Before she was the "Greedy" pop powerhouse or the hockey-chic superstar selling out arenas, Tate McRae was just a teenager in a bedroom in Calgary. She had a keyboard and a lot of feelings she didn't know how to say out loud. Honestly, that’s where the magic started. Long before the slick choreography and the high-fashion music videos, there was all the things i never said, her debut EP that basically laid the blueprint for everything she is now.
It’s weird to think back to January 2020. The world was about to change, and a 16-year-old was dropping a five-track project that felt less like a commercial release and more like a leaked diary. If you’ve been following her since the "Create with Tate" YouTube days, you know that transition from dancer to singer wasn't just a career pivot—it was a necessity. She needed a place to put the "pent-up, ugly feelings" she couldn't express through movement alone.
The Raw Sound of All The Things I Never Said
Most debut projects are a bit of a mess. Artists are usually trying on different sounds like they’re in a dressing room at the mall. But with all the things i never said, Tate already had a "vibe." It was moody. It was whispery. It was deeply, uncomfortably relatable.
The tracklist is short but hits like a truck:
- Stupid
- all my friends are fake
- that way
- tear myself apart
- happy face
Take "Stupid," for example. It’s got that silky, R&B-influenced beat that keeps you moving while she’s singing about an attachment to someone who’s clearly toxic. You've been there. We've all been there. It actually interpolates Bebe Rexha’s "I’m a Mess," which itself nods to Meredith Brooks’ "Bitch." It’s like a lineage of "difficult" women in pop, and Tate stepped right into that line at 16.
Then there’s "tear myself apart." This one is a big deal because it was co-written by Billie Eilish and Finneas. At the time, everyone was comparing Tate to Billie—the baggy clothes, the soft vocals, the "sad girl" aesthetic. Having the O’Connell siblings actually pen a track for her felt like a passing of the torch, or at least a massive seal of approval. The lyrics are brutal: "No concern for what you've burned / You set yourself ablaze." It’s a lot for a teenager to carry, but she pulled it off with this nonchalant, heavy-lidded stare that basically said, "Yeah, I'm 16 and I'm heartbroken. What about it?"
Why "that way" is the Secret Star
If you ask a casual fan about this EP, they might mention "Stupid." But if you ask a die-hard? They’re going to talk about "that way."
This song is the ultimate "friends-to-lovers-but-it's-complicated" anthem. It’s built on this simple, haunting piano line that feels like it’s echoing in an empty hallway. It’s about that excruciating middle ground where you’re more than friends but not quite "a thing." Tate’s voice is so fragile here, and it’s one of the few tracks on the EP that doesn't rely on heavy post-production. It’s just her and the truth.
The Shift From Dancer to Pop Star
People forget that Tate was already "famous" before she ever picked up a microphone. She was the first Canadian finalist on So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation, placing third at just 13 years old. She was a technical beast. But being a dancer means being a vessel for someone else’s choreography and someone else's music.
With all the things i never said, she took the wheel. She co-wrote four of the five tracks. She told Apple Music back then that she doesn't "open up quickly to people," so songwriting became her bridge. It’s funny because now we see her doing these insane, high-octane dance breaks during "Exes" or "Greedy," but this EP was the moment she proved she didn't need the dancing to be interesting. The words were enough.
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Navigating the 2020 Launch
The timing was... interesting. The EP dropped on January 24, 2020. A few weeks later, the world shut down.
While other artists were struggling to figure out how to promote music without touring, Tate’s brand was already built for the bedroom. She was the girl who started on a webcam. She knew how to connect through a screen. all the things i never said didn't just fade away; it grew. It peaked at number 16 on the US Heatseekers chart and spent weeks on the Canadian charts. It was the slow-burn success that set the stage for "you broke me first," which would arrive just a few months later and change her life forever.
What Most People Get Wrong About This Era
There’s a misconception that Tate was "manufactured" into a sad girl because that’s what was trending in 2019-2020. Honestly, if you look at her "Create with Tate" videos from 2017, the DNA is exactly the same. She’s always had this slightly raspy, "alt-pop" edge.
Critics at the time were a bit divided. Some thought the production was a little too "snare-heavy" or that she sounded too much like Alec Benjamin or Billie Eilish. But looking back from 2026, you can see those weren't imitations—they were the sounds of a kid finding her footing in a genre that was shifting toward emotional transparency.
The Evolution of the Lyrics
In her later albums like Think Later or So Close to What, Tate sounds more confident. She's "oozing with attitude," as some reviewers put it. But in all the things i never said, she’s vulnerable in a way that’s hard to fake. In "happy face," she sings about putting on a mask just to get through the day. It’s a theme she’s returned to, but it never felt as raw as it did on this debut.
Actionable Steps for New Fans
If you've only heard the radio hits and want to actually understand why Tate McRae has such a loyal fanbase, you need to go back to the start.
- Listen to the EP in order. It’s only 15 minutes long. Don't shuffle it. The transition from the frustration of "Stupid" to the fake-it-till-you-make-it energy of "happy face" tells a story.
- Watch the original "One Day" video. It’s not on the EP, but it’s the song that got her signed to RCA. It’s the context you need to understand the "bedroom pop" roots of the project.
- Check out the live "stripped" versions. Tate’s voice is often layered with effects in the studio, but her live acoustic performances of "that way" show the actual range she’s working with.
- Compare it to her 2025 work. Listen to "TIT FOR TAT" or "Purple Lace Bra" from her latest album and then go back to the EP. You'll hear the same "diary entry" songwriting style, just with a much bigger budget.
The EP might be several years old now, but it’s still the most "Tate" project she’s ever made. It’s the sound of a girl realizing she has a voice, and more importantly, realizing that people actually want to hear what she has to say.