Less than a year after releasing her EP Everything to Everyone, Reneé Rapp is back with more music. On June 9, Rapp released “Snow Angel,” the first single from her upcoming album of the same name. While Rapp has become known for her work on TV, the ballad is a reminder of Rapp’s powerhouse vocals.
“Snow Angel” opens with soft piano notes, and Rapp’s vocals immediately grab listeners’ attention with somber emotion as she sings “First to arrive, last to leave / What’s misery without company?”
As “Snow Angel” continues, the music builds from unassuming piano notes to full instrumentals. Rapp’s voice grows alongside the music and she belts out lyrics and her voice is blended into the fierce production.
“I tried so hard, I came so far / I met a boy, he broke my heart / I blame him ’cause it’s easier / But I still look for him in her / The seasons change, addiction’s strange / I loved back then what I hate today / I wish I went a different way / But if I went back, I would do the same,” Rapp sings in the bridge of “Snow Angel.”
The musical direction of “Snow Angel” might surprise fans of Rapp. Before the single dropped, Rapp shared a statement on Twitter revealing that after she “had a traumatic experience” she felt the need to make “Snow Angel.” After the song was finished, it completely changed the direction of her album.
“While I was prepping the previously decided single video, my manager Adam called me and told me to stop, and that we were changing everything. Other single was out, snow angel was in,” Rapp wrote.
The song alone is enough to get a sense of Rapp’s authenticity and heartfelt emotions, but knowing how the song came to be added to the degree of specialness that sets some songs apart from others. The single also foreshadows that when the album Snow Angel is released in August, it will be filled with songs that challenge Rapp as a singer-songwriter and showcase her vulnerability as an artist.
Along with the digital single, Rapp released a video with “Snow Angel.” In the video, Rapp is seen making the song behind the scenes and posing in the single’s cover shoot. The footage is grainy in nature and appears more like a diary cam, adding to the personal vulnerability of the song.
While it may have been a gamble, releasing “Snow Angel” as the first single for her upcoming album proved to be the right choice for Rapp. The song displays a new side of the artist that fans have not seen before and builds anticipation for what the singer has in store.
