You probably know Tate McRae from her hit single “You Broke Me First,” recorded on her phone back in 2020.
Since then, this 20-year-old Canadian singer, songwriter and dancer has released multiple singles, an album in 2022 (I Used to Think I Could Fly) and now a single that’s creeping its way up the Spotify charts.
It’s called “Greedy,” has more than 1.6 million views on YouTube and has been added to her Spotify collection which boasts over 24.5 million monthly listeners.
It’s about a much-older man hitting on young McRae, her playful flirtation and her not-so-quiet confidence.
McRae’s saving grace here is that she tells this self-assured man flirting with her, that’s he’s twice her age, and that he won’t ever “know much past my name,” no matter how hard he presses her to give in.
But she’s perfectly content to lead him on all night long (I mean, she’s half his age, so we can certainly include the creep factor here).
He tells her that he “wants” her, to which she responds, “I would want myself.”
She assures him that a one-night stand or a relationship with her wouldn’t end well for him (“I’ll put you through hell/Just to know me, yeah, yeah/So sure of yourself/Baby, don’t get greedy”).
The song also comes with profanity, including the s-word.
This track is described by McRae herself as “having the confidence to know what you want.”
But what does that mean in this case?
What McRae wants here is twofold: it’s to have the confidence to flirt with and entertain the desire of a much older man and to deny him all in the same breath.
This is the sort of thing that most people in pop culture would label as “empowering.” Except that it’s not. Sure, McRae doesn’t sleep with this man (according to the song’s lyrics), but she also makes it clear that flirting and enticing are part of the game.
And if you watch the video, which features McRae in a leather bathing suit top while dancing and flipping on a table, you’ll see that the message of this song isn’t as clear as she says it is.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
