Tate McRae has dropped her first new music in nearly a year, kicking off what will become the era of her as-of-yet untitled fourth studio album. “Housewife” is a pop/dance track crafted alongside her usual team of hitmakers including Julia Michaels and Ryan Tedder.

She’s been teasing this chapter for months now, from dipping her entire body in gold at Lollapalooza a few months back to launching a new fragrance and gearing up for an upcoming performance at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. It’s a full-fledged pop star rollout, complete with the kind of anticipation reserved for the bigger names in music. But beneath all the orchestrated hype, one question remains: is the music even any good? There are layers to this answer.

The actual instrumental of “Housewife” doesn’t contain any direct samples but much like her previous hit “Sports Car” that sounds eerily similar to “Buttons” by the Pussycat Dolls, “Housewife” features a jarringly similar drum and bassline to “Maneater” by Nelly Furtado. For all intents and purposes, the instrumental track itself slaps. Who doesn’t love the Timbaland-style production of the mid-2000s?

The melody of the song is pretty catchy too, and she looks FANTASTIC in the video. All of these elements would make you think that me loving this song is a no-brainer. It has everything a pop music lover could want: a nasty 2000s beat, a catchy melody and she’s serving in the visuals. But, for me, all of that means nothing once her actual singing begins. The beat may sound different from her previous work, but that vocal delivery is just a lot of the same thing that she’s already given us time and time again, and it’s getting boring.

I loved Tate’s last album, So Close To What, and ate up all the performances and videos. It felt like she was heading in the right direction as the artist she was meant to be. My issue with Tate McRae has never been her weaker singing voice. Pop music has never required the biggest stars to sing like Whitney Houston, at least not in 2026 LOL. What it does require is a sense of identity, and that’s where Tate loses me.

Four album cycles into her career and I can’t identify any meaningful artistic evolution. Sure she’s a more polished pop star now, she does choreography and she’s become a bigger celebrity in general…but the music hasn’t evolved. I actually believe her singing voice has a lot of interesting qualities to it that set her apart from her contemporaries. Qualities that she could use to her benefit, but seems hell-bent on not doing so. Instead, she’s mumbling her way through every song. When I heard the chorus of “Housewife” I honestly rolled my eyes and, like, again?! It’s the same breathy, half-spoken delivery that we’ve heard on EVERY other song of hers. And this is coming from a Janet Jackson and Britney Spears stan who adores breathy vocals. You still need to be original with how you execute them, otherwise it gets redundant, like every other singing technique.

I don’t want to hear anymore Britney Spears comparisons because say what you want about Brit’s voice, but she used that thing like an instrument and developed a signature sound that is still cherished and beloved to this day. Britney could (and still can) turn a simple phrase into an instantly recognizable hook. Plus, Britney was dancing some of the most complex and technically difficult dance moves of any pop artist. Tate is basically officiating a Pilates class and calling it choreography. It was cute for a few videos, but it’s time to give us something more than aerobics in a two piece.

For an artist on their FOURTH album cycle, it’s astonishing that one would not be able to distinguish whether the latest single came from her debut album or her current. I was talking to Lainey just last night about this and she pointed out how she didn’t even realize that this was the fourth album cycle. When we take the other pop girlies of her era into account, you can really see how little growth there has been.

Olivia Rodrigo just released her latest project and has established a distinct songwriting identity through those first three albums, evolving into the daisy chains princess she is today. Billie Eilish also only has three official studio albums under her belt, and her latest effort pushed her vocal abilities and sonic ambitions into an exciting new territory. Before yesterday, all three of these artists were in the same point of their career. It’s hard to believe that Tate is actually now further along in her creative journey in terms of albums.

But do I think this song will be a hit? I do. It has the TikTok-friendly formula of a 30-second hook that will grab the attention spans of people scrolling their phones, which in 2026 is all you need for a hit, I guess. And there are tons of fans online who are eating the song up and enjoying it. I’m very happy for them.

Like I said earlier, the track has some redeeming qualities but it means nothing when you can’t sell it to me or make me feel something. Just last winter, I wrote at The Squawk about Tate and the year she had, posing the question whether she will become a main pop girl and outlining just how important the next era of her career would be. If “Housewife” is what she’s going for, then the answer is a hard no.

Maybe it’s the Millennial in me who was spoiled by the artistic ambition of Beyoncé and Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga, but I don’t think expecting growth from a musician is unreasonable. Tate has the talent, industry support, audience and resources to give us something great. She just hasn’t done that this time around. At some point being packaged like a pop icon needs to translate into sounding like one.

Photo credits: David Fisher/Shutterstock

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