Trending badgeTrendingPosted 1 hour ago"It Really Shocked Me": Tate McRae Responded To The Backlash Over Her Collab With Morgan Wallen - And She Has No Regrets"It was just about the song for me. I didn't realize how much a song would be connected to all the other factors."by Ellen DurneyBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink You know Tate McRae. She's one of the rising pop performers of the moment, known for songs like "Greedy" and "Sports Car." Lisa O'connor / Getty Images And you probably also know the country singer Morgan Wallen, who, in addition to being one of the most-streamed artists in the US, has gained attention for his problematic behavior outside of music. Jason Kempin / Getty Images In May this year, Morgan dropped a collaboration with Tate called "What I Want." The song was a chart-topping hit and has nearly 300 million streams on Spotify alone; however, despite all the success, Tate's decision to work with Morgan didn't necessarily go down well with her fans. Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images For a bit of context on Morgan, his history of problematic behavior includes past use of a racial slur, breaking COVID-19 protocols, and multiple arrests. Most recently, he faced widespread backlash for abruptly walking off the stage during an appearance on Saturday Night Live in March. Brett Carlsen / Getty Images Although he has many fans, Morgan also has his fair share of critics - and many of them made their disappointment known when Tate worked with him. And now, in a brand new interview with Rolling Stone, Tate addressed the backlash, admitting it came as a surprise to her. Christopher Polk / Getty Images The Canadian singer began by explaining that country music is a "huge" deal for her and her family, saying: "My brother's always been a rabid country-music fan. I've always wanted, at some point in my life, to do folk music or country, and I probably still will in the future." View this photo on Instagram Instagram: @undefined As for how she wound up working with Morgan, Tate said she was presented with the opportunity and thought it seemed like a "cool" thing to do. "I wanted to cross genres really bad," she said. "It was just about the song for me. I didn't realize how much a song would be connected to all the other factors, and it really shocked me." Kevin Winter / Getty Images "What I Want" notably earned Tate her first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and, as she reflected on the experience, she made it clear that she has no regrets about working with Morgan. Jason Kempin / Getty Images "I don't think you should regret anything in life, because it gives you so much clarity," she told the outlet. "I think controversy and criticism is a way of learning and figuring out what you want to move forward with, and how that shapes you as a person. I think it's all important." Kristina Bumphrey / Getty Images Although Tate apparently stressed to Rolling Stone that she and Morgan have never actually met in person, the country star previously told Billboard that they've been friendly for a while. "We have known each other for a couple years and have been talking about doing a song together if the right one came about," he said around the time of the track's release in May. Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images So, what do you make of all this? Do you think that was a good response? LMK in the comments. You can find Tate's full Rolling Stone cover interview here.