How Did ‘Tit for Tat’ Become Tate McRae’s Best-Debuting Song as a Lead Artist?

As great as 2024 was for Tate McRae, 2025 seems by all indications to be an even bigger year for the still-rising pop star. She’s scored her first No. 1s on both the Billboard 200 (February’s So Close to What) and the Billboard Hot 100 (May’s Morgan Wallen-led “What I Want”), while traversing the country’s arenas on the Miss Possessive Tour and setting the VMAs somewhat literally on fire.

Now, she can add another solo smash to her 2025 resumé. “Tit for Tat,” a new standalone McRae single thought to be inspired by her breakup with follow pop hitmaker The Kid LAROI, bows at No. 3 on the Hot 100 this week — her third top five hit on the chart, following “What I Want” and the No. 3-peaking “Greedy” — and marking easily her best debut on the Hot 100 as a lead artist.

How did the song achieve such a mighty debut? And where do we currently rank Tate among the year’s greatest pop stars? Billboard staffers answer these questions and more below.

1. Tate McRae’s “Tit for Tat” debuts at No. 3 on the Hot 100 this week, her best debut and tied for her highest peak as a lead artist. On a scale from 1-10, how big a deal is this bow for McRae?

Katie Atkinson: 10. Considering the established competition she had to leapfrog to debut that high – including her own duet with Morgan Wallen – this is no small feat. It took months for her other biggest solo hit “Greedy” to claw its way to the same rung, so this has to feel like an accomplishment for McRae to now be able to rocket straight to the same high-water mark.

Stephen Daw: This feels like an easy 9 to me. A No. 3 debut, especially up against chart behemoths like “Golden” and “Ordinary,” is the data point to prove that Tate is a capital-P Pop Star. “Tit For Tat” earning this high of a debut shows that neither “Greedy” nor “What I Want” were flukes for making it to the top 10, and that audiences are very clearly buying what she is selling. If I were on Tate’s team, I’d be popping champagne right about now. 

Kyle Denis: I’m going to go with an 8. Sure, she got the No. 1 with her Morgan Wallen duet, but this lofty debut — with a standalone single dropped mid-tour, no less — is a much more convincing example of how Tate’s star has exploded since she first reached the Hot 100’s top 10 with “Greedy.” 

Michael Saponara: I’m going with a 9. I think a No. 3 Hot 100 debut with a solo track shows Tate’s moving up in class when it comes to her hitmaking ability and star power. Coming off a Billboard 200 No. 1 album (So Close to What) and a Hot 100 No. 1 collab with Morgan Wallen (“What I Want”), I feel it was important for Tate to continue capitalizing on the momentum garnered from earlier in the year with another hit of her own. 

Andrew Unterberger: I’ll say a 7 — and the fact that it’s only a 7 shows what an incredible year McRae has had to this point, where a No. 3 Hot 100 solo debut still registers as a breakthrough, but hardly a totally shocking or unforeseeable one.

2. Though “Greedy” had previously peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100, that song took months to reach its ultimate perch. What do you think is the biggest reason “Tit for Tat” has been by far her best-debuting single yet?

Katie Atkinson: It has to be the piping-hot narrative around the song. McRae and The Kid LAROI’s relationship had become increasingly high-profile right up to their July breakup, with Tate’s most recent album (February’s So Close to What) even including the duet “I Know Love” with her then-boyfriend. Things boiled over with LAROI’s “A Cold Play” last month, prompting McRae to work it out in the studio. That was clearly the right play, as she whipped the scathing song up during her ongoing Miss Possessive Tour, providing her a rapt audience for both the music and the tea.

Stephen Daw: While I think there are certainly a lot of mitigating factors that helped Tate (including a headline-making performance at the 2025 VMAs and the continued viral clips from her Miss Possessive Tour), the simple fact of the matter is everyone loves a good diss track. While this very public beef with her ex-boyfriend The Kid LAROI isn’t going to garner as much craze and speculation as the Drake v. Kendrick mania of 2024, it certainly helps that the track is a sharp, well-written and extremely catchy response to LAROI’s “A Cold Play.” If it bleeds, it leads, and Tate is cleaning off her knife as we speak.

Kyle Denis: The key word here is momentum. Between her Billboard 200-topping So Close to What, it’s accompanying 2025 singles (“Sports Car” and “Revolving Door) and successful global arena tour, as well as added buzz from her F1 Soundtrack hit “Just Keep Watching” and the aforementioned Wallen collaboration, Tate has solidified herself as one this year’s defining pop stars. When you add all of this to juicy relationship drama that all but forces listener to pick sides through new singles (“Tit for Tat” and The Kid LAROI’s “A Cold Play”), you’re left with the perfect storm for an eye-popping Hot 100 debut. It all feels quite reminiscent of Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” back in 2018.  

Michael Saponara: It’s the combination of a few things. First, she’s addressing her split from The Kid LAROI and serving up a response to his “A Cold Play,” which fans are going to eat up and spin into plenty of social media chatter. Tate and Ryan Tedder have proven to be a dynamic combination (“Sports Car,” “Greedy,” “Revolving Door,” “Just Keep Watching”) and they’re winning again here with “Tit for Tat.” The timing feels right, with the Canadian superstar in the midst of an arena tour, which has helped keep So Close to What in the zeitgeist following its February arrival. 

