Bebe Rexha

What do pop-punk pin-up Pete Wentz, rap diva Nicki Minaj, Top 40 queen Selena Gomez, and country hitmakers Florida Georgia Line have in common? They’ve all been drawn into the orbit of singer/songwriter Bebe Rexha. Born in 1989, the Brooklyn native has left her fingerprints all over the modern musical landscape through her high-profile songwriting credits, her many genre-hopping collaborations, and her own brutally frank yet undeniably effervescent dance-pop bops. It was Wentz who first spotted Rexha’s potential, when the Fall Out Boy founder invited her to bring her sassy vocals to his short-lived electro side project Black Cards in 2011. After striking out on her own, Rexha initially found success as a writer for the likes of Gomez (“Like a Champion”) and Eminem (“The Monster”), and as a guest singer on David Guetta’s 2015 Top 10 clap-happy banger, “Hey Mama”, providing a chorus hook almost towering enough to overshadow Minaj. But since releasing her own debut EP, I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, that same year, Rexha has applied her pop smarts to songs that are unafraid to dredge up all sorts of messy emotions. Never shy about quoting her therapist in song, Rexha lays her mental-health struggles bare on singles like “I’m Gonna Show You Crazy” and “I’m a Mess”, translating self-loathing into unapologetic anthems. But her 2017 honky-trap hoedown with Florida Georgia Line on “Meant to Be” showcased a sweeter side, cementing Rexha’s crossover appeal to club kids and heartland romantics alike.