Bebe worked on the album and finished it before the COVID pandemic, with most of the recording taking place in the summer and fall of 2019. Rexha announced the album's title as Better Mistakes, along with its artwork and release date (May 7, 2021), on April 14, 2021,[1][2] along with the announcement of the third single, "Sabotage".[3] On April 15, she revealed the tracklist on her social media accounts. The album was available for pre-order on April 16, conceding with the release of "Sabotage".
Composition
Rexha described the album as a pop record with "a lot of hip-hop in it". She added that it's "not...dance music, but you can bop to it".[4] The opening track, "Break My Heart Myself", which features Travis Barker, makes references to how Rexha lives with bipolar disorder.[5]
Singles
On October 5, 2020, Bebe Rexha announced the lead single called "Baby, I'm Jealous", featuring Doja Cat, would be released on October 9.[6][7][8] The song charted at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100. She released the follow-up single, "Sacrifice", on March 4, 2021.[9] On April 14, Rexha announced the third single, "Sabotage", would be released on April 16, along with the album's pre-order. On April 28, Rexha announced the song "Die for a Man" featuring American rapper-singer-songwriter Lil Uzi Vert would be released as the promotional single off the album on April 30.[10] She later gave a snippet of the song a day before the single's release.[11]
A remix of "Break My Heart Myself" featuring Yeji and Ryujin of K-pop girl group Itzy was released as a single on July 29, 2022, following a viral dance performance of the original song by Yeji and Ryujin in June.[12]
Robin Murray from Clash called the album a "bulldozer 30 minute pop experience" that "affords Bebe Rexha space to amplify her potency while exposing her insecurities", further summarizing it as "13 songs that punch out their truths and then dissipate".[14]
Commercial performance
Better Mistakes debuted at number 140 on the US Billboard 200 becoming Rexha's lowest charting album on the chart.[19] In Canada, the album debuted at number 57 on the BillboardCanadian Albums.[20]
^ abMurray, Robin (May 7, 2021). "Bebe Rexha – Better Mistakes". Clash. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 12, 2021. Bebe speaks her whole truth on a riveting, contradictory, and exhilarating pop album…
^Davies, Jeffrey (May 9, 2021). "Bebe Rexha: Better Mistakes". Spectrum Culture. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2022.