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Bebe Rexha: 'I banged on doors until my hands bled'

  • She's currently in the UK top 10 as part of Rita Ora's all-star pop banger Girls, while her recent single Meant To Be - a duet with country duo Florida Georgia Line - spent 28 weeks at number one on the US country charts.
    Bebe Rexha: Just like Dua Lipa and Rita Ora, Bebe is of Albanian descent. She's currently in the UK top 10 as part of Rita Ora's all-star pop banger Girls, while her recent single Meant To Be - a duet with country duo Florida Georgia Line - spent 28 weeks at number one on the US country charts.
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Bebe Rexha has made a good living out of writing hits for other people and, occasionally, getting to sing them herself.

The New Yorker rose to fame after helping craft The Monster for Eminem and Rihanna, and Me Myself & I for G-Eazy, among others.

She's currently in the UK top 10 as part of Rita Ora's all-star pop banger Girls, while her recent single Meant To Be - a duet with country duo Florida Georgia Line - spent 28 weeks at number one on the US country charts.

It's all the result of a 10-year struggle to make it in the music industry.

"I literally banged on doors until my hands were black and blue... Until they were bloodied," the 28-year-old tells the BBC (her hands seem fine, in case you're concerned).

Ahead of the release of her debut album Expectations next week, here are 10 things you need to know about the most improbably-named pop star since Englebert Humperdinck.

Just like Dua Lipa and Rita Ora, Bebe is of Albanian descent.

"There's something in the water over there," she laughs. "We're strong. We're built like horses and we can withstand anything."

The singer's father Flamur moved to the US when he was 21 and worked menial jobs to support the family. "Mum and dad worked really hard but they never let me know that we had no money," says the star.

Nonetheless, their home in Staten Island was "very strict", the star recalls. "Music was seen as a bad thing. My dad was like, 'That's the devil's career.'"

Despite her father's objections, pop became a refuge for the youngster.

"Growing up, I was always very anxious and I didn't know why," she says. "The only way I felt truly calm and safe was when I listened to music."

Aged eight, she decided to take up the trumpet - which she credits with honing her ear for melody.

"I can still play Hot Cross Buns," she laughs.

Aged 18, Bebe was working in a New York department store when one of her future collaborators swept through the doors.

"I'd walked away from my make-up stand to go and get lunch but someone was like, 'Rihanna's at your counter!'

"I left my lunch and ran down - and suddenly she was in front of me. Stunning, stunning, stunning in real life. I was like, 'Wooooow, she is so beautiful.'

"Everyone was bothering her and trying to take pictures. I was like, 'Leave her alone, let her buy her make-up in peace... And let her talk to me while she does it!'"