Tate McRae Calls Britney Spears Comparisons ‘Flattering and Scary’

Tate McRae has mixed feelings about being compared to Britney Spears. 

The singer, 21, opened up about being compared to the pop icon, 43, in a recent interview with The Independent, timed to the release of her third studio album, So Close to What, which debuted on Friday, Feb. 21.

McRae said that she finds the comparison to a young Spears to be “flattering and scary.”

“It’s such a crazy statement because no one can compare to Britney Spears,” she continued. “It’s like comparing someone to Michael Jackson! That’s the blueprint!”

McRae, also a professional dancer, competed on So You Think You Can Dance when she was only 13 and finished in third place. Shortly after, the Canadian star began sharing her music on YouTube. She has since accumulated five Billboard Hot 100 singles and made her debut on Saturday Night Live in 2023.

The “Sports Car” singer told PEOPLE in an exclusive interview in 2023 that the music video for her single “Exes” drew choreography inspiration from Spears and Christina Aguilera.

“We were obviously taking inspiration from the greats, like Britney and Christina, and really wanted to just do a full dance music video,” McRae said at the time. “I’ve been dreaming of doing a dance music video with full choreography — dance being the most prominent thing in the music video — for so long. So that definitely referenced some of my biggest idols.”

At the time, the performer told PEOPLE that the comparisons to the “Toxic” singer are “obviously an honor.” She added, “I mean, Britney’s the queen. People are going to compare newer artists to things that have happened in the past, so obviously it’s very cool to hear comments like that.”

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McRae’s latest album was leaked online before its planned release. The singer addressed the incident during an album listening event with Spotify at The Living Room in Los Angeles on Feb. 18, saying she felt “devastated” to learn some of her songs had surfaced online ahead of the release.

“Unfortunately, a lot of the album got leaked, which was a f—ing bummer,” she said. “And I think obviously that makes you look at the project differently.”

She continued: “I was just so devastated because I’m like, ‘There’s nothing I can do about this. The whole project is online.’ ” She added that she decided to “write a couple more songs” in order to “grab as much control back as I could in that kind of situation.”

McRae is set to return to SNL on March 1.