Bebe Rexha has walked away from "big" opportunities because of the lack of creative control.
The 29-year-old star struggled to get noticed before her song ‘The Monster’ was recorded by Eminem and Rihanna in 2013, and was often told she would be better off as a songwriter than an artist.
Even now she is Grammy-nominated, the ‘I Got You’ hitmaker always makes sure her collaborations are authentic, and is quite happy to drop something if it’s not going how she wants it to.
Speaking candidly in an interview with Euphoria Magazine, she said: "If I were ever put in a situation where I felt like I didn’t have creative control, then I just left no matter how big the person was.
"If I’m in a situation where there’s no collaboration effort and someone tells me what to do, I’m out.
"I’ve been in really weird situations where I’ve looked like an idiot having walked away from a really big producer because I wouldn’t have them tell me who I need to be."
Even when ‘The Monster’ came out, Bebe was told she’d never make it as a pop star.
She recalled: "I remember when I first moved to Los Angeles and everybody was like ‘you should just go home this isn’t going to work for you.’
"I got signed to a record deal and a songwriter deal, then I had ‘The Monster’ (come out) and they were like ‘No. You have a record deal and a songwriting deal but you should stick to songwriting because you’ll never be an artist."
Bebe is "proud" that she’ll never fit the stereotype of a female pop star and praised Pink for her empowering speech at the 2017 MTV VMAs, where she revealed a moment of insecurity her young daughter Willow, now seven, had about her looks and how important it is to be proud of who you are.
She told the publication: "When I was growing up, all my favourite pop girls were so fit and had abs and sh*t and I will never be that. I will never be a size 2, I will never be size 4.
I will be a size 8 and I’m proud of it.
"I respect P!nk because she said what she needed to say and say f**k you to all the record label people at the time and that’s something you do not do.
"There are women who have inspired me and inspired me to be in the pop world and that’s the reason I’m here today."
Meanwhile, Bebe admitted that she never expected ‘Meant To Be’ to be a hit.
Speaking about the Florida Georgia Line-featuring track, she said: "I think ‘Meant To Be’ is one of those very special situations – not to be corny about it – but it was written in the stars.
"It’s just do different (and) unexpected and I think the best things in life are unexpected.
"I didn’t see ‘Meant To Be’ having the success it did.
"I knew it was a special song, but I didn’t think it would be that big."
Pre-order the Winter 2018 issue of Euphoria Magazine here bit.ly/2rkyB00
Bebe Rexha won’t compromise with creative control
