Better Mistakes (2021)

Better Mistakes is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha, released on May 7, 2021, by Warner Records. It serves as the follow-up to her debut studio album, Expectations (2018) and contains guest features from Travis Barker, Ty Dolla Sign, Trevor Daniel, Lil Uzi Vert, Doja Cat, Pink Sweats, Lunay and Rick Ross. The album was preceded by the singles "Baby, I'm Jealous", "Sacrifice", and "Sabotage".

Background

Bebe worked on the album and finished it before the COVID-19 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, along with the announcement of the third single, "Sabotage". On April 15, she revealed the tracklist on her social media accounts. The album was available for pre-order on April 16, coinciding 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". The opening track, "Break My Heart Myself", which features Travis Barker, makes references to how Rexha lives with bipolar disorder.

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. The song charted at number 58 on the US Billboard Hot 100. She released the follow-up single, "Sacrifice", on March 4, 2021. 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. She later gave a snippet of the song a day before the single's release.

A remix of "Break My Heart Myself" featuring Yeji and Ryujin of the K-pop girl group Itzy was released as a single on July 29, 2022, following a viral dance performance of the original track by the duo in June.

Critical reception

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".

Commercial performance

Better Mistakes debuted at number 140 on the US Billboard 200 becoming Rexha's lowest charting album on the chart. In Canada, the album debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Canadian Albums.

Personnel

• Musicians
• Bebe Rexha – lead vocals

Travis Barker – drums (1)

Peter Rycroft – bass, drums, guitar, synthesizer programming (4)

David Strääf – drum programming (4), guitar (4, 11), backing vocals, drums, synthesizer (10, 11); acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion, programming, violin (10)

Richard Boardman – drum programming, synthesizer (4, 11); keyboards (10)

Burns – all instruments (5)

Pablo Bowman – backing vocals (5), guitar (10)

• Technical
• Colin Leonard – masterer

Jaycen Joshua – mixer (1, 2, 6–9, 12, 13)

Şerban Ghenea – mixer (3)

Tom Norris – mixer (5)

Mitch McCarthy – mixer (10)

Greg Kurstin – recording engineer (2)

Alex Pasco – recording engineer (2)

Julian Burg – recording engineer (2)

Burns – recording engineer (5)

Devon Corey – vocal engineer (2)

Jon Hume – vocal engineer (2)