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    Review: Bebe Rexha - No Broken Hearts (Feat. Nicki Minaj)

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    It's been a big couple of years for newcomer Bebe Rexha, who first hit our radars in 2013 as co-writer of the smash hit Eminem and Rihanna collaboration, 'The Monster'. Since then, Rexha has skyrocketed to new heights with features on G-Eazy's 'Me, Myself & I' (which peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100), David Guetta and Nicki Minaj's 'Hey Mama' (which hit #8 in the US) and Cash Cash's 'Take Me Home' (#5 on the UK charts), as well as through a truly stellar EP I Don't Wanna Grow Up, released in May of last year.

     

    Now, Rexha has teamed up with another big name for what is surely expected to be her breakthrough solo single - 'No Broken Hearts', which features go-to rap girl Nicki Minaj. First teased mid-way through last year when Rexha promised that fans could expect a "big female rapper" on her next single and Nicki tweeted a portion of the lyrics, the single has been long expected by fans of the up-and comer.

    But does it live up to the expectation? Check it out below and read our thoughts after the jump!

    Following the variations of dance-pop she's explored with past tracks like 'I'm Gonna Show You Crazy' and 'Pray', 'Hearts' is definitely intended to be the formal introduction of a new sound for the singer. Bebe first debuted her new R&B stylings a few months ago with the sultry slow banger 'Atmosphere', which was sneakily uploaded and swiftly deleted from her SoundCloud within hours. But 'No Broken Hearts' is a far cry from the slinky, sophisticated space-age stylings of that track, opting instead to play out like a slower version of 'Hey Mama' with it's pseudo-Caribbean snares and synths. In some ways, this is probably a smart move given the prevalence of this sound lately - check out tropical house tracks like Justin Bieber's 'Where Are Ü Now' and R&B jams like Rihanna's 'Work' for more on that - but it also makes the single feel somewhat redundant and definitely seems like a step back from Rexha's previous work.

    The lyrics themselves are pretty standard for a top forty song, with Rexha repeating "No broken hearts in the club, more drinks pour it up, cos we gonna get it popping tonight" to an almost annoying extent. She's definitely done better with the bittersweet ode to alcoholism 'I Can't Stop Drinking About You' or vengeful 'Cry Wolf'. Nicki's rap itself is pretty decent and perfectly radio-appropriate, featuring what surely must be a contractually obligated reference to her 'MYX Moscado' range of mixers, but after we've experienced some of her best work on features - namely, the legendary 'Monster' - we can't help but be a little disappointed. There's little to love here apart from a reference to Minaj giving them "MILF teas - they be sweating me head bands and gym tees". Minaj does her job well, but does little to go above and beyond the call of rent-a-rapper duty.

    All in all, the track's fairly decent, and we can see it being a hit in certain sections of The Bronx (no tea, no shade). But this is far from Rexha's best work, and definitely not the best way for her to introduce herself to the general public in a big way. To us, it almost seems like a waste of a Nicki Minaj feature which would have been equally as good on previous songs like 'Cry Wolf' or 'Gone'.

    What do you think of Bebe's new single? Did it live up to your expectations, or should she have stuck with her previous dance-pop sound? Let us know in the comments section down below!

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    I don't know who Bebe is outside of that David Guetta song, also featuring Nicki too but the vocal editing is a bit much at points and makes it hard to listen to. :/ It doesn't even sound like Nicki in the intro. :stretcher: Nicki's verse is alright, nothing really special along with the rest of this song. This probably isn't something I'd sit here and listen to intentionally IF it comes on the radio or Spotify I'd probably listen at least.

    Nice review Moses. <3

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    11 hours ago, Breathing Violence said:

    I really like the song, the replay value is insane! 

    I honestly haven't listened to it enough yet to say, but I do feel as though it's the kind of song that will grow on you after a couple of listens...which kind of makes me resent it even more. :stretcher: 

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    10 hours ago, Kevinn Edu said:

    Nicki's verse was alright. But it honestly sounded so plain and generic. As if they didn't even truly try.

