Tate McRae made sure her fans weren’t greedy for surprises during her concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Thursday. The pop star brought her boyfriend, The Kid LAROI, out during the show, where the pair treated the crowd to a duet. When he took the stage, The Kid LAROI pulled Tate in for a big hug and a kiss, before the duo sang an acoustic version of his 2021 song “Without You.”
According to People, Tate told the crowd it was their “first time singing together.” Sitting on a set of stairs, the couple performed the emotional ballad.
“You cut out a piece of me, and now I bleed internally/ Left here without you,” the lyrics go. “And it hurts for me to think about what life could possibly be like/ Without you, without you.”
Midway through the concert, Tate also debuted a new song. She posted a clip of the moment to her TikTok, writing on the video, “Premiered a new song at my headline sold out MSG show,” alongside an eyes emoji. “Last night was a dream,” she captioned the clip.
She also shared another video of the song to TikTok. “It’s OK, I’m OK, I don’t really gotta say, it’s OK/ You can have him anyway,” Tate sings on the track.
The new song garnered some love from Tate’s bestie Olivia Rodrigo. “so good,” Olivia commented on the TikTok.
A Surprise For the Crowd
Midway through Tate McRae’s sold out Madison Square Garden debut, the singer took a breather from her dance-heavy show, sat down onstage and addressed the crowd. “To play this venue is one of my biggest dreams in the entire world,” she said emotionally. “I know so many of you have been here for so long — since I was 13 years old. I love you guys more than anything and that’s what makes this such a special show to me.”
But MSG is the self-proclaimed “world’s most famous arena,” and artists often have something special in store. A surprise guest had been hinted on social media in the days leading up to the show, and shortly before McRae took the stage, the crowd roared when it recognized rapper Kid Laroi, the singer’s boyfriend, walking toward his seat in a rear center section.
But special guests usually are brought out late in the set, and McRae, sporting an army green two-piece outfit, soared through her performance. She’s been on her “Think Later” tour — named for her recent sophomore album — for much of the year and the poise and experience showed: During the opening song, her microphone slipped out of her hand after the line “I’m just at the Ritz with the door locked” and fell to the floor, but without missing a beat, she grabbed it just in time for the following line, “Live now, think later, I do it so well.”
A Night of Dance and Emotion
The 21-year-old Canadian singer and her dancers rocked through the following series of songs — “Hurt My Feelings,” “What’s Your Problem?,” “Feel Like Shit” and “Uh Oh,” the latter complete with its TikTok-popularized choreography. The “Tater Tots” (her fandom’s name) showed up in force, decked out in “I Heart T8” tour T-shirts and custom hockey jerseys — because not only is McRae a serious hockey fan, in Canada it’s practically treasonous not to be one — belting out the lyrics and trying to emulate McRae’s moves.
The pace slowed down for “Calgary,” McRae’s ode to her hometown, as she explained that even though she now lives in Los Angeles and has her “shit together,” as soon as she goes home, she instantly feels “15 again.”
However, the energy perked back up when McRae burst into “Exes,” dancing in the middle of a mock-boxing ring like the song’s video, which channels Christina Aguilera’s 2002 hit “Dirrty,” and finished with a split. Fans may have noticed that Laroi left the seating area during this song.
Leading next into “We’re Not Alike,” a song about a fake friend, McRae called out Jake Shane —influencer and pilates partner to McRae and Glen Powell — in the crowd, who had a mic in his hand as a spotlight zoomed in on him. “Jake, what do you hate more than anything in the world?,” she asked. He roared in reply, “A fake fucking bitch!”
A Duet and a New Song
And finally, after that song, McRae said, “I was fooling around today in soundcheck and there was someone backstage…” and then asked the crowd if it was OK if she brought out someone to sing with her. Sure enough, Laroi took the stage and the pair sang his hit “Without You,” noting it was the first time they’d ever sung together onstage.
After the main set, McRae returned for an encore of a new track apparently titled “It’s OK, I’m OK” — elements of which evoked songs from Britney Spears’ 2000 album “Oops !…I Did It Again” — before winding down, of course, with her smash single “Greedy.”
It may have been McRae’s first performance at Madison Square Garden, but judging by Thursday’s show, it certainly won’t be the last.
The Next Chapter
It’s an extra-special date night for Tate McRae and The Kid LAROI!
McRae, 21, sported comfy black pants, a sparkly tank top, fluffy pink jacket and a smile as she walked alongside LAROI, 21, who wore a white top, gray jacket and jeans for the outing.
Earlier in the night, the “Greedy” singer surprised her MSG crowd with an appearance from LAROI, and they performed 2018's “Without You” — before sharing a kiss on stage. “I was fooling around today a bit in soundcheck, and there was someone backstage,” she told the crowd. “Would you guys be OK if I brought someone out to sing a song with?”
LAROI then walked out on stage, and McRae noted that the moment marked their “first time singing together.”
After performing the song, the musicians shared a hug and a quick kiss (to cheers from the crowd) before LAROI told her in front of the audience, “I’m so proud of you, and you have so many people in here that love you. I’m one of them.”
The concert marked McRae’s final North American date on her Think Later World Tour, which continues through November with shows throughout Asia and Oceania.
During the MSG show, the “Exes” artist delivered the live debut of a brand-new song, “It’s OK I’m OK.” She later shared a video of the moment to Instagram, writing in the caption, “SOLD OUT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN HEADLINE LETS GOOOOOOO.”
Romance rumors first began swirling around McRae and LAROI in January, before he seemingly confirmed their relationship status by referring to her as his “girlfriend” during a Dublin concert in April.
Earlier this month, McRae celebrated LAROI's 21st birthday with a post on her Instagram Story, writing at the time, “@thekidlaroi i love you soooooo much <3 so grateful for u.”
