Reneé Rapp's 'Snow Angel' Balances Bold Risks and Raw Emotion

Reneé Rapp is a timeless multitalented performer, a star with a charismatic presence and powerful vocals that have made her a standout on Broadway, television, film - and in the recording studio. With her full-length album debut, Snow Angel, Rapp takes bold risks and achieves pop brilliance while crafting a deeply personal narrative that captures her most human emotions on her own terms.

Stand-out tracks: 'Talk Too Much' 'Pretty Girls'

My favorites: 'I Hate Boston' 'Snow Angel'

Groovy, grungy 'Talk Too Much' is full of vivid, self-deprecating imagery, as Rapp toes the line of a fragile relationship on the brink of destruction: "I'm here again/Talking myself out of my own happiness/I'll make it up till I quit." Its voicemail-style bridge is Rapp's stylistic identity out in full force, layering a messy narrative with powerhouse vocals.

Reneé's vocals shine the brightest on stripped-back ballads like 'I Hate Boston,' 'Gemini Moon,' and 'I Wish.' Whether she's mourning romantic love lost or the inevitable loss of loved ones, she soars through cutting lines like "How'd you make me hate Boston?/The whole thing is haunted/How do you sleep?" and softly glides with humility and sincerity through lines like "I wish I could still see the world through those eyes/Could still see the colors, but they're not as clear or as bright/Oh, the older we get, the colors, they change/Yeah, hair turns to gray, but the blue's here to stay."

The title track of Snow Angel begins unassuming, but by the time it transcends to its electric, goosebumps-raising second chorus, it stands out from Rapp's other ballads by its sheer power. The emotionality laced through, "The seasons change, addictions strange/I loved back then what I hate today/I wish I went a different way" - that's the force that will carry Reneé Rapp to the forefront of mainstream success.

Poppier tracks like 'Poison Poison,' 'So What Now,' and 'Tummy Hurts' fill out the tracklist with Reneé's bold flair. But if Reneé Rapp is going to get herself a massive hit, it's going to be synthy 'Pretty Girls.' The female anthem offers the nostalgic excitement and uncertainties that come with falling in love, especially when falling for one you know you can't have.

Despite the dramatic flair and boldness that characterize much of the album, Reneé Rapp wraps up Snow Angel with a poignant sense of maturity, humility, and promise for the future. In the final lines of '23' she sings, "I hope I'll see 24/ hope I'll understand more/I hope my bed is off the floor/I hope that I can care less/But I'm afraid to care less." By sharing her aspirations alongside her fears, Rapp concludes the project with a lingering sense of hope, which serves as a reminder that while boldness is essential, so is the strength found in our innate humanity.

AM I OBSESSED?

RATING: KINDA OBSESSED

Megan Moroney's 'Am I Okay?' Redefines Country Music with Honesty and Heart

The next great female storyteller and self-proclaimed "emo cowgirl" of country music has emerged, and her name is Megan Moroney. She's inadvertently changing the genre by inserting honesty and integrity back into the country which arguably hasn't been seen since the early days of Taylor Swift. Maroney's sophomore album Am I Okay?, released July 12 on Sony Music, exemplifies the power of wearing your heart on your sleeve through heartbreak. Leaning on the rich raspiness of her mild twang to emphasize the emotionality of her lyrics and the authenticity of the lyricism and instrumentation of every track on her album, Maroney is undeniably the future of country music.

Stand out tracks: "Am I Okay?" "Man on the Moon" "Miss Universe" "The Girls"

My favorites: "No Caller ID" "28th of June" "Indifferent" "Hope You're Happy"

The album opens with its stellar title track 'Am I Okay?' which sees Maroney realizing that the relationship she's found doesn't have her saying "Oh hell no/No way," but rather is allowing her to avoid writing a "sad song soundtrack." Backed by a rich and nostalgic guitar-led instrumentation, Megan's illustrious and unique vocal quality shines through as she proclaims, "I think I'm really happy/I think I wanna stay/Oh my god/Am I okay?" Megan's lucky streak continues into 'Third Times the Charm.' Seemingly against her better judgment, she rekindles a relationship that has failed her in the past, but this time it "put a brand new kind of wind back in my sails/Took my heart off of the shelf."

Have no fear, the emo cowgirl isn't gone forever - 'No Caller ID' is proof of that. One of Maroney's lyrical and vocal high points on Am I Okay?, the track is sufficiently scathing while she laments repeatedly letting her heart get broken by the same old games. The track builds to its powerful bridge where she's left asking "Don't you get tired of hurtin' me?/I'm tired of hurtin' me." Where 'No Caller ID' leaves off, she picks back up with even deeper heartbreak on '28th of June;' illustrating the ever-so-human feeling of the hurt of knowing an anniversary is no longer anything but a regular day: "Another 365 have come and gone/Today would've been a day that we'd celebrate/And now it's just another Tuesday." This is the closest track in years that comes close to the tangible emotion felt in early 2000s tracks like Taylor Swift's 'Time McGraw' and Carrie Underwood's 'You Won't Find This.'

Megan abandons all restraint going into should-be radio hit 'Man on the Moon.' With the classic references to NASA, space, "out of this world", rockets - all those fun little metaphorical lyrical games - Megan Moroney hits the nail on the head with a song-of-the-summer-tinged country-girl power anthem. And while 'Man on the Man' is the most fun version of Moroney, 'Miss Universe' is the track from Am I Okay? that you turn on if you just really need to hate your ex's new fling. Yet again tapping into the themed imagery, this time of glitz and glamor, Moroney powers through a bass-heavy pounder that's full of shamelessly raging lyricism: "At least it wasn't a county pageant I lost that boy to/But I want runner-up roses, want the sash for second place."

