How Tate McRae Scored a Career-Best Debut With ‘So Close To What’

In the current music industry, not many artists are allowed the time and space to grow and develop across multiple projects on the way to the top. But Tate McRae’s rise over the past few years has been an exception.

Since first making waves on the Hot 100 with breakout single “You Broke Me First,” which reached No. 17 in 2020, she’s released a trio of albums that have each climbed higher than the last: 2022’s I Used to Think I Could Fly, which reached No. 13; 2023’s Think Later, which hit No. 4; and, this week, her latest album So Close To What, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 177,000 equivalent album units, by far the biggest week of her career and her first No. 1.

It’s been a steady rise for the Canadian singer, whose 2022 single “Greedy” reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 and who has landed 21 songs on the chart to date. But this project was different. “This wasn’t just about one hit, it was about a superstar artist with an exploding global fan base ready to devour every song on the album top to bottom,” says RCA Records senior vp of commercial partnerships and release planning Jordan Blaugrund. “So it was no surprise to us when nearly the whole album was on the Hot 100 chart after the album was released.”

With So Close To What’s chart-topping debut week, and its contention for a second week atop the chart next week, Blaugrund is Billboard’s Executive of the Week. Here, he explains what went into the rollout of the project and how McRae is able to speak directly to her fans: “Tate has been consistently in front of her fans on tour and online since her last album, so we knew we had an even larger fan base to rally.”

This week, Tate McRae’s So Close To What debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 177,000 equivalent album units, her first No. 1 album. What key decision did you make to help make that happen?

I can’t stress enough how much of a team effort this was. Both at RCA and with Full Stop Management — every department, every person, worked together to elevate this campaign. A lot of us have been working with Tate since before her first album so there’s a ton of passion behind her artist development story that continues to unfold. For So Close To What, we wanted to build on her prior albums with a multifaceted, fan-centric campaign. This started months in advance with incredible music and creative that helped inform the vision we were bringing to life. We knew Tate’s fans were going to be along for the ride, so we got to work creating the ideal release strategy and product offerings to engage them along the way. 

The album also sold 71,000 copies, debuting at No. 1 on the Top Albums Sales chart, her biggest sales week of her career. What was the sales strategy around the album?

I never take for granted that we have amazing support from our streaming partners. They’ve all been with us from day one of her journey and we couldn’t have achieved these results without them. They were our first stop in setting up this album campaign and have so much love for Tate. But we also knew that if we were going to take this album to the next level we wanted to expand into the physical world as well. From the very first conversation we worked to position the direct-to-consumer and retail campaign as a superstar-level global opportunity. We had an incredibly ambitious product assortment, first and foremost centered around Tate’s own artist store that would be a destination for her fans throughout the campaign. Waves of products were launched there including multiple vinyl variants, signed items and other collectible packages. We extended that strategy to our retail partners with IRL activations across the country and exclusive vinyl variants that fans could collect across different stores. 

How did you guys roll this project out differently from her last one, which debuted at No. 4?

Our ambitions were bigger on every level. Tate has been consistently in front of her fans on tour and online since her last album, so we knew we had an even larger fan base to rally. We’ve been focused on building her first party data strategy during that time to be able to activate fans directly. Of course Tate is a master of social media, and that will always be a key channel for her, but being able to complement that with direct fan communication is immensely powerful. 

The last album had her Hot 100 No. 3-peaking smash “Greedy,” but this album blew it out of the water by more than 100,000 units despite not having a hit that big. What work did your team put in to achieve that?

The streaming numbers were impressive from the start and each song released prior to the album was one of the biggest debuts of her career. The cadence of song releases was purposeful to bring the fans along as we built into the album. This wasn’t just about one hit, it was about a superstar artist with an exploding global fan base ready to devour every song on the album top to bottom. So it was no surprise to us when nearly the whole album was on the Hot 100 chart after the album was released.

Her first album hit the top 15; second album hit the top five; and this one hit No. 1. How have you helped build her profile over the years to get to this point?

An incredible team effort with Tate and her management team and a labor of love for everyone at RCA. So many people doing A-plus work across marketing, digital, creative, A&R, commercial, international, release planning, press and more. It’s so much more gratifying to see these results as a team because we did it together. And all this when Tate is only 21 — think about the rare company that puts her in. It’s an unbelievable achievement and this is only the beginning. 

What really moves the needle for an artist in 2025?

Focus on your fans. Have a point of view and a story to tell. Be authentic. Build a collaborative team that supports and challenges you. Stay consistent. And of course, always incredible music and creative. 

Last Week’s Executive: Viña Executive Director Daniel Merino