Reneé Rapp has never really played it safe. Whether onstage or in the studio, she leans into her truth with the kind of force that can’t be fabricated. But with “Leave Me Alone,” the snarling lead single from her newly announced album Bite Me, Rapp dials that authenticity up to eleven — with the volume knob broken off. Gone is the pristine pop sheen of her debut. In its place is a jagged, guitar-forward anthem that doesn’t beg for attention — it demands it.
Released alongside a slick yet emotionally charged video, “Leave Me Alone” feels like the sonic equivalent of slamming your bedroom door — not out of teenage melodrama, but because you’ve hit the edge of your patience and you need space to breathe. It’s raw. It’s wired. And it’s the sound of an artist who has stopped asking for permission.
The track kicks off with a burst of distorted guitar, a welcome surprise in today’s over-sanitized pop landscape. It’s grungy, but not performatively so. The production leans into its imperfections, letting the track breathe with an angsty, punk-lite energy. Reneé Rapp’s voice — a force we’ve heard soar on Broadway and smolder on ballads — is given a new texture here. She growls, stretches syllables, spits frustration. She sounds like she’s lived every word, and if her recent reflections are anything to go by, she has.
Bite Me, due out August 1 via Interscope, promises to be a celebration of chaos and confidence — a manifesto for anyone who’s ever felt too much and been told to tone it down. Rapp isn’t interested in being palatable. She’s here to confront, to confess, to carve out space for the messy middle of growing up. “23 to 24 has been such a massive difference for me,” she shared. That sentiment bleeds into every bar of “Leave Me Alone,” a track that sounds like it was clawed out of the corner of her mind where the demons don’t just whisper — they shout.
As we count down to Bite Me, one thing is clear: Reneé Rapp is no longer just a rising pop star. She’s a storm — and “Leave Me Alone” is the thunder before the downpour.
