Bleta Rexha was born on August 30, 1989, inBrooklyn, New York City toAlbanian parents fromNorth Macedonia.[14][15][16] Her father, Flamur Rexha, was born inDebar, North Macedonia when it was part ofYugoslavia and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 21.[15] Her mother, Bukurije, was born in the United States to an Albanian family with roots inGostivar which is northeast of Debar and separated byMavrovo National Park.[15][17][18] 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 nearbyStaten Island when she was six.[19] Rexha has a brother named Florent.[20][21][22][23]
Rexha initially taught herself trumpet and later taught herself to play guitar and piano.[24] She attendedTottenville High School in Staten Island. Rexha sang in the choir there and took part in a variety of musicals.[25][9][18][24] While in high school choir, she discovered that she is acoloratura soprano.[26][27]
As a teenager, she submitted a song to be performed atthe National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences' annual "Grammy Career Day" event. Rexha earned the "Best Teen Songwriter" award; about 700 were in the competition.[19][28][29] As a result, she signed a contract with talent scout Samantha Cox, who encouraged her to enroll in songwriting classes inManhattan.[30][31]
Rexha withPete Wentz on September 1, 2011, at the Rumsey Playfield
Rexha had a shortlived deal withIsland Def, which they canceled. In 2010, she metFall Out Boy's bassistPete Wentz and began working with him at a recording studio inNew York City.[24][32] She became a member and a lead vocalist of Wentz's new experimental project calledBlack 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.[33] Bebe Rexha was awarded theAbe Olman Scholarship for her contributions as a songwriter later that year.[34][35]
In 2013, Rexha signed withWarner Bros. Records as a solo artist.[36] On March 21, 2014, Rexha released her debut single, "I Can't Stop Drinking About You".[37] The song peaked at number 22 on the USTop Heatseekers chart,[38] while a music video was released on August 12, 2014.[39] On May 12, 2015, she released her debut EP,I Don't Wanna Grow Up, through Warner Bros. Records.[40] In March 2016, Rexha released her single, called "No Broken Hearts" featuring Nicki Minaj.[31][41] In April 2016, the music video was released, directed by Dave Meyer.[42]
On October 28, 2016, Rexha released "I Got You", which peaked at number 43 on the USBillboard Hot 100,[43] and at number 17 on the US Pop Songs chart.[44] The music video was released on January 6, 2017.[45] 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 fromAll Your Fault: Pt. 1, released on February 17, 2017. The EP peaked at number 51 on theBillboard 200.[46] In March 2017 inDallas, Rexha began her first solo headlining tour, promoting the EP across North America and Europe, named theAll Your Fault Tour, with a total of 29 dates.[47]
On November 6, 2016, Rexha hosted the2016 MTV Europe Music Awards, at Rotterdam, Netherlands and performed multiple songs throughout the night, such as her single, "I Got You".[48]
In May 2017,Bebe Rexha: The Ride, a documentary which explores the moments which changed Rexha's life and journey to stardom, aired onMTV.[49]
"The Way I Are (Dance with Somebody)" featuringLil Wayne was released as the first single fromAll Your Fault: Pt. 2 on May 19, 2017.[50] On June 12, Rexha performed the song at theUbisoft E3 press conference, before announcingJust Dance 2018, on which the song appears.[51] The second EP as part of the project was released on August 11, 2017. In support of the EP and American singer and songwriterMarc 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.[52][53]
On October 24, 2017, "Meant to Be" withFlorida Georgia Line was released as the second single fromAll Your Fault: Pt. 2, with the music video premiering a day earlier.[54][55] The song peaked at number two on theBillboard Hot 100[56] and as of November 17, 2018[update], has spent 50 weeks at number one on the USHot Country Songs chart,[57] breaking the record for most weeks atop the chart previously held by "Body Like a Back Road" bySam Hunt.
In September 2017, Rexha began teasing new songs for a third installment in theAll Your Fault series, with her manager going on record about its release.[58] However, it appeared plans had changed, as Bebe revealed through a tweet in November 2017 that her next project would be calledExpectations.[59] Rexha revealed the cover art for this debut studio album on April 8, 2018, and the album was released on June 22, 2018.[60] Previous singles fromAll Your Fault, "I Got You" and "Meant to Be" appear onExpectations as well.
