Tate McRae’s third album So Close to What is not only filled with bangers—it’s all anyone can talk about on our social feeds. Whether Tater Tots are learning the choreography of her latest single “Revolving Door” or hyper-fixating on Sydney Sweeney’s brief cameo, SC2W has already proven to be one of the biggest album releases this year. The album debuted at the top of Spotify’s global and U.S. albums list and, according to Hits Daily Double, it could land Tate her first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
But with all that success comes a bit of chaos. For starters, the project leaked almost a month before its release. And three days after SC2W officially dropped, Tate swapped the cover for an alternative version. The choice drew mixed reactions from fans, but honestly, this was the general vibe:
On top of ^^^ that, rumors started swirling about the pop star allegedly selling vinyls and CDs with fake signatures. It hasn’t even been a week since the tracks hit streaming platforms, but there’s much to discuss. Let us catch you up to speed on Tate McRae’s So Close to What album drama, from the beginning...
January 16, 2025
So Close to What leaked and started making its rounds around the internet a month before it was set to officially drop.
February 12, 2025
Tate released the official tracklist for the album, including three new tracks that reportedly weren’t on the leaked version. She rocked a “LEAK THIS” graphic tee in her announcement, too... iconic.
February 18, 2025
During an exclusive album listening event with Spotify, Tate opened up about the leak with comedian and podcaster Jake Shane. “Unfortunately, a lot of the album got leaked, which was a fucking bummer,” she said. “And I think obviously that makes you look at the project differently.”
“I was just so devastated because I’m like, ‘There’s nothing I can do about this. The whole project is online,’” she said, adding that she wrote a few more tracks for the project and was disappointed that the leaked versions were actually demos.
“The demo never sounds how you want it to sound. There’s so much missing,” she explained. “And yeah, at that point I was just like, ‘Ah, they’re not done or how I want them.’ And that was hard.”
February 22, 2025
When the album dropped, fans’ signed vinyls, posters, and CDs started being mailed out, and they noticed that Tate’s signature looked different.
Some fans went on Reddit to compare signatures and see which ones were authentic, and this TikTok started making its rounds:
February 23, 2025
Tate held an album signing at Rough Trade in NYC, and photographer Beth Saravo dropped a pic of her signature.
February 24, 2025
Tate dropped a new bonus track, “Siren Sounds”...
...and swapped the original album art for an alternative version, changing the tracklist’s order:
She moved “2 Hands” further down the tracklist and added “Siren Sounds” as a bonus track before “Nostalgia.”
February 25, 2025
In an attempt to garner more streams for the album, fans got to work. They started posting that alternative album covers are unlocked once users stream the entire album front to back on Spotify and Apple Music, but it has since been debunked.
February 26, 2025
A fan shared an email they received from Universal Music Group’s customer service rep after filing a complaint about their signed Tate album.
“The signed artwork associated with ‘So Close to What Signed CD’ is handled directly to reflect Tate McRae’s genuine signature. We work hard to maintain the genuine nature of these items, and please rest assured that your piece is authentic,” the email read in part.
Tate hasn’t publicly commented on the album art switch-ups and signatures.
