Flooded with spectacular harmonies that flow over an electrifying beat, Reneé Rapp’s melodic vocals take centre stage in her new enchanting single, “In The Kitchen”. Reminiscing on a universally relatable feeling, Rapp’s honest new ballad beautifully captures the pains of heartache. To classify this beautifully written single as a masterpiece would be an understatement, as it is clear to see that this song was crafted with care and precision, most evident in its ability to conjure up deep-rooted emotions in listeners.

Explaining how she dipped into her past to unleash her breakup afflictions, the artist divulges, “I was in a process of trying to heal with no closure. It felt really bleak and kind of impossible and I wasn’t necessarily angry, nor was I sad or longing for this person, I genuinely felt just like betrayed and confused.”

Following the release of her newest single, the accomplished actress and musician sat down with Wonderland to discuss the importance of music in her life and a potential new role she could be adding to her resume. Head below to enjoy our interview with Reneé Rapp…

Hey Reneé! Apart from this interview, what’s one thing you hope to achieve before the end of the day?
I have a session today and I haven’t written a song that feels cathartic to me in about two weeks and so I’m going in with this guy and I hope that I can write a good song because I have a lot of internal pressure on myself, so basically, I hope I can succeed.

Congratulations on “In The Kitchen”! You really got us in our feels there. Can you tell us about the head space you were in when you penned this?
I was in a process of trying to heal with no closure. It felt really bleak and kind of impossible and I wasn’t necessarily angry, nor was I sad or longing for this person – I genuinely felt just betrayed and confused. I think I was really like, ‘OH’. You know when you have those moments of like, ‘what have I been with? Did I miss everything’? So that’s kind of where I was so I really wrote the song from a place of like I don’t want to give this any emotion that gives any of my internal power away, but I also want to be very blunt in the fact that I have been hurt by this situation and I am not even pissed I’m more just like, ‘Wow. Ok fine. You want to treat me like that? Cool, nobody else ever will’. That was really the headspace I was in.

“In The Kitchen” really shows off your knack for simple but very vivid storytelling. Who do you tend to look to for lyrical inspiration?
To be honest, I try to really dive deep into specificity. So, “In The Kitchen” was inspired because I was listening to “camera roll” by Kacey Musgraves and I’m really hard on myself and so a lot of times I’m like, ‘ah this sucks, ah this sucks, ah this sucks’, and honestly sometimes things just happen. “In The Kitchen” started because I was like, ‘well, I hate being in the kitchen after this breakup, because that’s where I remember this person’, and so I just wrote the verse in like three minutes. It just came out of my mouth. So that’s really where it came from and don’t get me wrong sometimes lyrics don’t always come that easy but when you find the right thing, it’s just there.

We loved watching you in The Sex Lives of College Girls. Do you have any gossip about what we can expect from season 2?
Well, a) I love to gossip and b) the only gossip is: my story arch in season two, my dating story arch, really mimics my life right now. Like, I’m not a method acting person, but I think I thought, ‘hmm, I’m going to do this’. So that was the one fun but really draining part and also any gossip that you could know if you’re ever watching a scene in season two and think I look exhausted and you’re like, ‘wow she’s such a good actor’. It’s not acting. I was fucking tired, and I am so tired all the time so it’s not acting, you’re right.

It might be going back a bit, but we can’t chat without touching on your triumphant turn as the legendary Regina George in Broadway’s Mean Girls. How did you find taking on that part?
Honestly, I was super lucky and super blessed to have such a platform and to have parents that were able to support me, not only mentally, but financially also. I think that in theatre specifically; you’ve got to have some wealth coming from somewhere in order to succeed in theatre which is the really fucked up and gate-keep-ish part of it. I’m not blind to the fact that I was already set up to succeed, but, that being said, I also am really appreciative of the fact that it worked out the way it did and had conversations with Tina and Lauren when I was going into the show and I was like, ‘look, I will do this job if you promise to help me with my music career because this is what is so important to me and I want to do this job and give it my all but I have to know that this is going to serve the thing that I love’, and they were angels and were like ‘absolutely’. So yeah, Mean Girls was awesome. I also really struggled during the time of Mean Girls for a lot of other reasons, but I am so grateful to have had that job and am so grateful to have had the support musically down the road.

If you could work magic and slot yourself into any classic teen film, what would it be?
Oh wow, that’s a good question. Fuck, I’m a shitty actor because I don’t watch enough TV or movies to know. But, I would probably want to be in a film. I feel like I would want to be in Grease, just because it’s so iconic. The TV show I would have wanted to be in is Glee.

Back to music, signing to such prestigious labels as Polydor and Interscope is an amazing move for your flourishing musical career. What would you love to achieve in this facet of your work?
I want to win Best New Artist at the Grammys and I want to play a sold-out tour in the next two years.