Reneé Rapp says the thing she used to hate about herself is now her best quality

I have read that you have always wanted to be a pop star. So mission accomplished. So what does it feel when your dreams come true? It feels very exciting. I feel very lucky to have good people around me. Yeah. Because it has always been my dream, for sure. But Renee, what was your dream as a little kid? What did you dream? You know, I've heard you described as a very emotional child, as a very talkative child, as a very someone who wore their feelings on their sleeve, your dad was telling me. So what was your dream? I wanted to do what Beyonce does. Really? Just all I wanted to do. Yeah, I was obsessed with Beyonce as a kid. And I still am. But I was like, please. Join the club. Yeah, exactly. Collaboration coming soon? Oh my god. Put it out there. Put it out there in the universe. We're putting it out there. So here you are, your album came out in mid-August. You're going on tour mid-September. Album's got millions and millions of streams. What are you doing in this in-between period? And how are you preparing for this world tour? I mean, I've been doing a lot. To be honest, a lot of the album rollout process, a lot of it is just talking about it. I feel like I talk about the album more time than I spent actually making it, which is weird. Because somebody would be like, so what's the inspiration? I'm like, well, the 10 worst things that have happened to me over the last six months, if you'd like me to dive in. It's a little sweet. So it's tough. It sounds like it's hard to go back. But you do talk about love and heartbreak in this album. 100%. Yeah. Why is that important for you to be so candid, and also, Renee, so vulnerable? You do that. Thanks. I think that I have learned that the thing that I used to hate about myself, despise, was how much I cared and how incredibly emotionally intense I was and how hard I felt things as a kid. And that was a lot of what I was shamed for, whether it be externally or internally. Now, I think that's the best part of me. So it's actually really empowering, because it's something I used to beat myself up for so much. You know, a lot of people saw you at the Jimmy Awards, a competition, when you won that competition. A lot of fans have been with you from the very beginning. And then you go viral. When you look back on that time in your life, it wasn't that long ago. Right. What does that chapter mean to you? Yeah, I just remember feeling so, like, weirdly insecure and also so driven at the same time. Like, I was so sad. Even when it was, like, I remember the day that it was, like, announced for me to do Mean Girls on Broadway. And, like, that was, like, public knowledge. Why were you sad? I had just, like, gotten texts from friends that I was in high school with that, like, somebody said X, Y, and Z, and it hurt my feelings. And I was like, no, that sucks. Mind you, those are the same people now that will comment under my stuff and be like, oh my god, go, girl, star, da, da, da, da. I'm like, no, don't think I forgot what you said. When you come into town. Yeah, yeah, I'll wait to see you. Yeah, like, circa 2018, where were you? February 2nd at 4 PM, because I know what you did. Right, yeah, wow. But we live and we learn, and we forgive and we forget. All right. Brené, let me ask you this. I have one of those, June 24th, I remember exactly. Exactly, exactly. 9-16, I remember. Yes, exactly. You know, you have this hyper awareness of your emotions. And I love how now you embrace it because it serves as a superpower. But I want to go back to your childhood. I could probably imagine a young Brené having a moment where she's sitting down alone on a couch or in a bedroom, and she has all of these thoughts in her head. Imagine you now walking into that room, putting your arm around young Brené. What would you whisper into her ear? I, it makes me so sad. Like, I'm, I'm, I'm just very proud of her. I'm very proud of her. She was really sad, and that's fine. But I'm very proud of her. Because I like, I see like so much of myself in my younger brother, too. And he feels like, I always cry, man, but he feels like my baby. Like, he feels like I just want to like protect him. And I'm grateful that like he has somebody in his life, hopefully me, hopefully, that like is able to be as open with him as like I want it to be for me. Patty, can you just hand me the tissue? Do you mind if I give you the tissue? Oh my God, please! I cry all the time. It's okay. I love tears. Those are beautiful tears. Yeah, we have some tissue. But what are you thinking, Brené, that's making you so emotional? I know, I, I, I love hearing this. I love hearing this. I just felt very like lonely and weird. I felt very lonely and weird. And it sounds like silly, but like I did. And I like, I always remember like when my friends would say like, oh, I just like don't care. I remember like thinking like, oh my God, I really want to not care. Like I was like, that would be amazing. Like to not care like about anything. But you always cared. Oh my God, I care so much. I care so much. And there's nothing wrong with that. Yeah. I know, now I like it. Yeah. Now I like it. And the resilience. I mean, this album's about resilience. Many of the songs are about resilience. The recent years of your life have been about resilience. A hundred percent, a hundred percent. And I also just like, I like, I just, I spent so much of my childhood beating myself up and I'm so glad that I like don't beat myself up anymore for my emotions. And I also have like good people in my life who they don't want to beat me up for my emotions. But you know what's so great about this is now you are so unapologetically yourself. Yeah. You are, you seem so very comfortable in your own skin. Totally, yeah. And so I think it's helpful for people to say it hasn't always been that way and look how you've come out on the other side. Totally. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, it's also not to say that like, I don't feel like insecure. Like my dad always used to tell me like the most confident person in the room is the person that like knows they're insecure and is like aware of that and accepts that as like something about themselves that is just there. Like I used to think that like, I need to feel like perfect if I want to feel confident. And now I'm like, no, no, no. I actually just need to like be comfortable with the little things I don't like about myself. We're all a little flawed. Yeah. That's okay. A hundred percent. And the flaws are hot. Yes. Flaws are hot. That's right. That's nice. I'm going to write that on my mirror at home. Yeah. Scars are sexy. Yes, scars are sexy. Inside and out. Dad is so terrific. He goes, what are you most excited about? He goes, I just want her to be happy. And I want her to achieve exactly what she wants to. Yeah. He really is very special. Thank you so much. Hey, thanks. Yeah, thank you very much. It's really, really great to meet you. Thanks, you guys too. I love your music and cheering you on always.