Professional Fangirl- Katelyn Benschoter

At only 25 years old singer-songwriter Reneé Rapp has had a very successful career. From being on Broadway to now selling out tours, she has done so much at such a young age. On Oct. 10th, I had the pleasure of attending the Minneapolis stop on the Bite Me tour at The Armory. This concert was a great time from start to finish, and this was evident in my voice the next day, or perhaps the lack of. This concert had something for everyone; she had gut-wrenchingly sad ballads, feel-good upbeat songs, and everything in between. Rapp is a very good performer, and I would recommend her show to anyone looking for a fun evening.

I have been looking forward to seeing Reneé Rapp live for quite a while, and I regret not seeing her on her tour for the album Snow Angel. Also knowing that she has a lot of experience with musical theater such as winning the Jimmy Awards and playing Regina George in Mean Girls: The Musical on Broadway, I expected her to be an excellent performer. Compared to a lot of other current pop stars, she has technical training to sing and dance on stage, and has done so in the theater world. She certainly lived up to all of my expectations. Rapp started the show with a dramatic entrance, something almost out of a theater production. She was up on a high pedestal behind a red curtain, giving the effect that she was levitating in the air as she sang a snippet of “Everything to Everyone” from her debut EP of the same name. Then, as the curtain dropped, Rapp went right into her lead single “Leave Me Alone” off Bite Me. This was such a fun way to start the show as she paid homage to where she started in her music career, and now where she is currently. After the opening number, she played many of her fun upbeat songs to start the show such as “Kiss It, Kiss It,” “Poison Poison,” and “Mad.” This was such a good way to start the show, as it brought the energy up instantly. It can become difficult to stay hyped and energized at concerts when you stand outside for hours and then spend even more time inside waiting for the concert to start. But from the second Rapp came out on that stage, the energy in the air was electric. She has an incredible stage presence and did an excellent job at using the entire stage. I genuinely do not think there was a bad spot in the house. While I admit this was the closest I have ever been to an artist at the Armory, I think no matter where I would’ve been in the venue, it would have been just as good a show.

As Rapp’s set continued through her discography, her performance evoked many different emotions. This show genuinely had it all. From resentful songs such as “Why is She Still Here?” and “I Think I Like You Better When You’re Gone” to reflective and vulnerable songs such as “Sometimes,” “In the Kitchen,” and “Snow Angel.” Experiencing this concert and her wide array of themes in her music made me appreciate her more as an artist. While she certainly has a certain R&B and Pop sound, she experiments a lot with her music. She also writes most of her own music and puts a lot of herself into it. It was clear that she was very connected to her music when watching her perform these songs on stage. During “Snow Angel,” one of her most popular and emotional ballads, she got teary-eyed. Seeing her be this vulnerable and still connecting so much with her songs was a really unique experience to see as a fan, and made me close to getting teary eyed myself. On the note of fan interaction, there was quite a bit of it at this show. From the second song of the night, there was a kiss cam for the song “Kiss it Kiss it.” As well as there were a lot of homemade signs that Rapp would read and compliment during the show. In particular, during the song “I Think I Like You Better When You’re Gone,” there was a fan project that was planned using social media. Fans printed off sheets of paper that said the words “We like you better in Minnesota.” The song is very emotional and explores the idea of missing someone while simultaneously knowing it is better that they are not around you anymore. Despite the emotions the song conveys, Rapp was smiling ear to ear when she saw all of the signs. She clearly was so happy and shocked at the sheer number of people who had planned this for her. I had seen a few posts about this fan project happening, but I had not thought too much of it. But as I looked around the venue, there were hundreds of these papers. It was a really fun moment during the show, and in return for our kindness, Rapp added a special ending to the song. She sang what people are calling a siren, where she sang I like you better in Minnesota over and over. It was very fun to have a moment that was unique to this stop at the tour, and is one of my favorite memories from the night.

Overall, Rapp put on an incredible show from start to finish. She is not only a fun performer, but she is also super funny. When it came time on the set for Rapp to sing “Not My Fault” from the 2024 Mean Girls movie, she only sang about 30 seconds of it before she stopped. This was really confusing, but knowing her humor, I knew there had to be something more. She paused and said something to the extent of “I don’t want to play this song, or ‘Too Well,’” referring to a song off her EP that fans always request. She was purposely teasing the fans because she knows they always want it. And then she said, “Play that song I really like,” which led us into the last song of the night which was “At Least I’m Hot.” This song is super upbeat and makes total sense to end the show with. But unlike most concerts I have been to in the last few years, when she played the last song, that’s where it ended. There has been a trend of having a planned encore, and has resulted in fans expecting there to still be something more even when the last song was played. Rapp decided to not do that, and ended on one final note. I think it is very fitting for her to think that that idea is sort of strange and to just end the show when she sees fit. And I do think it was a fitting song to end the show on despite looking forward to hearing “Not My Fault” as my friends and I made shirts with the lyrics on them. My point being when Reneé Rapp performs, it is not only the music, it’s the story, the vocals, her humor, dancing, etc. She gives you the whole show, and I heavily enjoyed it and would definitely want to see her in concert again. I think in the grand scheme of music, she is just starting out her career, and I can’t wait to see what’s next for her in terms of her future albums and tours.