"As a woman, if people say you don't talk enough, you're quiet and demure, and if you talk too much, you're loud and annoying," muses pop singer Reneé Rapp, referring to the truth behind her earworm breakout song, "Talk Too Much." "I've always been someone who expresses how they feel."
For Rapp, that penchant for fearless self-expression has manifested itself through what's been a relatively short rise. The 23-year-old first catapulted to fame with her acclaimed portrayal of Regina George in the Broadway adaptation of Mean Girls, taking her prowess to television screens in the popular HBO Max series 'The Sex Lives of College Girls.'
Along the way, Rapp has been steadily building a career as a singer/songwriter to be reckoned with. Seamlessly blending elements of pop and rock, her lyrics exhibit a no-holds-barred look at the machinations of her mind and personal life. On the heels of her 2022 EP Everything to Everyone (which featured the viral single "Too Well"), she recently unleashed her debut studio album in the form of Snow Angel.
Showcasing her knack for autobiographical lyrics and surprising production, the album strays from a cookie-cutter pop aesthetic. Instead, it's crafted to defy the cliches of pop at every turn — from its eponymous ballad, which starts off demure and explodes with passion, to the single "Talk Too Much," the alt-pop-rock concoction that's a sonic cross-stitch of a throwback track with a modern sound.
Ahead of Snow Angel's release, Rapp spoke to GRAMMY.com about the creation of her debut album, from its musical influences to the unfiltered, non-fiction truth behind her trademark lyrical style.
Some songs come out and you can hear the specific influence, but I can't really tell with Snow Angel's opener "Talk Too Much." It sounds like something from this era, but also reminiscent of a song from the past. What was your intention?
It's just how an uptempo pop song looks to me. Of course it comes from all of my influences and everything I've learned and consumed over the years, but when I was writing "Talk Too Much," it had nothing to do with how I wanted it to sonically sound. This was the second song me and [singer/songwriter and Snow Angel producer] Alexander 23 had ever done together. So because it was so early on, it was the most authentic version of my sonic palate.
As a woman, if people say you don't talk enough, you're quiet and demure, and if you talk too much, you're loud and annoying. I've always been someone who expresses how they feel and it's been something I was laughed at for a lot of my life. So it's a good [opening track] for my album, because it's a fear that I've lived with for a long time — and I think a lot of people do, whether you're a girl or not.
So then did you use "Talk Too Much" as a sonic and lyrical guide for the rest of the album?
I will congratulate myself just a little bit: I just really am chasing a good song. I want every song to be strong and narrative-driven, and want to be proud that it can stand on its own, while also serving a larger intricate purpose on an album. So I'm sure that subconsciously it was kind of a guideline, but more than anything it gave me a little confidence. It also made me want to branch out and explore more intricate sounds than I have in the past.
When it comes to "Talk Too Much" and other Snow Angel tracks, there are many different elements that make up each individual song. You have no idea where any song is going structurally. Where did that manifest itself?
That is exactly what I want. I cannot tell you how many times I said in my head and out loud, "It should be exciting, it should keep you on your toes, it should be all different sonic palettes."
Honestly, I wish I could take a lot of credit for it. But it comes from my dad, that motherf—er! I grew up listening to bands like Yes, Journey, Queen and the Carpenters. My dad would always stress to me: "Reneé, you have to make music that's unexpected and has parts that are thoughtful and significant, but are also so exciting they make you want to keep listening."
That's something he's beaten into my head since I was a kid, even before I started making music. So it comes from exactly that place and I actually agree, and I think his taste in music does that really well. It's a classic rock kind of thing — which is not to say I make rock music, but I do feel like I have a lot of influence from those classic bands.
Its chorus also resurrects the "woo-woo," which you don't really hear in modern music as of late. We need more woo's! Do people "woo-woo" when you perform it live?
I'm totally with you! And oh yes, the b—es are woo-wooing.
There's also an anxious, stream-of-consciousness monologue we hear you deliver during the bridge. Where in the process did that portion come about, and is it a nod to your acting career?
I'm a big bridge believer. I think if you're going to have a bridge, you have to make it good, and intentional, and not just to serve the structure of a song; it needs to be thoughtful.
"Talk Too Much" was written because I just started a new relationship and I had a dream that I killed my girlfriend, and then felt really compelled to tell her. It was a weird guilt I was carrying. So Alexander said, "I think you should just be talking and ranting during the bridge."
He asked if I wanted to write it, but I said, "No, I just want to go off." We did a couple of passes of me reenacting the situation with my girlfriend in a car. We spliced it together, and now it lives there in the song.
Your lyrics are so specific. How much of them are factual, or are you jazzing things up a bit and ratcheting up the spicy parts?
It is accurate to a fault — to a point where we had to rewrite the song "Poison Poison" so many times, because I was just doxing the person I was singing about. Alexander said, "This is not good. This sounds like you're just yelling at somebody." So we had to tone it down.
I'd love to one day write about hypothetical situations, but I can't. I get too angry and frustrated. So usually I'm having to pull things back so I don't get in trouble, which is nice for everyone on my team. [Laughs.]
They say the more specific you are, the more people can relate. Especially in a song like your title track, "Snow Angel," which starts softly and revs up like a roller coaster. Can you take me into the studio while you were concocting it?
For that one, it was really late at night and Alexander said to come over; I was sitting on the floor and he was playing piano. It started out as a really depressing lullaby and all of the sudden we started hitting the chords harder and it just became that. The greatest songs are the ones you have no idea how they're made. It was just one of those vibes.
Between the cycle of writing, producing and performing, what part of the process do you find the most cathartic?
It is every single part of the experience for different reasons. They're all a part of my overall therapy and artistry. But I love writing; songwriting is such a specific and special medium that I feel so lucky to be a part of.
I was never part of a religion growing up, but I feel like I found community in a parasocial way through songwriters. They're people who say how they feel without anybody else interjecting, and it was so nice and so refreshing. I loved it, even if I don't agree with what they say, because it's so true to themselves. And if it's a narrative I love that too, because I'm a theater kid and I love a f—ing narrative.
As much as I can get quite nerdy, when it comes to performing, I'm making music to find a community for people to enjoy. I so desperately want people to like it and enjoy it, because I know what it's like to love other artists and consume music. So the community is unmatched.
Then you have the producing side, which I've been so f—ing picky about. Having an incredible producing partner like Alexander really changed my life in a lot of ways. I was born right after my dad's dad passed, but he owned a music shop and that was his whole life. So I'm really tied to production because of that.
In an overarching way, they're equally important to me, and they all fulfill my life in every single way. It's the best thing in the world.