After playing the iconic “Mean Girls” character, Regina George, in the Broadway musical adaptation of the original film, actress and singer Reneé Rapp was asked to reprise her role in the new musical movie, and critics are saying that her take on Regina, “an unapologetic mean girl,” according to the Garnette Report, has her absolutely owning the film. This is wonderful news for a number of reasons, but namely that the exposure it is bringing has caused a massive uptick in streams of Rapp’s own music. 

If you are not privy to such music, I personally recommend giving “In the Kitchen” a listen —you will undoubtedly get hooked. Not only does it showcase the range of her voice, but also her ability to write complex lyrics that play with tempo and indirect rhyming. In fact, the entire EP “Everything to Everyone” is a ballad-heavy culmination of her attempts to break into the popular music scene. The full-length album that followed, “Snow Angel,” is further proof of her success and ability, but some say this has leaned to something of a big head on Rapp’s part. Maria Wooden’26 called the artist “overrated” because she thinks too much of herself —massive ego energy. Conversely, others like Lauren Godfrey ’27 see Rapp as an inspiring figure for having worked her way up from her local musical theater scene in the Charlotte, NC area to progressively larger audiences on Broadway and then on the big screen. 

To me, Reneé Rapp is the queer icon I had always dreamed of seeing growing up. She makes music for and about queer women. I have never seen more of myself in a single set of lyrics than I do when I listen to “Gemini Moon.” It is also enticing that almost every song on “Snow Angel” is even more complex, this time melodically, than those on her EP. In the album’s title song, she gradually adds more and more elements as the piece progresses. In the first verse, she sings solo and slow. Then, she gets louder with the addition of background vocals to the first chorus, and by the second chorus, the music itself has intensified with the infusion of some creative rock elements such as the electric guitar and big drum beats. She ends the song with a sudden drop back to the solo and slow vibe from the beginning, and I am left with goosebumps every time. Rapp is a versatile artist; she can push and pull from any genre she pleases and somehow always looks fantastic doing it. The world is in dire need of more Big Gay Energy like hers. Long live lesbian Regina George!