Calgary singer Tate McRae says 'I'm Canada down' after backlash over Team USA ad

National Post
Tate McRae in an image from the new ad from NBC.

Calgary-born singer Tate McRae would like “y’all” to know she’s “Canada down,” after starring in an ad for NBC that hypes both the U.S. winter Olympics team and the upcoming Super Bowl.

The ad, posted to the pop singer’s Instagram page , shows her apparently lost in the Italian Alps and asking a friendly owl for help. “I’m nobody,” she tells the bird. “Nobody’s Girl that is,” she adds with a wink, referencing the lead single from her latest studio album.

“I’m trying to get to Milan for an amazing opening ceremony and meet Team U.S.A.,” she continues, over footage of the Olympics. “And it’s the weekend with America’s best skating for gold, and Lindsey Vonn’s epic comeback . Then it’s back to the States for the big game, Super Bowl 60.”

The backlash to her Olympics ad has been swift. Comments to an Instagram post on the topic from AnywhereVancouver included memes of famous Canadians — Catherine O’Hara saying “Absolutely not”; Dan Levy saying “Don’t do that” — and remarks that tied her decision to Alberta separatist feelings.

McRae has responded to the backlash by posting an image of her as a child waving a Canadian flag, with the caption: “…y’all know I’m Canada down.”

McRae, who was born on Canada Day in 2003, said during a concert soundcheck last June that “Canada doesn’t feel like home any more, which is weird.” She added: “Calgary, where I’m from, feels a little less homey than L.A.”

A TIME magazine profile of the singer from last year notes that as a child she spend three years in Oman, where her father worked as an oil and gas attorney, before moving back to Calgary at age 8 and enrolling at the School of Alberta Ballet.

“We were a very competitive family,” McRae told the magazine. “My brother played hockey. My dad was watching my brother’s hockey games (while) my mom was watching me in the studio.”

She moved to Los Angeles in 2021. The profile remarks: “While it took a few years for McRae to settle into L.A., by now she’s visibly at home amid her surroundings. Even the cafe waitstaff greet her like an old friend.”

McRae is not the first foreigner to be recruited by the U.S. Olympics. Two months ago, British-born singer Dua Lipa caused a similar stir when she appeared in an NBC ad touting the “incredible women” of the U.S. Olympic team. However, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper argued from the other side , saying that her ad “may cause controversy among Americans given Great Britain will be their rivals in Italy.”

Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.

nationalpost.com