Reneé Rapp Says Debut Album 'Snow Angel' Represents a 'Really Mature Version of Myself' (Exclusive)

The "Tattoo" singer's debut album 'Snow Angel' is out Friday

Reneé Rapp has been waiting for this.

After years of dreaming about her pop career, The Sex Lives of College Girls actress is gearing up for the release of her debut album Snow Angel on Friday. Speaking to PEOPLE about her creative process, Rapp says the album unveils a "really mature version of myself."

"I think that a lot of my EP thematically had more of a, 'Oh, no, this is what's happening to me. This is what I'm going through' thing, which is great, but I think that Snow Angel is a bit more resilient and it's a bit more matter of fact and has a little bit more bite," Rapp, 23, says.

The 12-track album features Rapp passionately singing about relationships, breakups and growing up — with a song dedicated to her parents. In every track, Rapp writes from experience.

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"All the songs I write obviously are about things that I've been through personally, but I think that any relationship I've ever had in my life is all culminated into one on this project and in these songs," she says. "I love relationships. I love so hard. I am very protective of the people that I love. I'm very protective of myself, and all of these situations were taken from relationships that I had, whether they be good or bad."

When asked if she considers herself a romantic, Rapp responds: "Absolutely."

In the past, Rapp has been open about being the "emotional friend" and managed to hone in on those feelings for her music.

"[Music] has always been the only way that I know how to cope, the only thing that I really know how to do, and it makes me a full version of myself," she says.

The "Too Well" singer realized she wanted a career in music "the second I remember having thoughts."

"My introduction to music was honestly pretty young. My parents were always very, very, very adamant about constantly playing music whenever I was anywhere as a baby," she recalls. "It had to be going, music had to be playing. So I think it just became an inherent big thing for me ever since I was born. It was just such a big part of my life."

Growing up, she wanted to be like Beyoncé.

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"She's obviously incredible in everything, but Beyoncé was how I learned how to sing. I would listen to her records on repeat and be like, 'How can I match her sounds and her tonality? How does someone do this?' So she's a huge inspiration in my career," she says.

On Sept. 15, Rapp will kick off her Snow Hard Feelings Tour and will perform shows across the country before wrapping on Nov. 2 in Brooklyn. Then, she will perform a few shows in Europe from February to March.

What does she love most about performing?

"The energy. It's understanding that that makes my entire career and existence very worth it," she says.

Snow Angel is out Friday.

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