I See You Bebe Rexha

One of the artists whom I made a point to see was female Singer/Songwriter, Bebe Rexha.

Bebe is a first-generation Albanian-American from Brooklyn and now touring with the Vans Warped Tour. Bebe used to be in an alternative electric band formed back in 2010 by Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz called the Black Cards. Bebe was the lead singer of the band, however, after two years, she decided to go solo with her career. Bebe was then signed to Warner Bros. Records, where she started recording her new album.

As I watched the first half of Bebe’s set from the side of the stage, I noticed something very unique about her. She was chewing gum while singing…which I’m pretty sure is a choking hazard, but she was doing it. She always wore knee pads, which were not the most fashionable thing, but much needed due to her constant death drops to the ground. I loved the simplicity of her outfit, though; with a black crop top and skater skirt. As I saw from past photos of her shows and during the tour, Bebe loves the color black, and boy does she work it.

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As she continued with her set, I made my way to the pit to snap some shots and capture some GoPro footage. As I was in the pit, Bebe began talking to the crowd about how she used to be very insecure about herself as an artist and with her body image; but now embraces who she is. After this, she began to talk about how she wrote the song “The Monster,” which was originally entitled “Monster Under My Bed,” which her previous record label said was shit and didn’t publish the track. Funny enough as we all know, the song was picked up by artist Eminem and reworked, though keeping the same hook Bebe wrote. As a result, the song spent five weeks at number one and sold a massive three million copies; making Bebe one incredibly proud songwriter.

The next song she played during her set was one of my favorites, “I’m Gonna Show You Crazy.”  The song is about how we all have issues in our lives, yet it doesn’t mean we are ‘crazy’ per se but is just a part of who you are. For me, watching her perform this song live was simply amazing; with her energy levels in full force. Bebe was working the stage with her bad-ass dance moves and death drops, and having seen her music video for the song before the show made watching her perform the song even better. The third song she enticed the crowd with, which was a total surprise for me, was the song “Hey Mama,” from featured artists Afrojack and Nicki Minaj. As I was soon to discover, Bebe Rexha helped compose the song and sings the hypnotic chorus. Bebe mentioned before singing the song on stage, that she was upset no one knew it was her singing in the song, however as she made it clear throughout her set, “in the end it doesn’t matter, as long as you keep going for what you want.” I think her part of the song is quite possibly the best.

Finally, Bebe finished with her most recognizable song entitled, “I Can’t Stop Drinking About You,” which has become an EDM-driven anthem. The song, which now had many remixes throughout the EDM scene, is all about how sometimes drinking through a breakup is all you can do. Amen girl, amen.

Thanks for a kick-ass showgirl,

Lex Paige