Bebe Yourself

In town to perform at Mediacorp’s Radio Star Finals, the no-holds barred American singer-songwriter BEBE REXHA tells us about her #nofilter ways and being cornered into giving her songs away.

- Cheryl Ong

We’re seated in the lounge at Grand Park Orchard awaiting our turn to interview American pop star Bebe Rexha when a woman with pin-straight tresses and pink rimmed shades strolls in. She ambles over to the coffee machine to make herself a cuppa and then grabs some cookies on her way out. “These are fantabulous!” she gushes as she sinks her teeth into them. She’s chaperoned by an entourage of three, including a stern-looking security guard, who had shot us a dirty look earlier on when we gingerly asked him, “Is that Bebe?”

Here’s the thing: If it were any other star, we wouldn’t be asking that question. But Bebe doesn’t exactly — and we don’t mean this in a bad way — fit the mold of an American pop singer. Plus, she’s wearing shades which we later learn is due to an allergy. In person, the 27-year-old looks like any hot ang moh girl you would walk past in, say, H&M. She also looks much curvier in person than she does in photos. Then there’s her dressed-down look: An off-shoulder top with jeans and sneakers. The only giveaway that she’s the ‘I Got You’ hitmaker is her famously perky posterior, which can give Kim Kardashian a run for her booty money.