Canadian pop princess Tate McRae left a stunning show at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on 23rd May. Opening the night was Auckland-born vocalist BENEE with a cracking setlist followed by Tate performing her smash hits including ‘Sports Car’ and ‘Greedy.’ The sold-out arena saw an unreal headline for Tate’s Miss Possessive World Tour, which is set to continue around Europe this summer.
BENEE
New Zealand singer BENEE warmed up the Scottish crowd with a bunch of her most-streamed pop hits, including TikTok viral tunes ‘Supalonely’ and ‘Glitter.’ BENEE had a playful, quirky energy throughout, and was a great choice as an opening act for this tour.
She also frequently chatted with the crowd, receiving fan-made gifts and waving to people in the audience. She shared that she once lived in Inverness for a short period before returning to New Zealand when she was younger, showing her Scottish roots and connecting with the Glasgow crowd.
BENEE closed her set with unreleased track ‘OTR,’ short for ‘Off The Rails’ which had an addictive, fierce energy with red strobe lighting, before playing her 2023 single ‘Green Honda.’
Tate McRae
The 21-year-old dance pop artist brought her first ever arena tour to Glasgow – starting at 8.50 pm. The set was composed into 5 acts – across an impressive two stages, a catwalk, and raising stage platforms allowing all corners of the arena engage with the artist.
This was Tate’s 3rd ever headline in the Scottish city, having performed at the SWG3 in 2022, and at the O2 Academy only last year. Tate’s success has only sky-rocketed since her first hit single ‘you broke me first’ – one of the most streamed singles by a female artist in 2020. Tate is now onto her 3rd studio album in under 3 years – with ‘So Close To What’ released in February 2025.
Starting off the set in Act One was self-titled tour opener ‘Miss Possessive.’ The track opens with the iconic line “No, but seriously, get your hands off my man” – a voice recording by Sydney Sweeney that quickly became a tour signature by fans. Hit single ‘2 hands’ showcased Tate’s abilities as a dancer in the iconic dance break, with the choreography mirroring visuals in the music video. Tate is not only a vocalist and songwriter, but also a highly skilled performer, having done competitive dancing since the age of 8.
Act Two saw Tate’s most introspective and adult lyrics in album track ‘Purple Lace Bra’ where she calls out the media for the constant sexualisation and ideation of celebrities in pop culture, particularly female artists. When live, the track starts from the main stage with Tate sat on a white chair, accompanied by her dancers. You can see Tate get visibly more frustrated as the lyrics progress: “Did my purple lace bra get your attention?” as she questions her place within the music industry and as a growing female artist.
Although this is a direct reference to the visuals in ‘It’s Ok I’m Ok,’ the track is also a plea to change the way we think about people’s bodies – how can a woman feel empowered and confident, whilst not being sexualised by the public? Towards the bridge, Tate moves from the chair to the floor – on her knees whilst singing the lyrics “I’m losing my my head / You only listen when I’m undressed.” The live visuals here show Tate’s desperation and feelings of being misheard – and is definitely a track that needs to be experienced live as well as the studio version.
B-stage
Act Three sees Tate move to the B-stage toward the back of the arena, on a lifted circular platform allowing her to see people seated in the crowd. She performed album tracks ‘Greenlight’ and ‘Nostalgia,’ whilst thinking about her family and how far she has come since the start of her career.
‘Nostalgia’ explores feelings of grief and loss from the previous stages in her life, whilst also growing up and focusing on her future. This was a special one to experience – with the arena holding up torches on their phones.
Tate also performed a medley and chatted with the crowd sat down whilst playing keys and acoustic vocals. This section of the set was dedicated to ‘OG’ fans that knew her older work – with medley songs ‘That Way’ from her first EP in 2020, followed by ‘Chaotic’ and ‘Feel Like Shit’ from her 2022 debut album ‘I Used To Think I Could Fly.’ During this section Tate referred to her first experiences songwriting and playing songs for her old YouTube channel ‘Create With Tate,’ back to her roots.
Revolving Door
Act Four consisted of all the strut-inducing bangers from ‘So Close To What’ and ‘THINK LATER’ – including ‘Exes,’ ‘It’s Ok I’m Ok’ and ‘Revolving Door.’ Tate and her backup dancers moved up and down the catwalk for this section, giving all attendees in the VIP and GA sections a stunning view and plenty of engagement.
‘Revolving Door’ deserves its own review alone, however, witnessing this track live was probably the highlight of the set. In her signature snakeskin bodysuit outfit, McRae starts this track on the main stage, before joining her dancers who rolled luminous LED door frames down the catwalk.
The lyricism in Revolving Door has many interpretations but mainly refers to feeling trapped in an endless cycle: “But I keep coming back like a revolving door / Say I couldn’t want you less, but I just want you more.” The music video mirrors the use of doors as symbolism for the different avenues / decisions you could take in terms of difficult relationships and life hurdles, but also represents each door being a different song from the album. Having this track featured at this point in the set, just before the encore, really felt like a full circle moment for Tate as well as the concert all tying together.
Act Five
The set came to a close in the fifth act, with encore tracks ‘Sports Car’ and ‘Greedy.’ The choreography in ‘Sports Car’ was flawlessly executed, with the crowd vividly excited to see the dance breaks and end verse.
Tate’s Miss Possessive Tour is set to continue across Europe before ending in September in the United States.
You can stream ‘So Close To What’ here:
