Bebe Rexha
Bebe Rexha | |
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 Bebe Rexha in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Bleta Rexha |
| Born | August 30, 1989 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Origin | Staten Island, New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Bleta "Bebe" Rexha (born August 30, 1989; Albanian pronunciation: [blɛta bibi ɾɛd͡ʒa]) is an Albanian American singer and songwriter. She is best known for being featured on the singles "Take Me Home" by Cash Cash, "Hey Mama" by David Guetta and for singing "Me, Myself & I" in duet with G-Eazy. She started her career as the lead vocalist of the American band Black Cards created by Pete Wentz, and co-wrote the number-one US Billboard Hot 100 song "The Monster" by Eminem featuring Rihanna.[1]
Early life and education
Bleta Rexha was born on August 30, 1989, in Brooklyn, New York City, to ethnic Albanian parents, who emigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s. Her father is from Debar and her mother is from Gostivar in the Republic of Macedonia.[2] Her real name Bleta means Bumble Bee in Albanian, that's where her nickname Bebe comes from.[3] Rexha began her approach to music at the age of 4, and continued to pursue her love for music through Tottenville High School on Staten Island, taking part in musicals such as Hello, Dolly!, Jesus Christ Superstar and Fiddler on the Roof.[4] She was inspired by musicians such as Stevie Wonder, Tori Amos, John Legend, and The Temptations.[4] Rexha earned the "Best Teen Songwriter" at The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences's annual New York "Grammy Day" event,[4] that allowed her the opportunity to meet many prominent music producers.
Career
Black Cards
In 2009 Fall Out Boy Pete Wentz announced his desire to take a break from music and concentrate more on being with his wife and child. However, Wentz eventually ventured into another musical project. He contacted producer Sam Hollander to discuss an idea to mash up ska, dance and reggae music with '80s British rock and pop to create an experimental sound. In march 2010 he created the band Black Cards with singer Bebe Rexha as Lead Vocalist.
Hollander was instrumental in introducing Bebe Rexha to Wentz, as Rexha would spend a lot of time in his studio writing and recording songs. Wentz decided to sign Rexha under his Decaydance label with Island Def Jam, and during on an interview on MTV, he announced that album was set to release for mid-2011. In the same year, the duo released their first single "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Fame" and many songs were leaked to YouTube, but the album was postponed to March 2012, according to reports from an interview that Wentz did with Spin magazine. On January 12, 2012, the band announced via Facebook that Rexha was no longer a member of the group.[citation needed]
Solo career
In 2013, Rexha was signed to Warner Bros. Records by A&R Executives Jeff Fenster and Alex Wilhelm after a three label bidding war,[5] following success as a professional songwriter, penning songs such as "Like a Champion" for Selena Gomez on the album Stars Dance, "Glowing" for South African-born Island Def Jam recording artist Nikki Williams, and the number-one Billboard Hot 100 hit "The Monster" for Eminem featuring Rihanna. "The Monster", was originally called "Monster Under My Bed". Rexha initially recorded the track as a potential song for her debut solo album, then she and her collaborators pitched Eminem's label a stripped-down version of the song that was later reworked to become "The Monster".[1]
In the same year, Rexha was featured with the New Jersey-based EDM group Cash Cash on their single "Take Me Home", which she co-wrote. The song peaked at number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 5 on UK Singles Chart.[6] Cash Cash and Bebe also recorded an acoustic version of "Take Me Home" along with a video that was released on February 25, 2014 through Big Beat Records.[7]
Rexha is working on her debut album, and has already entered the studio with producers such as David Guetta, Fraser T Smith and Frequency, among others. On March 21, 2014, Bebe released her first single from her debut EP, "I Can't Stop Drinking About You", via Warner Bros. Records.[8] Rexha released "I'm Gonna Show You Crazy" on December 23, 2014 as the second single from her debut EP.[9] Another song, "Gone", was released on the same day.[10]
On April 21, it was announced Rexha would release a five track EP in May called I Don't Wanna Grow Up.[11] The EP was released on May 12, 2015, through Warner Bros. Records.[12]
On March 17, 2015, Bebe Rexha was featured in David Guetta's single Hey Mama, for which she wrote the hook. The song featured her along with American rapper Nicki Minaj and Dutch music producer and DJ Afrojack.
On October 14, 2015 Bebe Rexha together with American rapper G-Eazy released the single Me, Myself & I. The song was originally called "I Don't Need Anything", [13] written by Bebe Rexha,and was intended to be used on her own debut album. Not totally convinced with it, she was looking for a collaboration. She played the demo on piano for rapper G-Eazy, who liked the song and decided to collaborate on the track. They striped the song's verses putting G-Eazy's rap on it and kept Rexha's chorus, post-chorus and bridge, and changed the title in "Me, Myself & I".[14][15] The song has so far peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and at number 1 on Billboard Hot Rap Songs and on Billboard US Rhythmic.
