some of the country legend’s songs on a playlist she calls ‘Bubbly Bubbly Brain Refresh.’” Apparently, what’s not included on that playlist is straightforward pop music, a genre McRae said she avoids while writing and recording, as it leaves her uninspired.
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McRae revealed that she began writing for the project in February, alongside songwriters Amy Allen and Emile Haynie. The pair have written for the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Harry Styles.
As mentioned prior, McRae said she’s working on a mood board for the album. She’s doing so as she flips through Parton’s coffee table book, using the “Jolene” singer’s lyrics as inspiration.
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McRae’s forthcoming LP will follow the February 2025 release of her third album, So Close to What. The month after the album came out, McRae set off on the Miss Possessive Tour.
The trek included 88 tour dates over eight months. It took McRae across the world, from Mexico City to Berlin to Inglewood. The tour took its toll.
“I was so shot after the tour. I couldn’t really sleep at night. I’d seen so much of myself that I was like, ‘I want to go into a black room and not look in a mirror for six months,’” McRae said. “And I think I really had to check myself and be like, ‘You’re not the worst person in the world. You’re not the ugliest person in the world. You haven’t done everything wrong. And, you know, you’re just doing what you love.’”
As she prepares to step into a new phase of her career, McRae admitted that “there’s always thought about how you want your legacy to go down.” Perhaps McRae is inspired by Dolly Parton’s own legacy, which includes a legendary career in country music (and beyond) that has spanned six-plus decades.
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