Bleta Rexha was born on August 30, 1989, in Brooklyn, New York City; her family is Albanian and from North Macedonia.[13][14][15] Her father, Flamur Rexha, was born in Debar, North Macedonia when it was part of Yugoslavia and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 21.[14] Her mother, Bukurije, was born in the United States to an Albanian family with roots in Gostivar which is northeast of Debar and separated by Mavrovo National Park.[14][16][17] In the Albanian language, bletë means "bee". She said, "My parents are Albanian, and people started calling me 'Bebe' for short."[6] She and her family moved to nearby Staten Island when she was six.[18] Rexha has a brother named Florent.[19][20]
As a teenager, she submitted a song to be performed at the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences' annual "Grammy Career Day" event. Rexha earned the "Best Teen Songwriter" award; about 700 were in the competition.[18][28][29] As a result, she signed a contract with talent scout Samantha Cox, who encouraged her to enroll in songwriting classes in Manhattan.[21][30]
In 2008 had a shortlived deal with Island Def which they canceled. In 2010, she met Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz and began working with him at a recording studio in New York City.[22][31] She became a member and a lead vocalist of Wentz's new experimental project called Black Cards. The band played a variety of live shows and released several singles and remixes. However, in January 2012, Wentz announced that Rexha had left the band to pursue other endeavors.[32] Bebe Rexha was awarded the Abe Olman Scholarship for her contributions as a songwriter later that year.[33]
2013–2016: Solo debut, I Don't Wanna Grow Up and collaborations
In December 2014, Rexha released two more singles, "I'm Gonna Show You Crazy" and "Gone".[39][40] On May 12, 2015, she released her debut EP, I Don't Wanna Grow Up, through Warner Bros. Records.[41] She also co-wrote and was featured on David Guetta's single "Hey Mama", alongside Nicki Minaj and Afrojack.[8] The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and received 1.1 million downloads as of June 2015[update]. The song did not originally credit Rexha, despite the fact that she sings the chorus and is featured on background vocals. Eventually, in June 2015, she was given a credit for her work.[41][42]
In January 2015, Rexha co-wrote and was featured on G-Eazy's "Me, Myself & I". The song peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100[43] and at number one on the US Pop Songs chart.[44] The song was originally titled "I Don't Need Anything" and was intended as a song for Rexha herself. Instead she took the song idea to G-Eazy and was featured in the chorus of the song.[45] She met Nicki Minaj's manager, Gee Roberson, and asked if Minaj would contribute to a new song. In March 2016, Rexha released her single, called "No Broken Hearts" featuring Nicki Minaj.[30][46] In April 2016, the music video was released, directed by Dave Meyer.[47] The video has accumulated over 300 million views on YouTube.[48]
On July 29, 2016, Rexha and Dutch DJ and record producer Martin Garrix released their single, "In the Name of Love". It peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100, at number four on US Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and entered the top 10 in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Italy, and New Zealand. The music video was released on August 23, 2016, on Martin Garrix's YouTube channel.[49]
On October 28, 2016, Rexha released "I Got You". That song along with "No Broken Hearts" were originally intended for the All Your Fault album.[50]I Got You peaked at number 43 on the US Billboard Hot 100[51] and at number 17 on the US Pop Songs chart.[52] The music video was released on January 6, 2017, and reached over 50 million views in four weeks, and has accumulated over 365 million views on YouTube.[53] Direction changed from a full studio album to a multi EP project and "No Broken Hearts" was scrapped, making "I Got You" the first and only single from All Your Fault: Pt. 1, released on February 17, 2017. The EP peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200.[54] In March 2017 in Dallas, Rexha began her first solo headlining tour, promoting the EP across North America and Europe, named the All Your Fault Tour, with a total of 29 dates.[55]
On November 6, 2016, Rexha hosted the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards, at Rotterdam, Netherlands and performed multiple songs throughout the night, such as her single, "I Got You".[56]
In May 2017, Bebe Rexha: The Ride, a documentary which explores the moments which changed Rexha's life and journey to stardom, aired on MTV.[57]
"The Way I Are (Dance with Somebody)" featuring Lil Wayne was released as the first single from All Your Fault: Pt. 2 on May 19, 2017.[58] On June 12, Rexha performed the song at the Ubisoft E3 press conference, before announcing Just Dance 2018, on which the song appears.[59] The second EP as part of the project was released on August 11, 2017. In support of the EP and American singer and songwriter Marc E. Bassy's debut album, Rexha planned to go on a co-headlining tour across the United States: the Bebe & Bassy Tour, in October 2017. The tour was short-lived due to an infection putting Rexha on strict vocal rest, with Marc E. Bassy eventually going on a solo US tour in March 2018.[60][61]
On October 24, 2017, "Meant to Be" with Florida Georgia Line was released as the second single from All Your Fault: Pt. 2, with the music video premiering a day earlier.[62][63] The song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100[64] and as of November 17, 2018[update], has spent 50 weeks at number one on the US Hot Country Songs chart,[65] breaking the record for most weeks atop the chart previously held by "Body Like a Back Road" by Sam Hunt.
In September 2017, Rexha began teasing new songs for a third installment in the All Your Fault series, with her manager going on record about its release.[66] However, it appeared plans had changed, as Bebe revealed through a tweet in November 2017 that her next project would be called Expectations.[67] Rexha revealed the cover art for this debut studio album on April 8, 2018, and the album was released on June 22, 2018.[11] Previous singles from All Your Fault, "I Got You" and "Meant to Be" appear on Expectations as well.
