Tate McRae’s 2025 VMA performance secured a nomination for Outstanding Choreography at the 2026 Emmy Awards. The highly athletic performance, unveiled yesterday during the awards announcement on July 8, represents a major achievement for the Canadian pop star and marks only the second VMA performance ever to receive Emmy recognition in this category.Choreographed by Robbie Blue, the performance featured a medley of McRae’s hit singles ‘Sports Car’ and ‘Revolving Door,’ with several acrobatic sections performed from within a sand pit. The nomination places the performance alongside other prestigious productions including a major Super Bowl Halftime Show, the television special ‘Wicked: One Wonderful Night,’ the 2026 Oscars and a popular drag competition series, underscoring the calibre of the recognition.
Historical significance of the Emmy nomination
The achievement holds particular significance within Emmy history. McRae’s performance becomes only the second VMA performance ever recognised at the Emmys, following Michael Jackson’s iconic medley at the 1995 VMAs, which earned a Primetime Emmy nomination in the same category in 1996. This rare distinction highlights the exceptional quality and artistry of the choreography.
Tate McRae’s recent commercial and chart success
The Emmy nomination represents the latest accolade in a highly successful run for McRae’s third album ‘So Close to What’, which topped the Canadian Albums chart and the Billboard 200. The album helped her dominate the charts throughout the year, establishing her as the top charting Canadian artist of 2025.
Tate McRae’s high-energy MTV VMAs performance became only the second VMA performance ever to earn an Emmy nomination for choreography.Image credit ( Tate McRae Instagram)
Her single ‘Sports Car’ proved to be an inescapable radio hit, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and cracking the top 15 on the Year-End Billboard Canadian Hot 100 Songs chart for 2025. Earlier this year, the 26-year-old artist was honoured with the Hitmaker Award at Billboard Women In Music 2026 in Los Angeles, further cementing her status as one of the industry’s most successful current performers.
Robbie Blue’s rising profile in choreography
Choreographer Robbie Blue, to whom the nomination is credited, celebrated the achievement publicly on social media. “This is unreal!!!. A massive thank you to my team, the cast, the creative department and everybody that made this happen! We did it!!!” he exclaimed, expressing the significance of the recognition for his creative work. As a rising star in the dance industry, the 26-year-old choreographer has worked on several high-profile projects. He notably choreographed a viral commercial featuring Katseye last year as well as Doechii’s star-making performance at the 2025 Grammy Awards. The Grammy performance marked his first professional gig and represented his biggest stage at the time, launching his career to new heights.Speaking to the publication about his approach to selecting artists, Blue outlined his creative philosophy. “I think the artists that seek me out are mostly artists that are willing to push themselves and really want to dance and love to dance. For me, the perfect artist is a Doechii, it’s Twigs, it’s Tinashe, it’s Tate [McRae], it’s somebody who really is willing to get in a studio and work really hard,” he stated, highlighting the collaborative commitment required for his most ambitious choreographic visions.
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