Whether you are a Broadway fanatic, immersed in the music scene, or you simply peruse social media casually, there is a good chance you have heard of Reneé Rapp. The 25-year-old has been captivating audiences since her breakout role on Broadway as the fearsome queen bee, Regina George, in Mean Girls.

Now, well on her way to international music stardom, with a quick detour to the silver screen, Reneé Rapp has become one of the household Gen-Z artists. But, what is it exactly that makes her stand out in an ocean of artists? Why does she have an almost rabid following of devoted fans, affectionately called the Young Ex Wives? Stick with us, and get your answers.

Undeniable Talent

When discussing Reneé Rapp, you have to start with the larger-than-life talent that put her on the map while she was still a high schooler. Rapp stunned the audience at the coveted high school theater awards— the Jimmys, with a magnificent rendition of “All Falls Down” from the Chaplin musical.

That was just the start, though, as the powerhouse singer impressed during her tenure as Regina George on Broadway with her flawless execution of numbers like “World Burn” and “Someone Gets Hurt”. During her Broadway era, she also performed top-rate covers of “I Have Nothing” by Whitney Houston and “Love on Top” by Beyoncé .

So, when Rapp turned to creating her own music, first with debut single “Tattoos” and eventually with fan favorites like “In The Kitchen” and “The Wedding Song”, that talent truly shone through. Reneé Rapp is equally proficient at writing personal lyrics that evoke feelings you didn’t know you had as she is at belting the most difficult notes you can imagine.

Stage Presence

While there are plenty of musically gifted artists out there, very few possess the sheer stage presence that Reneé Rapp does. If you’ve been to one of her shows, be it in the “Everything to Everyone”, “Snow Angel”, or “Bite Me” era, you know just how electric she is when she takes the stage.

It doesn’t matter whether she is singing about a traumatizing experience while blinking back tears on “Snow Angel”, or she’s dancing around while she and her fans sing fun and sexy pop tunes like “Kiss It Kiss It”, you simply cannot take your eyes off of her. Although her talent is undeniable, her on-stage charisma has played an equally important part in her success.

Charming Vulnerability

The one thing that Reneé Rapp does, which is admittedly a bit of a lost art among new artists, is be profoundly vulnerable and open, without oversharing details of her personal life. While she is a self-proclaimed yapper, Rapp is actually quite protective of the details of her life and relationships.

Simply put, Reneé Rapp shares her feelings on her terms. She will reduce you to tears with a blues-inspired ballad like “Why Is She Still Here?” but she won’t go into any detail about the events that inspired the song. She will show up to a red carpet event with fellow musician Towa Bird, and then she will give the interviewers coy answers when they inquire about their relationship.

Somehow, Rapp manages to be completely vulnerable in her art, which allows her to connect to her devoted fans, while keeping her private life completely private.

Relatability

We live in the era of viral soundbites and memes that take over the internet in minutes. There are very few Gen-Z artists who can compare to Reneé Rapp when it comes to quotability and memeability. She has dozens of viral moments, ranging from the now-iconic interview moment when she goes on a rant, cursing out the bus-touring company owner named Buddy to the overused “ADHD!” soundbite that came out of conversation on the Terrell Show.

It isn’t just her status as a meme queen that makes Reneé Rapp so relatable to her peers and fans. She is also one of the most outspoken young artists when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues, racism, and the ongoing genocide against Palestinians, which makes her more down-to-earth and relatable.

Summary

Thanks to social media and platforms like YouTube, it feels like young artists become stars overnight, without actually putting in the work to succeed. Reneé is the complete antithesis of that occurrence. She has been putting in the work since she was a teenager, with one single goal in mind— to make it as a pop star.

Now, performing on her “Bite Me” tour to sold out arenas like Madison Square Garden, we can only look back and admire the work that Rapp has put in to get to where she is.