Reneé Rapp‘s latest single, “Leave Me Alone,” details an uneven tug-of-war between work and play, with escapism and partying coming out on top. But as the musician makes her American Music Awards debut, she’s rebalancing the scales on her own terms.
Rapp began her performance inside a club restroom set before singing, “I’m a real bad girl but a real good kisser,” and breaking out of the set, surrounded by seven dancers. Rapp strutted across the stage in a corseted top and golden belts, commanding the Fontainebleau’s attention.
At one point, Rapp lay down as a camera captured her from a bird’s-eye view. “My ex walked in and my other ex with her / Leave me alone, babe, I wanna have fun,” she sang, swapping out the word “bitch” in the lyrics. “Put the three of us together, that’s a real tongue twister / Leave me alone, babe, I wanna have fun.”
“Leave Me Alone” marked the first release from Rapp as a lead artist since sharing the deluxe edition of her debut album Snow Angel in 2023. “Snow Angel allows Rapp to channel her larger-than-life emotions into twisty pop songs that take big swings while being keenly aware of the human at their core,” Rolling Stone wrote in a review of the record at the time. As the first glimpse into her second album, “Leave Me Alone” serves as a personal reminder for Rapp that being a pop star should be fun.
It’s the job title she’s always wanted, but not the only one she’s ever had. At one point, she was working 14-hour days of the HBO Max series Sex Lives of College Girls before heading to the studio to work on Snow Angel. After two seasons on the show, she cut the thread tethering her to that world and shifted her focus towards cementing herself as one of pop’s most promising rising stars. “I overextended myself,” she told Rolling Stone in 2023. “But I’m glad I did. I’m not big into regrets.”
Rapp references the show, which has since been cancelled, on “Leave Me Alone,” singing: “Signed a hundred NDAs but I still say something/Leave me alone, bitch, I wanna have fun/Took my sex life with me, now the show ain’t fuckin’.” She had to tweak her delivery for the television performance, but it didn’t lose any of its chaotic charm in the process.
The 2025 American Music Awards also features performances from Benson Boone, Lainey Wilson, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, and Janet Jackson. The awards show is airing live from the Fountainbleau Las Vegas via CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
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From Rolling Stone US
