It's OK I'm OK
"It's OK I'm OK" is a song by Canadian singer Tate McRae. It was released as the lead single from her third studio album So Close to What, on September 12, 2024, through RCA Records. The electronic and pop song with contemporary R&B elements and hip-hop influences was written by McRae, alongside Ryan Tedder, Savan Kotecha and Ilya, with production by the latter. The song was a commercial success, becoming McRae's highest-charting debut on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching the top 20 in various countries including Australia, Canada, Norway, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It became her first number one single on the Billboard Hot Dance/Pop Songs chart. A music video was released in which McRae was edited to appear naked, which garnered widespread media attention. Lyrically, the song sees McRae warning her ex's new lover that she only sees his good side and telling her she can have him regardless.
Background and release
After releasing her second studio album, Think Later, in December 2023, McRae embarked on its supporting concert tour. The album produced "Greedy", which was one of her highest-charting singles. In March 2024, McRae revealed that she had returned to the studio and was "writing and seeing what first comes to mind right now, especially since it's so quickly after my album just dropped". McRae wrote the song "It's OK I'm OK" with Ryan Tedder, Savan Kotecha, and its producer, Ilya Salmanzadeh. The song is about a woman talking about her ex-boyfriend. The narrator is glad that she is no longer in a relationship with her ex, and warns his new girlfriend about him. The song is a moody electronic pop track with hip-hop influences and contemporary R&B elements. Salmanzadeh told Billboard in October 2024, the song was written after its composers asked McRae if she wanted something to drink during sessions at the studio to which McRae replied "it's okay, i'm okay" which Salmanzadeh found catchy.On August 22, 2024, during her performance at Madison Square Garden, McRae premiered the new song as an encore on the tour. It included the lyrics "It's OK. I'm OK. I don't really gotta say. It's OK. You can have him anyway". According to Varietys Lexi Carson, "elements of evoked songs from Britney Spears's 2000 album Oops!... I Did It Again". McRae posted a picture of herself with the song title written on sand in September 2024, stating that "yall aren't readyyy" for it. Her prior collaborator Tedder liked the post. RCA Records released the song as a single on September 12, 2024.
The song's live performance from Madison Square Garden was released exclusively to YouTube on September 18, 2024, and was uploaded to streaming platforms as a single on October 4, 2024.
A digital maxi-single with the original version of the song, an Ian Asher remix of the song, sped up and slowed down versions of the song, and the song's instrumental was released on October 11, 2024.