The hidden gems of Am I Okay? linger in the tracks that don't even touch upon romantic love; 'The Girls' is the song that's meant to be sung driving with the windows down with your best friend, listened to at sunset with your mom, in a stadium with your sister. 'Heaven by Noon' is the love song to those we wish we'd had a little more time with before they're gone. And she toes the line between all types of love lost with stunningly sincere 'I Hope You're Happy,' where Megan croons "I hope you finally make your way to California/I hope you find someone that loves you like I do...I hope you're happy/And I hope I never know."

Our beloved emo cowgirl closes Am I Okay? with the ultimate show of love for the people who have given her the life she's dreamed of, rather than the loves who have torn her down: "Keep it together, I can keep it together/For the room full of people here who love me better/Than he could've, or would've and should've, I know." With her star power, love for her supporters, and a sophomore album like Am I Okay?, Megan Moroney's career is looking like it will be more than just okay, it will be exceptional.

AM I OBSESSED?

RATING: FULLY OBSESSED

Chappell Roan Leads a Feministic Pop Revolution in 'The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess'

There are few names bigger in the current pop music scene than Chappell Roan. Her popularity built organically before the supernova explosion of her mainstream success heading into the summer of 2024. With credits as the opening act of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour and headlining or subheadlining credits for a slew of music festivals, including Coachella and Chicago’s upcoming Lollapalooza, under her belt, Chappell Roan has wowed audiences with her bold attitude, fierce stage presence, and a setlist chock-full of hits. But the thing about Chappell having a setlist full of those hits? She has one full-length album, her colossally successful debut The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, released in September of 2023. And the star power of Chappell’s debut is a once-in-a-generation phenomenon - or should I say, femininomenon?

Standout tracks: “Femininomenon” “Red Wine Supernova” “Casual” “HOT TO GO!"

My favorites: “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl” “My Kink Is Karma” “Pink Pony Club” “California”

The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess doesn’t waste a single second on false pretenses - opener ‘Feminonmenon’ is everything you need to know about Chappell Roan. An addictive pop beat builds chorus after chorus, Chappell’s cheek oozing from every lyric as she calls to action “What we really need is a/Feminonmenon!” Leaning into her country-influenced beat patterns with a blown-out bass line on ‘Red Wine Supernova,’ Chappell powers through another undeniable hit. She’s as relatable as ever as she belts out “Well, back at my house/I've got California king/Okay, maybe it's a twin bed/And some roommates/Don't worry, we're cool!” Chappell’s smoother vocals carry her through jazzier, darker dance tracks in ‘After Midnight’ and ‘My Kink Is Karma,’ where she proves everything is a little more fun if you treat it so, including the sultriest of sultry-pop and brash bitterness.

While Chappell Roan could easily hide behind her huge personality and colossal pop hits, she has the vocal chops to shine in slower-paced, more emotionally-charged tracks as well, including ‘Coffee,’ ‘Kaleidoscope,’ and ‘California.’ Yet she finds the perfect balance of all her styles in ‘Casual,’ balancing remarkably relatable and sharply shrewd with the sonic atmosphere of a dark gymnasium dappled in disco ball lighting. She guards her heart tightly, impassively yearning for a partner who keeps her at arm's length: “I thought you thought of me better/Someone you couldn’t lose/You said, ‘We’re not together’/So now when we kiss, I have anger issues.”

From ‘Pink Pony Club’ to ‘Naked in Manhattan,’ Chappell injects a pop-tinged desperation and brutal honesty into her rise to fame spanning from West Hollywood to the Big Apple, showing it hasn’t all been glitz and glamour. She references the LA gay bar in ‘Pink Pony Club’ as the place she’s dreamed of and where she finally feels she belongs, much to the chagrin of those left behind in her Midwest roots.  She sees New York as a freeing place where “You can try things/An inch away from more than just friends.” Both tracks sonically mirror the glittering cities they’re set in, with ‘Pink Pony Club’ taking a laid-back synth-charged soundscape while ‘Naked in Manhattan’ is sleek, glossy, and ever-pulsing.

With ‘Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl’ and ‘HOT TO GO!,’ Chappell Roan settles herself into the modern median between Madonna and Hannah Montana, with the former track inadvertently claiming itself as the ultimate feminism anthem, pounding through every second with stadium-powered production. And if you haven’t learned the ‘HOT TO GO!’ dance yet, just do it– it’s out with ‘YMCA’ and in with ‘HOT TO GO!,’ because, you know, this is Chappell Roan’s fantastically feministic world and we’re all just living in it.

Despite all the stratospheric rising highs chased across The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, humbling, heartwrenching ‘California’ is the fall of the Midwest Princess. It chronicles the long-fought road Chappell has taken to make a name for herself and the heartbreaking defeat of needing to leave the “new lands, west coast, where my dreams lay” in exchange for the “seasons in Missouri, my dying town.” But Chappell would never leave us feeling down; with album closer ‘Guilty Pleasure’ she embraces the freedom of being a little bit of a mess. Because what’s the fun in having it all figured out?

AM I OBSESSED?

RATING: FULLY OBSESSED