2004's Mean Girls is arguably one of the best teen movies ever, and has remained endlessly quotable in the decades since it hit theaters. The franchise is back in theaters thanks to the new movie musical, which is an adaptation of the Tony-nominated Broadway show. The Mean Girls cast is led by actress/recording artist Renee Rapp, who is the new Regina George. And she spoke to CinemaBlend, comparing singing Regina's songs on Broadway to recording them for the movie. Let's break it all down.
Mean Girls has been #1 at the box office for the last two weeks, and audiences seem to be really responding to the new take on North Shore High. Case in point: our Mean Girls review. As you can see in the video above, I had the privilege of speaking with Renee Rapp ahead of the movie's release, where she explained what it was like singing tracks like "World Burn" and "Till Someone Gets Hurt" after her many performances on Broadway. She told me:
Well, it's nice. It's also just a different way of singing completely since you're recording everything. It's been in my body so long after having done it so many times that it just... kind of like, is there. Except the mic is such a different medium. And singing into a mic is so different than singing on stage.
Points were made. Even with the use of microphones, Broadway actors are required to really project their voices in order to bring their performances all the way to the back row. So when Rapp returned to her signature songs for the Mean Girls movie, her vocals could be much more subtle, and include lighter colors of her voice. Of course, she still ends up belting her heart at out plenty throughout the movie's runtime.
Renee Rapp is the only Mean Girls cast member who had played their role on Broadway before, so she definitely had a leg up on her colleagues when filming began. But as she mentioned, it was very different recording vocals for the movie's musical numbers. The new Mean Girl is full of easter eggs, and fans of the musical are treated to new killer vocal choices from Rapp. Later in our same conversation, the Sex Life of College Girls star spoke about how her vocals have evolved as a result of her thriving music career, telling me:
And also I spent the majority of my life singing into a mic now, like in a recording studio. So I feel like my voice has changed in a lot in a lot of good ways hopefully. So yeah, I think it's just a bit different.
Renee Rapp's new vocal choices were just an example of one way that Mean Girls brought surprises for hardcore fans of the franchise. She's been getting a ton of love for her performance as Regina, and even performed songs from her album "Snow Angel" on Saturday Night Live. It really feels like the skys the limit for the talented multihyphenate.
Mean Girls is in theaters now, and the original is streaming with a Paramount+ subscription. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