Andrew Unterberger: The juice from her LAROI split appears to be the major accelerant here — but honestly, it was probably only a matter of time till McRae scored a hit this immediate regardless.

3. McRae’s singles have shown impressive endurance on the Hot 100, with eight of her songs already spending at least 20 weeks on the chart. Do you think “Tit for Tat” will join that club, or will it recede more quickly after the initial interest wears off?

Katie Atkinson: It’s definitely a mellower beat compared to her dancier breakout solo hits, but I could see pop airplay still being strong for this one – given radio will probably perk up at the song’s high debut. Plus, we love a good real-life drama set to song, even if it’s on the mellow side (see: “Drivers License,” “Flowers” and countless other massive hits).

Stephen Daw: Barring a number of big chart bombs in the weeks to come (cough Taylor cough), I definitely see “Tit For Tat” hanging around the upper half of the chart for the foreseeable future. It’s got a groove and a catchiness similar to long-lasting chart hits like “Sports Car” and “Revolving Door,” so I don’t see why fans wouldn’t keep bumping this bonafide hit well into the winter.

Kyle Denis: I’m already seeing “Tit for Tat” do what several So Close to What singles couldn’t — and that’s convince people who are on-the-fence about Tate as a pop singer and figure. Not only is the song’s narrative grabbing people, so is its catchy hook and even catchier melody. I think the odds are in this song’s favor to enjoy a lengthy stay on the Hot 100. 

Michael Saponara: Oh, this is definitely joining the club. After a staggering nearly 20 million streams compiled in its opening week, I expect “Tit for Tat” to hang around into 2026. “Sports Car” was her last song serviced to radio, and she’s got another hit lined up if her team chooses to do so. 

Andrew Unterberger: Almost certainly, yeah. For anyone not Showgirling 24/7 this week, “Tit for Tat” is the biggest thing moving in pop music, in a way that feels like it might only get bigger from here. The song still doesn’t even have an official video yet!

4. Do you see “Tit for Tat” as the start of a new project/era for Tate McRae, or do you think it’ll mostly end up being a one-off/stopgap single?

Katie Atkinson: I could definitely see it fueling the next era, seeing that her tour wraps in November, which will give her all the time in the world to set her current thoughts to music. Coming off her biggest tour yet and scoring her biggest Hot 100 debut yet, she should be feeling pretty motivated to hit the studio with a vengeance.

Stephen Daw: Much like Chappell Roan’s “The Subway,” “Tit for Tat” feels much more like the end of something than it does the beginning. The moody, R&B baddie energy she’s projecting here fit in with the vibe she created throughout So Close to What, as does the steamy single art, which almost looks like an alternative album cover rendered in photonegative. Especially with Tate still performing the final dates of her tour for this album, “Tit for Tat” reads more as a coda than a prelude. 

Kyle Denis: If anything, the “Tit for Tat” buzz feels like the perfect way to repackage So Close to What into an expanded edition in time for holiday shopping and Grammy voting. Sonically, “Tit for Tat” has a bit more of a trap-pop edge than most of So Close to What, but it doesn’t necessarily feel like the grand announcement of a new musical era. 

Michael Saponara: Nah, I think this was more of a one-off or stopgap type of single to finish out what’s been a banner year, strong. McRae’s shown she can play ball with the other Gen-Z pop girls dominating the charts. Tate said “Tit for Tat” came together in two weeks, and when you catch lightning in a bottle, you might as well give it to the people. I don’t expect much more music from her in the coming months. 

Andrew Unterberger: It feels like a one-off, which is one of the things I really like about it. Great pop stars should always stay loose and limber enough to be able to record and release a new single when the moment calls for it, even if it’s not part of any grander design. Perhaps it’s not surprising that McRae, one of the most physically dextrous pop stars in contemporary top 40, would also demonstrate her capability for release-schedule flexibility here.

5. Where roughly does Tate McRae currently rank for you in the Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 discussion — top five, top 10, honorable mention or not on the list?

Katie Atkinson: I can definitely see her cracking the top 10 for the first time this year. She’s been striving to be a pop contender for years, and this might be the year where she makes the case to be in the big leagues.

Stephen Daw: Prior to this track, I would’ve put Tate amongst the honorable mentions — she had a great year, even if she wasn’t quite working her way onto the overall list. But with “Tit for Tat” earning her such a big debut, I think there’s a good case to be made for Tate making her first ranked entry within the top 10 of our Greatest Pop Stars list.

Kyle Denis: No. 1 album, No. 1 single, a new top five single, a handful of other radio hits, standout VMAs performance, global arena headlining tour, tabloid-dominating relationship…. I don’t see how Tate isn’t in the top five for the Greatest Pop Stars of 2025 discussion.

Michael Saponara: She’s probably around No. 5 for me. Between the No. 1 album, a No. 1 Hot 100 hit, another top-three Hot 100 entry, alongside a sold-out North American arena tour, Tate’s been putting numbers on the boards while blossoming into a full-blown pop star at just 22. She’s done a little bit of everything this year, delivering a show-stealing performance at the VMAs and even serving up a top 40 soundtrack hit for F1 the Album with “Just Keep Watching” over the summer. 

Andrew Unterberger: Top 10 feels like a lock to me, and the fact that top five is even in the conversation is pretty wild.