It’s hot and summer seems like it’s never going to end. But nobody told Reneé Rapp, because on Thursday night (July 31) the singer took to the stage of The Late Show and cranked up the typically bone-chilling temperature in the Ed Sullivan Theater several degrees with a swoony, performance of her new single, “Shy.”
The song from her new album, Bite Me, out today (Aug. 1), already has big ’90s pop energy, but Rapp amped up the drama with her one woman play-style performance, which began with the singer sitting on the floor of a New York apartment set. With a fan listlessly attempting to cool her off, Rapp took a bite of an apple and tossed it out the window as she sang, “It’s hard to make me nervous/ Much easier to piss me off/ But whenever you’re around, babe/ I kiss the ground you’re walkin’ on,” over acoustic guitar strums.
Striking poses on the floor of the cramped loft, Rapp crooned the song’s urgent chorus, emoting, “Don’t handle me with care/ When you’re pullin’ my hair/ Baby, ruin my life/ I want it back I swear/ And I’m really not scared/ Just a little bit shy,” the fan blowing her hair dramatically as the music swelled.
The Mean Girls Broadway veteran then showed off her acting chops, dramatically bending over in the flat’s window, her hair dangling as she sang about also being violent when she’s sober while the band backed her up with a bass-heavy, bounce while she struck poses on the fire escape set. Treating it like a showcase song in a mini-musical, Rapp climbed up onto the ladder and lustily promised to do things “your exes won’t.”
The 12-track album reunites Rapp with her Snow Angel executive producer Alexander 23, along with collaborators including Omer Fedi, Ryan Tedder, Julian Bunetta, and Carter Lang for an LP that has a heavy 90s alt-rock, early 2000s pop-punk vibe. Rapp will hit the road for her Bite Me tour beginning on Sept. 23 at Denver’s legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Watch Rapp perform “Shy” on the The Late Show below.