    Agreed, Nicki was clocking it in on this one. :'( 

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    1 hour ago, Countess said:

    Agreed, Nicki was clocking it in on this one. :'( 

    But then again she's been so busy with other things I really couldn't imagine her truly focus on making the verse of 2016 rn lol

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    2 hours ago, Kevinn Edu said:

    But then again she's been so busy with other things I really couldn't imagine her truly focus on making the verse of 2016 rn lol

    I guess. :( But it's still annoying when we know what she's capable of!

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    I've been following Bebe since May of 2014 and was truly astounded by her amazing vocals. Her songs are diverse and emotional. I love her.

    But considering all the hype she raised in me for "No Broken Hearts", she certainly broke my heart. For one, the autotune used is a disgrace to her talent and reputation. She has one of the amazing voices I've ever heard and she'd rather us hear a filtered, robot version of it.

    Her lyrics in all of her other works are fantastic. Her songwriting prowess is not to be understated. But then she comes up with what I can only describe as generic and lethargic chorus. 

    Guys and girls out there who didn't like this song either: Give Bebe another shot and check out her EP while you're at it. She'll be back.

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    On 4/5/2016 at 0:39 AM, Guest Bebe Bae said:

    I've been following Bebe since May of 2014 and was truly astounded by her amazing vocals. Her songs are diverse and emotional. I love her.

    But considering all the hype she raised in me for "No Broken Hearts", she certainly broke my heart. For one, the autotune used is a disgrace to her talent and reputation. She has one of the amazing voices I've ever heard and she'd rather us hear a filtered, robot version of it.

    Her lyrics in all of her other works are fantastic. Her songwriting prowess is not to be understated. But then she comes up with what I can only describe as generic and lethargic chorus. 

    Guys and girls out there who didn't like this song either: Give Bebe another shot and check out her EP while you're at it. She'll be back.

    I think saying that she has one of "the most amazing voices you've ever heard" is probably overstating the matter a bit. :stretcher: But I totally agree with you that her voice is nowhere near her best on this track and the lyrics to this song are a mess.

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    20 hours ago, GoneBoy1990 said:

    First song I listen by her and lets just say I'm not a fan. And the video is... this screenshot resume it all. How about no?

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    It's so sad that this is meant to be her breakthrough song so everyone will be judging her on this alone. :'(  Check this song out, it's a million times better:

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    I've now listened to the song a couple hundred times and I actually love it. It took some time, but I went from really being against Bebe's new style to finally accepting it. I kinda hope the entire album isn't like this, but NBH has definitely grown on me.

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    On 4/29/2016 at 4:25 AM, Cypher said:

    I've now listened to the song a couple hundred times and I actually love it. It took some time, but I went from really being against Bebe's new style to finally accepting it. I kinda hope the entire album isn't like this, but NBH has definitely grown on me.

    It's grown on me in that I find it catchy and I'll jam to it if it comes on Shuffle, but I still think it's an incredibly poor written song. :/ 

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    5 hours ago, Countess said:

    It's grown on me in that I find it catchy and I'll jam to it if it comes on Shuffle, but I still think it's an incredibly poor written song. :/ 

    I think I kinda just wait for Nicki's part tbh.

    I still can't get into the music video though. The scenes of them dancing doesn't even fit the song. It's like they played a club remix of the song during the video shoot. :stretcher: 

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    On 5/1/2016 at 2:05 AM, Cypher said:

    I think I kinda just wait for Nicki's part tbh.

    I still can't get into the music video though. The scenes of them dancing doesn't even fit the song. It's like they played a club remix of the song during the video shoot. :stretcher: 

    I just wish they'd been in the same shot just for five seconds. :stretcher: It was all green screened like crazy so it wouldn't have been too hard...

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    1 hour ago, Countess said:

    I just wish they'd been in the same shot just for five seconds. :stretcher: It was all green screened like crazy so it wouldn't have been too hard...

    More of that citylights swing scene too!

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    I just like nickis part in the song . I like her part in the video too . She's very comfortable with her body . She looks good 

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