Pop star Tate McRae has revealed that country music icon Dolly Parton is a key source of inspiration for her upcoming fourth studio album, currently in its early "see-what-sticks" stage. Speaking to Variety, McRae said she flips through a Dolly Parton coffee-table book of lyrics for creative inspiration and includes several of Parton's songs on a playlist she calls "Bubbly Bubbly Brain Refresh," while deliberately avoiding straightforward pop music, which she says leaves her uninspired while writing.

McRae began writing the new record in February alongside songwriters Amy Allen and Emile Haynie, both known for their work with artists such as Sabrina Carpenter and Harry Styles. The album follows her third LP, So Close to What, released in February 2025, and the subsequent Miss Possessive Tour, an 88-date, eight-month trek spanning cities from Mexico City to Berlin. McRae admitted the tour left her exhausted and prompted some soul-searching, and she says she is now thinking carefully about her artistic legacy as she moves into this next creative phase.