Bebe Rexha
Bleta "Bebe" Rexha is an Albanian-American singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York, who first made her mark behind the scenes by co-writing Eminem and Rihanna's 2013 hit "The Monster" before stepping out as a performer. She broke through as a solo act with the 2016 single "I Got You" and the record-setting country crossover "Meant to Be" (2017) with Florida Georgia Line, then returned to the top of dance-pop with David Guetta on "I'm Good (Blue)" (2022). Her catalog moves fluidly between glossy club-pop, confessional balladry, and pop-rock, built around a big, expressive lead vocal.
Rexha has repeatedly named Lauryn Hill as her single biggest musical influence, and has spoken about returning to Hill's blend of soulful, confessional songwriting and gospel-inflected vocal phrasing when she set out to write more honest, personal material.
listen forThrow on Hill's "Ex-Factor" and then Rexha's "I'm a Mess" — hear how a bruised, conversational verse cracks open into a raw, belted admission, the voice left to fray at the edges rather than smoothed over.
Rexha lists Madonna among her formative influences, and her pull toward glossy, club-ready dance-pop and a career of restless sonic reinvention echoes Madonna's model of the pop star as a permanent fixture of the dance floor.
listen forCue Madonna's four-on-the-floor "Hung Up" and then Rexha's "I'm Good (Blue)" — both ride a relentless, euphoric dance pulse under a single sticky vocal hook built to detonate a packed nightclub.
Rexha has cited No Doubt among the acts that shaped her sound, pointing to the band's assertive, genre-crossing pop and a self-possessed female-front delivery she leaned into as she developed her own hook-driven, attitude-forward singles.
listen forPlay No Doubt's brash "Just a Girl" next to Rexha's "I Got You" — listen for the same defiant, hook-forward pop, a chorus delivered with swagger and an eye-roll rather than sweetness.