On February 2016 Bebe Rexha announced during a facebook Q&A video, that the first single of her debut album called "No Broken Hearts"[16] will be released in March 2016.[17] The song, that will feature rapper Nicki Minaj is already registered in Ascap and is penned by Bebe Rexha, Nicki Minaj and the Grammy-nominated songwriting and music production trio The Invisible Men among others.[18]
Discography
EPs
- I Don't Wanna Grow Up (2015)
Production and writing credits
Rexha has written and co-produced for a number of artists, including:[19]
| Year | Artist | Album | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Shinee | Lucifer | "Lucifer" |
| Nikki Williams | "Glowing" | ||
| 2013 | Selena Gomez | Stars Dance | "Like a Champion" |
| Eminem (featuring Rihanna) |
The Marshall Mathers LP 2 | "The Monster" | |
| Cash Cash (featuring Bebe Rexha) |
Overtime (EP) | "Take Me Home" | |
| 2014 | Tinashe | Aquarius | "All Hands on Deck" |
| Pitbull (featuring Bebe Rexha) |
Globalization | "This Is Not a Drill" | |
| David Guetta (featuring Bebe Rexha) |
Listen | "Yesterday" | |
| David Guetta (featuring Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha and Afrojack) |
"Hey Mama" | ||
| Bella Thorne | Jersey | "Jersey" | |
| "One More Night" | |||
| 2015 | Havana Brown (featuring Bebe Rexha and Savi) |
— | "Battle Cry" |
| Reykon (featuring Bebe Rexha) |
"All the Way" | ||
| G-Eazy (with Bebe Rexha) |
When It's Dark Out | "Me, Myself & I" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Event | Prize | Nominated work | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Teen Choice Awards | Best Collaboration | "Hey Mama" | Nominated | [20] |
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Collaboration | [21] | |||
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Song of Summer | [22] | |||
| 2016 | iHeartRadio Music Awards | Dance Song of the Year | [23] |
References
- ^ a b "Creating a Monster: How Bebe Rexha's Song Became Eminem's Chart-Topping Hit | Pigeons & Planes". Pigeonsandplanes.com. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
- ^ Zyla, Julian (April 17, 2014). "Bebe Rexha, bashkautorja e këngës "The Monster"". Voice of America in Albanian. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
- ^ "Bebe Rexha name tweet". twitter. September 17, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Who is Bebe Rexha, Blacck Cards lead singer? Videos, audio, photos and bio!". Starcasm.net. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
- ^ "Bebe Rexha "Comeback Kids"". hitsdailydouble.com. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
- ^ "Cash Cash - Chart history | Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ^ "Cash Cash's 'Take Me Home' Acoustic Video: Exclusive Premiere | Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ^ "Bebe Rexha - "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" | NYLON MAGAZINE". Nylonmag.com. March 21, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
- ^ "Bebe Rexha Teases New Single "I'm Gonna Show You Crazy": Listen To A Snippet Of The Fiery Anthem - Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com.
- ^ "iTunes - Musik – "Gone - Single" von Bebe Rexha". iTunes.
- ^ RICHARD BAXTER (April 21, 2015). "Bebe Rexha Announces 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up' EP, Releases 'I'm Gonna Show You Crazy' Music Video". www.popologynow.com. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- ^ "iTunes - Music - I Don't Wanna Grow Up - EP by Bebe Rexha". iTunes Store (US).
- ^ Bebe Rexha- Me, Myself and I (Live)-The Magicians Premiere Tour LA. January 13, 2016 – via YouTube.
- ^ Bebe Rexha Tells Origin Story of G-Eazy’s “Me, Myself & I”. February 4, 2016 – via YouTube.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on8F2OXGfJw
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlB0JKpH2pk
- ^ "Bebe Rexha Teases New Single "No Broken Hearts" (And It Sounds Like A Smash) | Idolator". Music News, Reviews, and Gossip on Idolator.com. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
- ^ "ACE Title Search". www.ascap.com. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
- ^ "Bebe Rexha (production credits)". Discogs. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
- ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2015 Nominations: Taylor Swift, One Direction & More Lead Second Wave of Noms". Billboard.com. July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
- ^ "2015 MTV EMA: See The Full Winners List". MTV.com. October 25, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
- ^ "2015 MTV Video Music Awards Nominees Revealed: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran & More". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ^ "2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards Nominees Revealed!". iheart.com. February 9, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
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