Reneé Rapp has never exactly fit the mold. At 19, she stepped into stilettos once worn by Broadway royalty, taking on the role of Regina George in “Mean Girls” — first on stage, then on screen. By 25, she had already left behind the teen comedy trappings and was elbow-deep in her first love: music.
Now, the singer-songwriter is entering a new era. Her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” released Friday, arrives with teeth bared.
“I wanted to love this,” Rapp told The Associated Press ahead of the release. “I wanted to be able to walk away from this and be so proud of myself and impressed, no matter what anybody else thought.”
While her 2023 debut “Snow Angel” offered a vulnerable mix of pop, R&B and aching ballads, it was largely shaped during grueling filming days for “Mean Girls.” This time, she had space to breathe. Drawing inspiration from icons like Alanis Morissette and Joan Jett, Rapp trades softness for defiance, crafting a record that is sonically more aggressive and thematically more pointed.
The 12-track project is also a time capsule, Rapp said, capturing a tumultuous two-year period marked by career highs and personal recalibrations.
“It really feels just like a time capsule of those two years of my life, a lot having to do with the business and the industry and people’s expectations of me,” she told the AP. “And then also me wanting things for myself and being confused where those two roads diverge.”
“Bite Me” first teased its fangs with the lead single “Leave Me Alone,” followed by “Mad” and “Why Is She Still Here?” Together, the trio signaled a more forceful direction, emotionally and musically, and set the tone for what Rapp describes as a more confident, self-assured record.
“That intention, and also wanting to prove it to myself, was really grueling,” she said. “And also really fun.”
Since her breakout role in the HBO Max series “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” Rapp has steadily carved a space for herself as one of pop’s most introspective new voices. She is unfiltered, occasionally self-effacing, and rarely afraid to confront the complexities of ambition, heartbreak or public scrutiny. “Bite Me” leans into that discomfort, turning it into something bracingly catchy.
The album arrives over a month ahead of a major headlining tour, which kicks off Sept. 23 in Colorado and wraps March 19 in London. Los Angeles fans will get their chance when Rapp performs at the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Oct. 17.
If “Snow Angel” was her introduction, “Bite Me” is Rapp’s declaration. She is not just playing the part anymore. She is writing it.
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