2017’s hottest new talent Bebe Rexha opens up about what it’s really like songwriting for big artists and fighting to survive in the ‘cut-throat’ music industry
The American singer is not afraid to say what's on her mind and doesn't hold back when she gets going on the 'dirty' ways of the music industry
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In less than 12 months Bebe Rexha has scored a Top 10 hit alongside super-producer Martin Garrix with In The Name of Love, collaborated with Nicki Minaj on her single No Broken Hearts and hosted the MTV European Music Awards.
But the 27 year old is no flash in the pan.
For the past 10 years she has worked tirelessly behind the scenes as a songwriter.
In fact, Bebe (pronounced BB) is the talent behind some of the biggest hits of recent years, including Eminem and Rihanna’s Grammy-winning single The Monster, David Guetta’s Hey Mama and G-Eazy’s Me, Myself & I.
Her entry into the music industry at such a young age means she is already well aware of its darker side.
She shares a story today that sends shivers down our spine.
It is that of a successful record producer – whom she won’t name – who behaved in an overly sexual manner when she was just 19.
“He would massage my feet and back and [also] call me and be like: ‘What are you wearing right now?’
“But [my old team] didn’t care because he was a big producer.
“At one point when I was at the studios, I felt it was very dangerous, as he was with all of his guys. I told him that he was an a**hole and treating me inappropriately. I was like: ‘F**k you’, called myself a car and just walked out.”
Bebe isn’t the first female star to publicly accuse the male producers with whom they work closely of behaving inappropriately.
In October 2014, pop star Kesha – best known for her No.1 hit We R Who We R – filed a lawsuit claiming she was sexually abused by producer Dr Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald), who signed her when she was 18.
Eight months later, the 29 year old also filed a lawsuit against her label Sony Music.
Dr Luke has always denied the allegations and a judge at the New York Supreme Court dismissed Kesha’s counterclaims, but the legal battle is still ongoing.
After her own traumatic experience, Bebe can identify with Kesha.
“I definitely feel for Kesha,” she says softly.
“But I don’t really know her story, so can’t judge. However, I have gone through situations where guys [that I’ve worked with] have tried to get too close and I did get scared because I thought: ‘F**k I’m going to ruin this [professional] relationship [by turning them down].’
“It’s a hard subject to talk about, but I think she’s a strong woman and I’d love to work with her. I think that the music industry is such an interesting place and there are so many situations that people don’t know about.”
She describes the industry as “cut-throat”, adding: “I’ve had people [threaten] me if I didn’t give a song away [to another artist]. Things can get very dirty and fear was running my career. You have to learn the hard way.”
So does Bebe feel she was exploited?
“Absolutely, all the time,” she says firmly.
“I’ve definitely been taken advantage of with the publishing [deals] for bigger artists. They wanted equal to my per cent, but didn’t write anything!”
However, you get the feeling that if anyone can survive the perils of the music industry, Bebe can.
She may look like butter wouldn’t melt, but she is no pushover and it’s clear she has a core of steel.
“Nothing really scares me any more,” she agrees.
“And I definitely don’t take any bulls**t. My attitude has been a bit crazy lately, like in an ‘I’m strong, don’t f**k with me’ kind of way.”
Crazy is also a good word to describe the whirlwind her life is right now.
She hasn’t been to her house in West Hollywood, which she shares with her brother Flo, in over four months because her hectic schedule is taking her across the globe.
When we arrive at Bebe’s London hotel after the shoot for our interview, we’re herded into her manager’s tiny room and find ourselves squeezed in among a glam squad of four.
Bebe’s platinum-blonde wig – which she will be wearing later that evening to the British Fashion Awards – is perched on a stand as she tries on a variety of outfits before settling on a £42 cleavage-baring silver River Island dress and a Fendi fur coat.
In between chatting, Bebe grabs her iPhone to text her shop assistant mum Bukie and scaffolder dad Flamur, who emigrated from Albania to America when he was 21.
Bebe was born in Brooklyn, New York, and discovered her love of music after joining the choir and appearing in musical theatre shows while studying at Tottenville High School in Staten Island.
Her breakthrough came when, as a teenager, she entered a song into the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences’ Grammy Day event and beat over 700 rivals to scoop the Best Teen Songwriter award.
It was then that Bebe’s star quality caught the attention of talent scout Samantha Cox from BMI, who has worked with Lady Gaga, and she persuaded a 15-year-old Bebe to enrol into songwriting classes.
Originally born Bleta (meaning “honeybee” in Albanian) Blexha, she opted for a stage name as her showbiz career kicked off, choosing her nickname Bebe.
It took six years before she had her first successes, in 2010 – penning the track Like A Champion for Selena Gomez and a K-Pop song that was huge in Korea and Japan.
That same year, Bebe briefly went on to work with band Black Cards, fronted by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy fame, before walking away when things didn’t work out.
“We got dropped [from the record label] and I felt like I’d failed. It was a very tough situation and there were a lot of tears, but I came out stronger.”
Stronger and more successful, things could not be more different now.
Her first album is out later this year and is Taylor-Swift-esque in that its title All Your Fault was inspired by her ex-boyfriend, who cruelly dumped her by text last year after 18 months together.
“You know what I did? I didn’t text him once. If you want to do that to me, then I’ll go cold on you, have a breakdown and write a song.
“I chose that title for my album because my ex f**ked me up. I came to the realisation that it must be all my fault, because you only allow people to have this power over you if you give it to them.
“Then I wrote a song called Bad Bitch, which is an anthem about being a strong woman.”
Unlike many American stars – who are media trained to within an inch of their lives – Bebe is not afraid to say what’s on her mind.
Ask her anything and she will answer honestly, particularly on the peculiar way that the music industry sometimes works.
On co-writing a song for Rihanna and Eminem, she says: “I’ve never spoken to them ever! It was literally just my manager sending their manager [song] files. I thought we were going to be best friends. I bumped into Rihanna later and I don’t think she knew I wrote the song.”
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On David Guetta finally giving her a vocalist and songwriter credit three months after Hey Mama was released in March 2015?
“It definitely made me bitter. I was told that there were too many names on the record and it couldn’t fit on radio with mine on it, too. I think I was just a newer artist and they didn’t care. It really hurt.
“It taught me to really fight for myself and not be worried about ruining work relationships, because I didn’t do anything wrong. I was told to be very careful and act more feminine and [not] fight so much.”
And what does Bebe have to say to those who feel female singers have become oversexualised?
“If a female pop star took her shirt off on stage the world will see her as a hoe. But if a male singer does, it’s the hottest thing ever. I’d love to f**king wear big T-shirts, but then I’d look like a crazy artist who didn’t care.
“I’m not saying we should all take our tops off, but do what you want. I think we need to stop judging people and then it will be a more peaceful world.”
Bebe is undoubtedly a strong young woman, but she is also a very sweet one.
She has hugs for everyone on our shoot, including the intern who has been shyly hovering at the back of the room.
Not only that, but she’s got real star quality off the stage, too, and has the team in stitches with her mock twerking.
A role model for the new generation of teens, it’s about time Bebe stepped out of the shadows.
Bebe’s single I Got You is out now.