Is Reneé Rapp Pop’s Next Big Sensation? Read About Her New Album ‘BITE ME’

By Kayla Harper

Reneé Rapp kicked August off with the release of her sophomore album, BITE ME, released on August 1st.  BITE ME is a statement from confessions of love and emotional confrontations, nothing is spared as Rapp sings about conflicts in past relationships and situationships.

Rapp draws inspiration from early 2000s pop, which is the overall tone of the album-we’re talking the most early 2000s Ke$ha album since early 2000s Ke$ha.  Songs such as “Why Is She Still Here?” and “Sometimes” felt reminiscent of Rhianna, “You’d Like That Wouldn’t You” was so early 2000s Avril Lavigne, mostly due to the guitars and drums on the track.   “Leave Me Alone” and “Shy” were very early 2000s Ke$ha sounding.

There were even tracks that felt similar to modern pop artists: “Mad” and “That’s So Funny” sounded similar to Billie Eilish’s style; the way the vocals and guitars were produced on “I think I like you better when you’re gone” was reminiscent of Camila Cabello’s first two albums, and “Good Girl” felt very Sabrina Carpenter!

Despite all these similarities, BITE ME does sound like its own piece of art.  Rapp has created her own sound out of little pieces of familiarity in the pop genre.

Overall, BITE ME is a solid pop album with a cohesive sonic flow from beginning to end with lyrics that are vulnerable and accessible.  Rapp’s vocals really shine as she utilizes them dynamically across all the tracks, conveying sadness, regret, heartache, anger, sass, indifference and carefree ignorance.