--- --- Oct 31, 2025 # Tate McRae on 'Freaking Out' Over Taylor Swift’s Shout-Out and Her Five-Hour Dinner With Dakota Johnson ## Video: Tate McRae On Taylor Swift Giving Her New Single A Shout Out [Watch (HLS stream): Tate McRae On Taylor Swift Giving Her New Single A Shout Out](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GDKrShqF.m3u8) (0:32)  _Published 2025-10-31_ by [Olivia B. Waxman](/author/olivia-b-waxman/) ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer  Tate McRae attends Time100 Next at Current at Chelsea Piers in New York City, on Oct. 30, 2025. Tate McRae attends Time100 Next at Current at Chelsea Piers in New York City, on Oct. 30, 2025.Taylor Hill—WireImage/Getty Images At the 2025 TIME100 Next Gala on Oct. 30 in New York City, pop star Tate McRae, 22, was still glowing about Taylor Swift giving her a shoutout on _The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon_ recently_._ Swift appeared on the Oct. 6 episode to promote her latest album _The Life of a Showgirl,_ and when asked what she’s been listening to lately, she said McRae’s “Tit for Tat” on repeat. “I was freaking out, I was like FaceTiming my friends being like ‘this is the craziest moment ever,’” McRae told TIME editor Olivia-Anne Cleary on the red carpet, describing herself as a “massive” Swiftie. McRae performed “Tit for Tat” at the TIME gala, along with her other hit “Revolving Door.” The dancer-turned-songwriter has been having a banner year. Her 2025 album _So Close to What_ became her first album to [debut](https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/tate-mcrae-so-close-to-what-debuts-number-one-billboard-200-chart-1235913002/ "undefined") at No. 1\. And she boasts more than 13.4 million TikTok followers. As TIME [explained](https://time.com/7321459/tate-mcrae-interview-time100-next/ "undefined") her enduring appeal: “In a pop economy without a monoculture, McRae has engineered momentum that doesn’t depend on a single omnipresent hit. It stacks—venue by venue, post by post—into staying power, grounded in an unusually direct connection to her fans (affectionately nicknamed ‘Tater Tots’).” Actor Dakota Johnson penned a [tribute](https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/tate-mcrae-so-close-to-what-debuts-number-one-billboard-200-chart-1235913002/ "undefined") to McRae for the 2025 TIME100 Next, teasing that she taught her how to dance. “She is wild yet precise,” Johnson wrote. “Tate is magnetic. I can’t wait to watch her artistry unfold and evolve while she sinks further into the DNA of pop music. Thank God I taught her how to do the splits.” Speaking at TIME100 Next, McRae praised Johnson and the friendship they share. “I just absolutely adore Dakota. She is one of the coolest, most genuine, incredible people. We actually had dinner one time in Rome, and it was the best dinner ever,” McRae said. “We sat there for five hours, she put crystals on my neck, it was so cute and awesome.” _The TIME100 Next Gala was presented by Rolex, Toyota, General Catalyst, Project Management Institute, Meta, Smirnoff, and The Spark Collective._ Tate McRae on 'Freaking Out' Over Taylor Swift’s Shout-Out and Her Five-Hour Dinner With Dakota Johnson ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-gala-2025/7327398/tate-mcrae-taylor-swift-dakota-johnson-friendship-time100-next/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-gala-2025/7327398/tate-mcrae-taylor-swift-dakota-johnson-friendship-time100-next/"},"headline":"Tate McRae on 'Freaking Out' Over Taylor Swift’s Shout-Out","datePublished":"2025-10-31T04:19:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T01:02:06.304Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-gala-2025/7327398/tate-mcrae-taylor-swift-dakota-johnson-friendship-time100-next/","keywords":["TIME 100 Next","sponsorshipblock"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt630287eba4917a60/6998cb5625f3eea94964526c/tate-t-100-next.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. Waxman","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/"}],"creator":"Olivia B. Waxman","articleSection":"TIME100","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt630287eba4917a60/6998cb5625f3eea94964526c/tate-t-100-next.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/time100/","name":"TIME100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-100-next/","name":"TIME 100 Next"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-gala-2025/7327398/tate-mcrae-taylor-swift-dakota-johnson-friendship-time100-next/","name":"Tate McRae on 'Freaking Out' Over Taylor Swift’s Shout-Out"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tate McRae On Taylor Swift Giving Her New Single A Shout Out","description":"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/GDKrShqF/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2025-10-31T01:28:47.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/GDKrShqF.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-gala-2025/7327398/tate-mcrae-taylor-swift-dakota-johnson-friendship-time100-next/","duration":"PT32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-gala-2025/7327398/tate-mcrae-taylor-swift-dakota-johnson-friendship-time100-next/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```