On April 13, 2018, "Ferrari" and "2 Souls on Fire", the latter of which featuresQuavo ofMigos, were released as promotional singles along with the pre-order.[61] On June 15, 2018, "I'm a Mess" was released as the first single from the album.[62] On November 20, 2018, "Say My Name" was released which featured David Guetta and J Balvin.[63] In December 2018, Rexha was nominated forBest New Artist at the61st Annual Grammy Awards.[64]
On January 26, 2019, Rexha performed the songs “Me, Myself & I” and “Meant to Be” on stage at theSAP Center inSan Jose, California as part of the festivities for the2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game.[65] On February 15, 2019, Rexha released her single "Last Hurrah".[66] Later that month, it was announced that she would serve as the fifth coach forThe Voice's Comeback Stage for season 16.[67] Rexha tweeted in April 2019 that she has twelve songs ready for her second studio album, and that her new music is inspired byBritney Spears.[68] On May 1, 2019, it was announced that Rexha will be one of the opening acts of theJonas Brothers'Happiness Begins Tour.[69] On May 31, Rexha andthe Chainsmokers released "Call You Mine".[70] The song is the Chainsmokers' third project using Rexha's voice, following their remixes of "Take Me Home" by production trioCash Cash, and her debut solo single, "I Can't Stop Drinking About You".[71]
Rexha gave further information on her second studio album in June 2019, confirming toBang 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."[72] In July 2019, Rexha tweeted that she had a song called "Mama".[73]In January 2020, Rexha confirmed in an interview withRyan Seacrest on the red carpet of the62nd 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."[74] On October 9, 2020, she released "Baby, I'm Jealous" featuringDoja Cat.[75][better source needed] Rexha confirmed in an interview in October 2020 that the album would be avisual album.[76]
On March 5, 2021, Rexha released her new single "Sacrifice", with the music video premiering later that day.[77] In March 2021, she released an accessory line withPuma titled "Bebe X Puma", which is sold exclusively inDeichmann stores in Europe.[citation needed] On April 14, 2021, she announced that her second albumBetter Mistakes was scheduled for release on May 7, 2021.[78][better source needed] On May 7, she released her second studio albumBetter Mistakes, along with a music video for "Break My Heart Myself". The album debuted at #140 on the USBillboard 200.[79]
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 fromDolly Parton andSnoop Dogg. Rexha has described the album as being inspired by 1970s retro style.[81] The album's third single, "Satellite" featuringSnoop Dogg, was released on April 20, 2023, accompanied by an animated music video uploaded on Rexha'sYouTube channel.Bebe was released on April 28, 2023 throughWarner Records.
At a June 2023 concert, aNew 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.[82] 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 arestraining order against him.[83]
In November 2014, Rexha was featured on rapperPitbull's song "This Is Not a Drill".[89] She also co-wrote and was featured on David Guetta's single "Hey Mama", alongsideNicki Minaj andAfrojack.[8] The song peaked at number eight on theBillboard Hot 100.[40][90]
In January 2015, Rexha co-wrote and was featured on G-Eazy's "Me, Myself & I". The song peaked at number seven on theBillboard Hot 100[91] and at number one on the USPop Songs chart.[92][93] On July 29, 2016, Rexha and Dutch DJ and record producerMartin Garrix released their single, "In the Name of Love". It peaked at number 24 on the USBillboard Hot 100, at number four on US HotDance/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.[94]
Rexha has opened up about beingsexually harassed in various accounts. In September 2019, during an interview withCosmopolitan, she described 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."[109][110]
Rexha began dating cinematographer Keyan Safyari in 2020. The singer announced their break-up in July 2023.[111][112]
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.[114]
Rexha claimed in a social media post that she was subjected to ahate crime when she was due to board the Munich-basedLufthansa plane on August 17, 2024, until she spoke to a security agent inAlbanian, resulting in her getting banned from the flight.[115][116]
^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. RetrievedJanuary 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.]
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