Countess LuAnn: I’m Bringing Classy (and Disco) Back

Justin Timberlake brought “sexy” back, and with the debut of her first single “Money Can’t Buy You Class,” The Real Housewives of New York City’s Countess LuAnn de Lesseps is “trying to bring manners — and disco — back,” she tells PEOPLE. “When I made the song, I had dancing in Saint-Tropez in mind.”

The tune, which hit the Web on Monday afternoon, has been catching bloggers’ ears — but even her on-screen sparring partner Bethenny Frankel admitted to enjoying the track.

“Even if Bethenny wanted to be mean, she couldn’t because I think she really really likes the song,” says de Lesseps. “I think [Bravo Producers] were mean to show a clip of me singing off key, but I’m a reality star; I don’t have the luxury that Beyoncé does to not show that footage.”

“I’m putting myself out there,” she says, “knowing that I won’t always be perfect. And It’s scary, but it’s worth it. Let people talk about it. Like my good friend [the late] Princess Hohenlohe [born Patricia Wilder] used to say, ‘If they’re not talking about you, you might as well be dead.’”