Bebe Rexha Brings The House Down In Surprise-Filled iHeartRadio Performance

By Lauren Crawford

December 6, 2018

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Bebe Rexha may sing about being a mess, but she's anything but. 

The "I Got You" singer capped off her breakout year with a live performance on The Honda Stage at the iHeartRadio Theater Wednesday (December 5) night, and she put on a show! Bebe, who is currently on the road for the 2018 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour, came out the gate with nothing but good vibes (and great energy) discussing her debut solo album, Expectations, which dropped in June, before diving into her long list of chart-topping hits.

Bebe made it clear that she does not give in to anyone's expectations, hence the name of her album and unorthodox (but totally amazing) surprise-filled show, which included a number of "OMG" moments, but we'll get to those a bit later. While breaking down the reason behind her decision to name her album Expectations, the 29-year-old singer also spoke about how we have to live our own lives despite societal pressures. (In short, Bebe gave us a word!) 

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"I think for all of us it's like make money, get a better job, find somebody to marry, have kids by this age... it's like this constant [expectation of] what society [tells] you you need to be... Everything in general of what our society has built for people and that can sometimes get really hard because you start building success in your head. But, when you really step back from all of it, you can have millions and millions of dollars, but if wake up to find out that you're going to die, everything will change for you. What you think success is will change for you," she explained to the audience. "So, for me, Expectations was built on having a lot of hit records, and having money and number ones and the end of the day that does not make me happy because I've had moments where I was very sad and depressed where I had [all of] that [success] and then I'm like there are moments where I can sit with a cup of coffee with dog and I could give everything away and I would be the happiest human being in the world."

"I don't care what anybody has; who anybody is; we all go [to the] same place at the end of the day and that's seven feet under, honey," Bebe continued. "So, you better enjoy your life and every second of the day, and you better not listen to anybody who tells you what you need to do and who you need to be to become the person you want to be. You tell yourself!"

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After giving a brief (and totally on point) sermon it was finally time for Bebe to dive into her archive of hits, performing both songs she's written for other's like Rihanna and Eminem's "The Monster," and a few of her high-charting tracks including, "Me Myself & I," "I'm A Mess," "Hey Mama," and my personal favorite, "Meant To Be."

But in Bebe fashion, the show was anything but a blasé run-down of her classics. During her empowering and just downright moving set (the woman sounds even better live, it that's even possible), Bebe kicked off her shoes (explaining she twisted her ankle earlier in the week and just could not take the pain of wearing her sky-high boots anymore #Relatable); she made the audience put down their phones and they actually listened after she gave another word about living in the moment; she also gave us a few iconic twerks (sis has some moves). 

However, Bebe wasn't the only star of the night. An audience member (clearly a die-hard Rexhar) by the name of Rabbi Green, who caught the attention of Bebe with her commentary from the crowd, stole the show as she not only got Bebe to dedicate "The Monster" to her but also got an invite from the singer to come on stage, and that's when the Brooklyn Rabbi became the talk of the night. While beside Bebe, the native New Yorker gushed over her idol, gave a little breakdown of her life as a Rabbi, got the audience to sing her happy birthday, and even gave a little verbal lashing to audience members who were on their phone. (It was totally cute) But nothing was cuter than when she professed her admiration of Bebe, saying, "you are truly my diva, you are my inspiration..." 

She's our diva and inspiration too, Rabbi Green! 

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iHeartRadio LIVE with BeBe Rexha Set List 

1. "Me Myself & I"

2. "Ferrari"

3. "I'm A Mess"

4. "The Monster"

5. "Shining Star"

6. "I Got You"

7. "Knees"

8. "Hey Mama"

9. "Take Me Home"

10. "In The Name Of Love"

11. "Meant To Be"

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Photos: Andrew Swartz for iHeartRadio

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