Tate McRae Says She Pushes Through Stage Fright by Picturing Michael Jackson Beside Her

Tate McRae has a Billboard 200 No. 1 album, a fragrance, and a festival set where she painted herself completely gold, but she still gets nervous before every performance. In a new W magazine interview, she said she sometimes pictures Michael Jackson standing beside her until the stage fright fades. The goal is not to channel him, just to have someone in the room, which might be the most honest description of pre-show anxiety any pop star has given.

She also opened up about her spiritual side, describing her mother as a witch and saying she is one too. According to McRae, she usually blacks out on stage but feels like something comes through her while she performs. Whether you read that as mystical or just a performer going fully into the zone, it adds a layer to those gold-paint Lollapalooza clips that had everyone talking earlier this year.

Here is the part with a deadline attached. McRae’s new single“Housewife”arrives Thursday, Oct. 15, her first release since So Close To What debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. She has also been doing the rounds on late night, including a stop with Jimmy Fallon, so the momentum is not slowing down anytime soon. If the new track follows the same trajectory, Thursday is going to be loud online.

What is your own pre-show ritual when you get nervous? Do you have a visualization trick, a lucky song, or a person you picture in the room? Tell us in the comments.