“It Was Just About the Song For Me”: Tate McRae Addresses Backlash Over Her Morgan Wallen Collaboration, ‘What I Want’

It might seem strange to be forced to defend the decision to record your first ever No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, but that's the position Tate McRae currently finds herself in.

The Canadian pop phenom is the latest star to grace the cover of Rolling Stone, and during her in-depth interview with the publication, McRae has addressed her contentious collaboration with Morgan Wallen, ‘What I Want’. Appearing on Wallen's fourth album, I'm the Problem, ‘What I Want’ has quickly established itself as one of the most popular tracks from the project, surging to No. 1 straight after its release.

However, because of Wallen's chequered past - including his racial slur controversy in 2021 and his chair-throwing incident in 2024 - many of McRae's fans were quick to criticise the ‘Sports Car’ hitmaker for working with the country titan. At the time, Wallen paid tribute to McRae, donning her a “new age, real deal popstar”.

During her conversation with Rolling Stone, McRae has reflected on that as a learning experience, but underlines that she doesn't regret recording the chart-topping duet with Wallen, “It was just about the song for me. I didn't realize how much a song would be connected to all the other factors, and it really shocked me. I don't think you should regret anything in life, because it gives you so much clarity”.

She expands, “I think controversy and criticism is a way of learning and figuring out what you want to move forward with, and how that shapes you as a person. I think it's all important”.

‘What I Want’ is an infectious, genre-blurring anthem that epitomises the boundary-pushing spirit of I'm the Problem, and sees two of modern music's biggest names joining up for a blockbuster collaboration. We've always loved this earworm, and we're glad to see that McRae doesn't wish she'd steered clear of the song.

We're still yet to hear Wallen and McRae perform their momentous collaboration live, and given how the latter's fans felt about it, we suspect we might never get to.

Even so, McRae continues to tease a more full-blooded foray into the country music world, with the ‘you broke me first’ singer-songwriter having performed with Megan Moroney on a number of occasions. We're keeping our fingers crossed McRae might even be featured on Moroney's eagerly awaited new album, Cloud 9.

For more on Morgan Wallen, see below: