While we’re not sure when HBO Max’s hit series The Sex Lives Of College Girls will return for its second season, Renee Rapp is giving us a taste of what she’s been working on in the meantime. Rapp, who plays Leighton on Sex Lives has just released her debut single, “Tattoos,” via Interscope.
On the raw, vulnerable, piano-driven track, Rapp feels nervous about diving into a new love after being hurt several times in the past. “15 and 16, I had to be strong / 22, I’m still scared of it all / ‘Cause I know one day I could wake up and you’ll be gone.”
It’s no surprise Rapp is dabbling in music now. Before landing her Sex Lives role, Rapp played Regina George in the Broadway musical adaptation of Mean Girls. For months, she’s been teasing an upcoming album on social media, uploading clips and images of her in a studio via TikTok and Twitter. In the description for the song’s music video on YouTube, Rapp wrote a letter to her fans, expressing how she’s been wanting to put out music of her own for a long time.
” I love to write music, but I’m an anxious person,” she said. “For 6 years I’ve been saying I was going to release my songs then backing off and getting scared. If you ask anyone I’m an open book and I share everything. Music was the final piece I hadn’t shared. I’ve been excited and scared at the same time. I’d second guess everything I was writing — I still do. The only thing that changed is you guys.”
In the song’s music video, Rapp is seen alone in an empty house. Shots include her dancing in a room, as well as her standing in a room of mirrors, surrounded by the biggest force holding her back — herself.
Check out the video for “Tattoos” above.