Tate McRae is truly THAT pop star. There’s no one doing it like her right now, and it’s clear that the Canadian chart topper is dancing in her own lane. Currently Down Under for a sold out Australian tour, she took over Hordern Pavilion in Sydney for two nights of pure pop magic as a part of her “Think Later World Tour”.  

With flashing LED screens and lights, and accompanied by a troupe of dancers, Tate opened the show with “think later” and “hurt my feelings”. Excitedly exclaiming “I’m so excited to be back in Australia. I tell everywhere else that this is my favourite crowd. So you better show that”, it’s safe to say that the Sydney audience didn’t let her down. “uh oh”, “feel like shit”, “messier” and “cut my hair” were early favourites in the set that unsurprisingly the whole crowd knew every word to. A boxing ring got put in the middle of the stage for “rubber band”, “exes” and my personal favourite  “guilty conscience”, while “we’re not alike” got a very important intro – “There is one thing I hate the most, and that’s a false fucking bitch”. With “she’s all i wanna be”, “you broke me first” and “run for the hills” wrapping up the show, she returned for a very special encore. Premiering her next single “2 hands” live for the first ever time, Sydney was given an extra tasty treat. Closing out the show with “greedy”, she left the audience covered in confetti and with no voice from screaming all night. 

Every song was meticulously choreographed and engineered to the point where I felt like I was watching a compilation of awards show performances. Every song had its own moment, and I can confidently say that every song in the setlist had a reason to be there. With just a drummer and guitarist, they managed to create a fulfilled soundscape that elevated all the songs, and allowed for some great dance breaks. The only song that was a little underwhelming live was “it’s ok I’m ok” because she didn’t actually sing it at all, and instead just danced to it. But at least she’s an incredible dancer, so that made up for that. 

This is the second time in less than a week (cc LANY) that I’ve witnessed a show at Hordern Pavilion that felt like an arena show. You could pick up this exact show and put it in Qudos Bank Arena, and it would stand its own next to the likes of Dua Lipa. The 80 minute show is pure pop magic through and through, and makes me so excited that this new generation has a pop star like Tate. The growth in her production and performance ability since her 2022 tour is impressive, and if she keeps following this trajectory then her next world tour is going to be an unmissable pop event.