On April 13, 2018, "Ferrari" and "2 Souls on Fire", the latter of which features Quavo of Migos, were released as promotional singles along with the pre-order.[68] On June 15, 2018, "I'm a Mess" was released as the first single from the album.[69] On November 20, 2018, "Say My Name" was released which featured David Guetta and J Balvin.[70] In December 2018, Rexha was nominated for Best New Artist at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards.[71]
On January 26, 2019, Rexha performed the songs “Me, Myself & I” and “Meant to Be” on stage at the SAP Center in San Jose, California as part of the festivities for the 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game.[72] On February 15, 2019, Rexha released her single "Last Hurrah".[73] Later that month, it was announced that she would serve as the fifth coach for The Voice's Comeback Stage for season 16.[74] Rexha tweeted in April 2019 that she has twelve songs ready for her second studio album, and that her new music is inspired by Britney Spears.[75] On May 1, 2019, it was announced that Rexha will be one of the opening acts of the Jonas Brothers' Happiness Begins Tour.[76] On May 31, Rexha and the Chainsmokers released "Call You Mine".[77] The song is the Chainsmokers' third project using Rexha's voice, following their remixes of "Take Me Home" by production trio Cash Cash, and her debut solo single, "I Can't Stop Drinking About You".[78]
Rexha gave further information on her second studio album in June 2019, confirming to Bang Showbiz, "I am heading off to the studio now and I am just creating, creating and creating." She further revealed a feminist theme to the new music, stating that "everything I have been writing now is very empowering and in-your-face and I am really excited about it."[79] In July 2019, Rexha tweeted that she had a song called "Mama".[80]
In January 2020, Rexha confirmed in an interview with Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet of the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards that the album is inspired by her mental health journey, and that she "[has] a tracklisting and it's really exciting. I'm about to pick my next single... either a slower one or an up-tempo one."[81] On October 9, 2020, she released "Baby, I'm Jealous" featuring Doja Cat.[82][better source needed] Rexha confirmed in an interview in October 2020 that the album would be a visual album.[83]
On March 5, 2021, Rexha released her new single "Sacrifice", with the music video premiering later that day.[84] In March 2021, she released an accessory line with Puma titled "Bebe X Puma", which is sold exclusively in Deichmann stores in Europe.[citation needed] On April 14, 2021, she announced that her second album Better Mistakes was scheduled for release on May 7, 2021.[85][better source needed] On May 7, she released her second studio album Better Mistakes, along with a music video for "Break My Heart Myself". The album debuted at #140 on the US Billboard 200.[86]
On February 17, 2023, Rexha released the music video for "Heart Wants What It Wants", the lead single from her third studio album, Bebe. The album was released on April 28, 2023, and also includes second single, "Call on Me", released on March 31, 2023, as well as "I'm Good (Blue)". The album features appearances from Dolly Parton and Snoop Dogg. Rexha has described the album as being inspired by 1970s retro style.[88] The album's third single, "Satellite" featuring Snoop Dogg, was released on April 20, 2023, accompanied by an animated music video uploaded on Rexha's YouTube channel. Bebe was released on April 28, 2023 through Warner Records.
At a June 2023 concert, a New Jersey man assaulted Rexha by throwing a cell phone at her head from the audience; she had a black eye and required stitches for her injuries.[89] The man was quickly identified and arrested for assault and battery. Under interrogation, the assailant admitted to the act, saying that he figured it would make for a funny prank. Pending a hearing set for July 31, 2023, Rexha got a restraining order against him.[90]
Rexha has opened up about being sexually harassed on various accounts in September 2019 during an interview with Cosmopolitan, stating how she felt like she "was going to get raped" during one encounter with an unnamed producer in Los Angeles. "He’s really famous," Rexha told the publication, before adding that her former managers pressured her to work with him because she ‘need[ed] a hit song.’[106][107]
Rexha began dating cinematographer Keyan Safyari in 2020. The singer announced their break-up in July 2023.[108][109]
In June 2024, Rexha, who was previously injured by a crowd member's thrown phone at a New York City show the previous year, had multiple people removed from her audience during a concert in Wisconsin for throwing items at her direction. "If you want to hit me in the face, I had them press charges to the other guy. I would love to become richer," Rexha has stated about the incident. She later assured that she was making a "joke" and was "not inviting that" behavior.[111]
Rexha claimed that she was hate crimed in a social media post when she was due to board the Munich-based Lufthansa plane on August 17, 2024 until she spoke to a security agent in Albanian, resulting in her getting banned from the flight.[112][113]
^ abc"Bebe Rexha: Në familjet shqiptare nëse qeshni kur jeni të sëmurë, atëherë nuk jeni të sëmurë më" [Bebe Rexha: In Albanian families if you laugh, while being sick then you are not sick no more]. Telegrafi (in Albanian). December 24, 2021. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2023. Familja nga babai e këngëtares ka prejardhje nga Dibra e Madhe në Maqedoninë e Veriut, ndërkohë ajo e nënës nga Gostivari. [The singer's paternal family originate from Dibra e Madhe in North Macedonia, while her maternal family from Gostivar.]