Reneé Rapp leads the audience in song during her first-ever appearance on Austin City Limits

PEOPLE offers an exclusive preview of the singer’s performance on ACL TV.

Reneé Rapp has officially taken the Austin City Limits stage.

PEOPLE exclusively shares clips from a brand-new episode of Austin City Limits TV spotlighting the singer and Mean Girls actress. Rapp kicked off her set with “Leave Me Alone,” humorously describing the song as a form of “slam poetry.”

The episode airs Saturday, Jan. 17, on PBS, with complete episodes available for streaming on the Austin City Limits website and the free PBS app. During the performance, the 26-year-old artist captivated the audience on a softly lit stage, dressed in a black gown adorned with detailed beading and blue-and-green sequins.

Introducing one of the final songs of the night, she told the crowd, “Austin, this next song is called ‘I Think I Like You Better When You’re Gone,’” a track from her album Bite Me.

Fans responded enthusiastically, cheering in anticipation. Rapp then invited the audience to join her, asking if they’d sing along. The request was met with even louder applause, prompting her to joke, “Can do? Oh perfect—thank God,” before launching into the emotional ballad as part of her seven-song, high-energy set.

On Oct. 23, 2025, Rapp shared photos from the performance on Instagram, wearing the same outfit seen onstage and captioning the post, “everything’s bigger in texas.”

Her ACL TV appearance is part of a new season lineup, which will wrap up with a one-hour finale on Feb. 7 featuring Leon Thomas, a multiple Grammy nominee for 2026.