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Better Mistakes

2021 studio album by Bebe Rexha

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

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".

01Background

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".

02Composition

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.

03Singles

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.

04Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic
Clash7/10
Entertainment WeeklyB
The Forty-Five
Spectrum Culture65%
The Young Folks8/10

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".

05Commercial 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.

06Track listing

Better Mistakes track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Break My Heart Myself" (featuring Travis Barker) 2:31
2."Sabotage" Kurstin2:56
3."Trust Fall" 2:30
4."Better Mistakes"
  • Lostboy
  • The Six
2:15
5."Sacrifice" Burns2:40
6."My Dear Love" (featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Trevor Daniel)
  • Lee
  • Bolooki
2:52
7."Die for a Man" (featuring Lil Uzi Vert)
  • Mira
  • Gill
2:47
8."Baby, I'm Jealous" (featuring Doja Cat)
  • Jussifer
  • Gill
2:55
9."On the Go" (featuring Pink Sweats and Lunay) Keenan2:59
10."Death Row"
  • Rexha
  • Tranter
  • Boardman
  • Bowman
The Six3:00
11."Empty"
  • Rexha
  • Tranter
  • Karvinen
  • Boardman
  • Bowman
  • Jussifer
  • The Six
2:28
12."Amore" (featuring Rick Ross) The Futuristics2:54
13."Mama"
  • Jussifer
  • Lee
3:08
Total length:36:00

Notes

07Personnel

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

08Charts

Chart performance for Better Mistakes
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)57
UK Album Downloads (Official Charts)22
US Billboard 200140

09Release history

Release dates and formats for Better Mistakes
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various May 7, 2021 Warner
July 2, 2021 CD
December 31, 2021 LP
Watch videos about Better MistakesExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Better Mistakes, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

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