R U OK (song)

"R U OK" (often stylised in lowercase) is a song by Canadian singer Tate McRae. It was released on December 13, 2020, through RCA Records as the second single from McRae's second extended play, Too Young to Be Sad.[1][2] The song was written by McRae, Bryan Fryzel and Lowell.

"R U OK"
Single by Tate McRae
from the EP Too Young to Be Sad
ReleasedDecember 13, 2020 (2020-12-13)
Length3:00
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Frequency
  • Lovell
Tate McRae singles chronology
"Lie to Me"
(2020)		 "R U OK"
(2020)		 "Rubberband"
(2021)

Background

Tate McRae uploaded a snippet of the song on TikTok a few days prior to its release, describing it as a sequel to her breakthrough 2020 single "You Broke Me First".[3] In the press release for the song she remarked, "‘r u ok' is a song that I never thought I’d write. It has a very sassy and feisty tone, which made it a challenge to dive into that perspective – as I think I’m quite the opposite. I love that in this song there is a lot of emotional meaning behind the lyrics, with very trappy, bright and contrasting production at the same time."[4]

McRae explained that she wrote the song with Lowell "on Zoom with [Lowell's] ukulele, just chilling on [her] bed" at home.[5] She also compared the song to her track "You Broke Me First," describing "R U OK" as "the continued story of it, going into depth about the relationship from a person who's completely moved on."[5]

Critical reception

The song topped Billboard's list of "10 cool new pop songs to get you through the week".[6] It was also featured on Mark Beaumont of The Guardian's list of tracks of the week and was said to give an update to the story told in You Broke Me First.[7] Dork described the song as stunning, calling it an "unstoppable slice of heartbreak pop" and a "hypnotic and smooth new anthem".[8] Alexandra Pollard of The Independent remarked that the song offers "tongue-in-cheek broodiness" and noted that McRae has honed an artistic identity of mood-pop songs.[9]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[10]

  • Frequency – producer
  • Lowell – producer
  • Bryan Fryzel – lyricist
  • Elizabeth Lowell Boland – lyricist
  • Tate McRae – lyricist, associated performer
  • Dave Kutch – mastering engineer
  • Jeff Juliano – mixing engineer
  • David Cook – editor, engineer

Charts
Chart performance for "R U OK"
Chart (2020) Peak
position
New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)[11] 19

Release history
Release dates and formats for "R U OK"
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various December 10, 2020
RCA [10]

References
  1. "Tate McRae Goes For a Stunning New Single 'slower'". Out Now Magazine. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  2. "r u ok – Single by Tate McRae". Apple Music. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  3. "r u ok by Tate McRae on TikTok". TikTok. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  4. Clarke, Patrick (December 11, 2020). "Tate McRae confronts heartbreak on new single 'r u ok'". NME. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  5. Hastings, Hailey (February 24, 2021). "Tate McRae Talks All Things, From Going Viral On TikTok To Her Spot On Forbes 30 Under 30". The Honey POP. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  6. Lipshutz, Jason; Ginsberg, Gab (December 14, 2020). "10 Cool New Pop Songs To Get You Through The Week: Tate McRae, Madison Beer, Victoria Justice & More". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020.
  7. Beaumont, Mark (January 1, 2021). "new tracks Pop and rock Tracks of the week reviewed: Dora Jar, Viagra Boys, Tom Morello". The Guardian. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  8. Muir, Jamie (December 10, 2020). "Tate McRae reveals stunning new pop-bop 'r u ok'". Dork. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  9. "Ones to Watch 2021: The 15 musicians to look out for in the new year". The Independent. December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  10. "Credits / r u ok / Tate McRae – TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  11. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
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