I Used to Think I Could Fly

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## ***i used to think i could fly***Studio album by Tate McRae

* Animated
* Static

### Producer(s)

Alexander 23, Blake Harnage, Blake Slatkin, Charlie Handsome, Charlie Puth, David Cook, FINNEAS, Greg Kurstin, Jackson Foote, Jasper Harris, KBeaZy, Kyle Stemberger, Louis Bell, Russell Chell, Styalz Fuego

## Singles

1. "feel like shit"
Released: November 11, 2021
2. "she's all i wanna be"
Released: February 4, 2022
3. "chaotic"
Released: March 25, 2022
4. "what would you do?"
Released: May 13, 2022

***I Used to Think I Could Fly*** (stylized in all lowercase, commonly abbreviated as "**IUTTICF**") is the debut studio album by Canadian singer and songwriter Tate McRae, released on May 27, 2022, through RCA Records. It was preceded by the singles "Feel Like Shit", "She's All I Wanna Be", "Chaotic" and "What Would You Do?". McRae embarked on a tour in support of the album in June 2022. The album was met with positive reviews from music critics, and saw commercial success, entering the top 10 in various countries, while debuting at number thirteen on the US *Billboard 200*.

## Background

McRae told *NME* in 2021 that she analysed the "structures" of albums like Frank Ocean's *Blonde* (2016), Billie Eilish's *When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?* (2019) and *After Hours* by the Weeknd (2020) as possible inspirations for the structure of her upcoming album. She explained to *People* in February 2022 that a number of her songs were "just [her] diary entries" and that when she has "ugly feelings" she writes them down.

McRae announced that she had finalized the track listing for the album and submitted it to her label on March 8, 2022.. She revealed the title and cover on April 1, 2022. After the album was originally set to have 12 tracks, McRae confirmed the inclusion of the track "What's Your Problem?" when the official track list was announced on April 11, 2022, bringing the total number of tracks up to 13.

## Critical reception

*I Used to Think I Could Fly* received generally positive reviews from critics, praising the production, lyrical content, McRae's vocal performance and maturity in content. Ims Taylor of *DIY* wrote that McRae "pulls out all the emotional stops" on the album, calling her "confiding her deepest feelings in us [...] comfortingly universal". Taylor further complimented McRae's "lush" vocals and concluded that her "arsenal of jagged pop weapons is extensive, and can be expertly wielded when she wants". John Amen wrote in *The Line of Best Fit* that "While McRae’s previous outings may have been more complexly assembled, her new songs are more immediately accessible." He went on to conclude, "The new album is, in essence, McRae’s first major step in forging a distinct pop presence." Writing for *The Independent*, Roisin O'Connor found there to be "angst aplenty" on the album, stating that McRae "trades in the R&B and pop punk sounds that were prevalent in the Noughties" while "emulating the hard-hitting lyrical truths of her Gen-Z peers, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo". O'Connor felt that McRae "sings like she's falling apart, but the quality of the album suggests she's got it together".

## Track listing

### Notes

* All song titles are stylized in lowercase
* On some versions of the album, "What's Your Problem?" is excluded from the tracklist.
* "Don't Come Back" interpolates "Ride with Me" (2001) performed by Nelly.

### Outtakes

* "Tragic"
* "Wicked"
* "Remedy"

## Personnel

**Musicians**

* Tate McRae – lead vocals
* Alexander 23 – background vocals, drums, guitar (4, 9); synthesizer (4); bass, keyboards, percussion, programming (9)
* Greg Kurstin – bass, drums, keyboards, piano, synthesizer (5, 8); guitar (8)
* Sean Kennedy – guitar (9)
* David Cook – background vocals (13)

**Technical**

* Dave Kutch – mastering
* David Cook – mixing (1, 11), engineering (5, 8, 10, 11), engineering assistance (9, 12)
* Denis Kosiak – mixing (2)
* Jon Castelli – mixing (3, 4, 6)
* Mark Stent – mixing (5, 8)
* Clint Gibbs – mixing (6)
* Jeff Juliano – mixing (9, 11–13)
* Manny Marroquin – mixing (10)
* Henrique Andrade – engineering (2)
* James Keeley – engineering (2)
* Greg Kurstin – engineering (5, 8)
* Julian Burg – engineering (5, 8)
* Joey Raia – engineering (8)
* Daniel Cullen – engineering assistance (2)
* Ingmar Carlson – engineering assistance (3, 4, 6)
* Ryan Nasci – engineering assistance (3, 4, 6)
* Matt Wolach – engineering assistance (5, 8)
* Eric Kirkland – engineering assistance (9, 12)
* Chris Galland – engineering assistance (10)
* Jeremie Inhaber – engineering assistance (10)
* Robin Florent – engineering assistance (10)

## References

1. ↑ Twitter - i just handed in the official track list for my album oh my
2. ↑ Twitter - THE TRACKLIST WHAT THE FUK ITS HERE

## Navigation

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