Tate McRae Says She's in Her 'Pop Girl Era' as She Drops 'Greedy' — Inspired by an Interaction at the Bar (Exclusive)

The "You Broke Me First" singer also opened up about being a "laid back person" and trusting her intuition

Tate McRae is intentional about who she lets into her life — and she doesn't want men getting "Greedy."

Known for heartbreak anthems like "You Broke Me First" and "She's All I Wanna Be," McRae is ready to expose a different side of herself through her new song "Greedy," inspired by an interaction she had with a man while out. The single and accompanying music video are out now.

"A guy had come up to me at a bar and he was like, 'Oh, you're so mysterious and I feel like I know nothing about you. You keep your cards so close to your chest,'" McRae, 20, recalls of the encounter to PEOPLE. "Then I was thinking, and I'm like, 'Yeah, it takes a lot for me to really open up and get to know someone.' You have to really get close to me."

She adds, "We started writing this really sassy song about the feeling of having utter confidence being like, 'Yeah, it takes a lot to really get me to open up.' And it ended up feeling like this really cool female empowerment song, which I loved."

Related: Tate McRae Announces Debut Album 'i used to think i could fly'

In the sassy track, backed by bouncy dance beats, McRae tells men to not get "greedy" with "how you're coming on to me."

"It's a tongue-in-cheek kind of vibe. I feel like it's my most playful song I've written so far being like, 'Yeah, I would want myself too and don't expect it to come that quick,'" she says playfully.

For McRae, "Greedy" is proof she's not just a "sad girl songwriter" — and her "craving" for pop music and dancing has manifested into reality.

"I'm in my pop girl era," she says. "I feel like I have this persona sometimes on the internet of being this sad girl songwriter. And I think obviously that's one side of me that's so sensitive and emotional and it's my outlet, is writing."

The "Chaotic" singer adds, "But then there's also this whole other side of my personality that so many people don't know until they actually meet me in person and they're like, 'Oh my God, you're nothing like your songs.' And it's so funny. I'm just like, 'Oh, I've never realized that. I've actually never shown that through my music.'"

McRae, like most people on social media, is a bit of a mystery — and she wants to clear some misconceptions up.

"For everyone on social media, you look so much more polished and put together and there's a certain script that people decide, 'This is who you are and this is what she's like,'" she explains.

Adding, "When you meet me in person, I feel like I'm a pretty laid back person and I kind of just go hour by hour and see where life takes me and I go with the flow with things. A lot of people just wouldn't expect that based on my songs of overthinking and over-analyzing the entire world."

On Thursday, McRae kicked off her Are We Flying Tour in Boston — and this time she has full creative control.

"I feel like every year as I'm getting older, I just turned 20, I feel like I'm figuring out who I am more and more," she says. "And this tour just feels like I'm very creatively in line with exactly how I'm feeling right now and who I am, which is really cool."

"It's been so long since I've been on the road and I'm so excited to see everyone. And I think it's always a shock every single time I step on stage just to actually realize that people listen and support and know my lyrics," she continues. "I feel like sometimes I just get very overwhelmed with people actually knowing my music. It's just a very, very cool feeling I feel very lucky to experience."

Related: Singer Tate McRae Talks Balancing Life as a Teen with Her Newfound Fame: 'I Feel Like I'm Hannah Montana'

And with years of experience under her belt, McRae has learned that "knowledge comes in silence."

"There are millions of opinions that get thrown at you all the time. Art is so subjective. No one's going to like the same thing," the I Used to Think I Could Fly songstress says. "At the end of the day, the only thing that's going to make you happy is how you actually feel in your gut, which can get really cloudy at times when there's so many people telling you what to do and how to feel."

"For me, it's literally just been re-centering myself, spending more time alone and figuring out who I am as a person before making any decisions on what I want my art to look like. Because in the past I've been influenced," she concludes. "Then it always ends up in me regretting things or not feeling happy with it. So I will always say your intuition is the strongest thing that can carry you through. Especially now at this point, my intuition has been the only thing that's made me really happy."

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