On February 24, Reneé Rapp breathed new life into her 2022 EP Everything To Everyone with an extended edition of the title track and a brand new single “Bruises.”
Before we delved into the EP – pre-deluxe version, that is – Rapp explained what we can expect from the Side A and Side B versions of the record. Apart from telling us that Side B touches mostly on anxiety, while she explored her desire to please people in Side A, she also told us that these songs are personal and stem from her relationships.
The intro song, which also happens to be the title track, “Everything to Everyone,” is about not being able to be “everything to everyone.” Originally eight seconds over one minute, the song touches on the need to be responsive to someone you know you should give up.
Fans really connected with the song, which must have motivated her to drop an extended version of it, featuring lines like, “Not even to mention, my best friend and boyfriend just broke up / Now I’m payin’ taxes so your expectations have gone up.” Continuing on with her woes, she sings about being forced to “act grown up” so now she has to “play actress.”
Another new thing about the deluxe version of Everything To Everyone is “Bruises” – a song that cuts as deep as its title. In the track, Rapp opens up about her sensitive side that bruises easily, which is made worse by the character flaw that makes her “take everything personally.” Apart from sensitivity, “Bruises” is also about wanting to remain in control of your emotions even when you go “through six different moods at a time.”
Accompanied by a Hannah-directed video, the visuals complement the song in a darker way as it shows Rapp being attacked by strangers with knives, but the parts that cut deep, are when her friends join in.
“On the day [of the video shoot], I was incredibly annoyed. Not by anyone or thing, just, anxiety for me manifests in a lot of different ways,” Rapp exclusively told Rolling Stone. “I don’t remember even acting throughout most of the video. It was just naturally there through the edginess of the day. Hannah created this entire world that cradled the song like a baby.”
Hannah Lux Davis, the director who worked on “Bruises,” is known for working with global pop stars like Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and more.
Reneé Rapp may just be starting out, but she’s not about to let her age or inexperience in the music industry keep her from making the kind of art that’ll make her proud, even if that means challenging the masters of the craft. “I’ve always known what my music should sound like, I think it’s really hard when you’re a new artist to communicate to people you are working with,” Rapp told Rolling Stone ahead of her New York performance. “Being a young girl who’s like ‘I know what this is, you should trust me.’ They don’t…I’ve been in a lot of situations where they’re like ‘I understand this, you do not.’”