Songfacts®:

• In "It's OK I'm OK," Tate McRae delivers a self-assured message to her ex-boyfriend's new flame: He's not the prince you think he is, and frankly, she's fine with it. McRae makes it abundantly clear that she's moved on, singing, "It's okay, I'm okay, had him in the first place," which feels less like a dig and more like a gentle reminder that she's been there, done that, and is now enjoying the view from greener pastures.
• The song first emerged during a conversation in 2023 between McRae and hitmakers Savan Kotecha and Ilya (the pair have co-penned many of Ariana Grande's hits, including "No Tears Left to Cry," and "Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored"). As McRae told Rolling Stone's Delisa Shannon, it was born from her casually tossing out, "Oh, it's okay, I'm okay," which led to that light bulb moment of, "That would be a crazy song."
  
  Fast-forward to summer 2024, when McRae polished off the track with help from Ryan Tedder, turning it into a breezy, fun pop anthem. And with the benefit of a little more life experience, McRae felt the song evolve, taking on new meaning.
  
  As she put it, "I'm 21 now, I feel like I have different perspectives so the whole song kind of shifted for me and I saw it in a brand new life that I didn't before."
• In a fun twist, Laroi weighed in on Sillinger's treatment of McRae in his song "Girls," where he sings:
  
  He didn't do right, that's too bad now
• The music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, is a homage to early 2000s pop divas like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, packed with all the outrageous, over-the-top antics you'd hope for from that era. McRae prances through New York City, wreaking gleeful havoc, with choreography courtesy of her close pal and collaborator Sean Bankhead.
  
  "Old Britney, old Christina," McRae said of the video. "It's very campy. Sean absolutely devoured the choreo."
• McRae first performed the song during her Think Later World Tour at NYC's Madison Square Garden on August 22, 2024.
• Tate McRae revealed to Ryan Seacrest that "It's Ok I'm Ok" was partially influenced by an "alter ego" she taps into while on stage. During performances, she embodies a more confident and bolder version of herself, which differs from her off-stage persona. The song was shaped by this duality, with McRae feeling like her alter ego was the one writing the lyrics more than she was.
• Ilya co-wrote "Guilty Conscience" on Tate McRae's 2023 Think Later album, and it wasn't long before they found themselves back in the studio together. "It was a little continuous because she loves writing and being in the studio," Ilya told Billboard. "'It's OK I'm OK' is one of those tracks where we were like, 'Let's just have fun, let's make something weird.'"
  
  "It's OK I'm OK" actually started before Think Later. "She knew it wasn't right for that moment," Ilya said, "but she picked it back up, and we really worked to shape it into the vision she had for it. That, to me, is amazing to see."
  
  The song's chorus, though, came from a more unexpected place. "We were in Sweden writing, and when she's in the studio and so focused, she doesn't want to eat or drink anything. She's just like, 'I need to finish this song now.' Me being the way I am, I'm always like, 'Do you want something to drink? Do you want something to eat?' And she would be like, 'It's OK, I'm OK,' [always] in the same note. And I was just like, 'Wait, that's actually kind of catchy.' And now it's a song. I like it because it came from her - that's how she says it."
• Tate McRae released "It's OK I'm OK" as the lead single from her third album, So Close to What. The album title was inspired by this never-ending feeling of waiting for contentment.
  
  "Just looking in on myself as a 21-year-old girl and feeling like, when is the moment where you feel fully happy or satisfied with yourself? Or when you feel like you've done something?" she told The Independent. "It can feel like an endless loop. You're always working towards something, and you never quite know what it is."