The band played a variety of live shows and released several singles and remixes. She became a member and a lead vocalist of Wentz's new experimental project called Black Cards. In 2010, Rexha met Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz and began working with him at a recording studio in New York City. Rexha with Pete Wentz on September 1, 2011, at the Rumsey Playfield Career 2011–2012: Career beginnings with Black Cards As a result, she signed a contract with talent scout Samantha Cox, who encouraged Rexha to enroll in songwriting classes in Manhattan. Rexha earned the "Best Teen Songwriter" award, beating around 700 other entrants. Īs a teenager, Rexha submitted a song to be performed at the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences' annual "Grammy Day" event.
Rexha lists Coldplay, the Cranberries, Lauryn Hill, Alanis Morissette, and Kanye West as musical influences. After joining the choir, she discovered that her voice was a coloratura soprano.
She also joined the choir, while still in high school. Rexha attended Tottenville High School on Staten Island, where she took part in a variety of musicals. Rexha played trumpet and taught herself to play guitar and piano. In the Albanian language, bletë means " bee" and she explained "My parents are Albanian, and people started calling me 'Bebe' for short." She and her family moved to nearby Staten Island when she was six. Her mother, Bukurije Rexha, was born in the United States to an Albanian family with roots in Gostivar, North Macedonia. Her father, Flamur Rexha, was born in Debar, Macedonia (now North Macedonia), when it was part of Yugoslavia, and immigrated to the U.S.