NEW YORK From the beginning, Rene Rapp made it apparent what she wanted to achieve with Bite Me, her sophomore album.
Rapp says, “I wanted to love this.” Regardless of what other people thought, I wanted to be able to leave this feeling incredibly impressed and proud of myself. She experimented with finding her sound (pop, R&B, and heartbreaking ballads) and putting together a group of songs that complemented one another for her debut album, 2023. With an eye toward how her life had altered over the years, this record, which was released on Friday, gave her the opportunity to do it again.
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Rapp told The Associated Press that having that goal and trying to show it to himself was extremely taxing. And a lot of fun.
Rapp, 25, used the writing process as a way to cope with the hectic, burnout-inducing nature of her employment during those two years. The album’s lead single, Leave Me Alone, has a vocal style that is remarkably open and uncharacteristically restrained. Clever zingers hint at her departure from HBO, the media frenzy surrounding the 2024 remake, and the external pressure she felt to release more music following Snow Angel’s positive reception. In essence, what has been stated about her during the past few years? She reinterprets it, making fun of the industry and her fame.
According to Rapp, Bite Me serves as both a threat and a tease, and Leave Me Alone felt like a fitting introduction to the album. When the album was announced, Paris Hilton and Monica Lewinsky were among the well-known figures who teased it by wearing clothing with the title printed boldly. Rapp herself promoted the second track, Mad, by posing in front of a newsstand brimming with satirical magazines that portrayed her as a diva, hiding behind large sunglasses and a fur coat. (The headline said, “That’s a Rapp!”
Rapp describes the album as “feeling like a time capsule of those two years of my life, with a lot to do with the business and the industry and people’s expectations of me.” Additionally, I want things for myself and am perplexed by the intersection of those two paths.
Like on live, Rapp’s wit and confidence are apparent throughout the record. “I write lyrics in the way that I talk,” she explains. Many of the songs address the unstable feelings that come with starting and ending a relationship, whether it be romantic or platonic, and how the difficulties of establishing and sustaining those relationships have been exacerbated by her increasingly visible job.
Even though I’m always around, I still feel incredibly alone, and it seems really burdensome and alienating. And being an artist, in my opinion, is a big part of that. For better or worse, I also believe that a lot of that is just part of the character of the industry,” she adds. The heartbreak of That’s So Funny, which describes the breakdown of a profoundly moving but ultimately destructive friendship in Rapp’s trademark soaring vocals, contrasts with the unconcerned attitude heard on Leave Me Alone.
But that doesn’t mean Rapp isn’t enjoying himself either. Rapp’s partner, singer and guitarist Towa Bird, is featured on the cheeky song At Least I’m Hot. According to Rapp, “I love it when artists give you a clue into their lives and the people who make them full.” She claims that the song is also simply humorous, and who better to wear it than the funniest person on the planet?
Since her 2022 EP, Everything to Everyone, she has been examining the impostor syndrome that comes with the rush of popularity and the album’s range of emotions, which include heartbreak followed by the exhilaration of a new crush. She wants those who are listening to feel the turmoil as well and realize that they are not the only ones going through it.
Alongside Deacon Maccubbin, Rapp was a grand marshal of the in June in Washington, D.C. According to Rapp, it can be challenging to feel strong and in control as a queer person. I thought I couldn’t miss World Pride since it was in D.C. She remembered a discussion with Cox, who emphasized the importance of showing up and putting on a show, allaying Rapp’s concerns about appearing conceited in the role. It seems like the moment to be really loud is now, when everything is so under attack, which is pretty much always the case.
Before stopping at Madison Square Garden in New York and serving as the main act for the Toronto stop of the She’ll tour Europe in March, Rapp will begin the North American leg of her Bite Me tour in September at the storied Red Rocks Amphitheater.
She thinks the record will provide fans some respite while she gets ready for them to hear it. She remarked, “I hope the weight of the world doesn’t feel as massive.” It’s really simple to get caught up in your thoughts and obsess about everything.
She thinks that sharing a little bit of her life with them is enjoyable and empowering: It’s like a huge party that everyone wants to be a part of.
