How the 'Cash Me Outside' girl became an award-nominated rapper

Danielle Bregoli of "Cash Me Outside" fame has been nominated for a Billboard Music Award - alongside Cardi B and Nicki Minaj.

The 15-year-old, who goes by the stage name Bhad Bhabie, is up for the title of top rap female artist.

Danielle gained public attention when a video of her appearance on Dr Phil, where she says the catchphrase "cash me outside, how 'bout dah?", went viral.

Her debut single These Heaux reached number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100.

'Cash Me Outside'

Danielle first appeared on US show Dr Phil in September 2016 when she was 13.

While being interviewed about stealing her mother's car, she told the crowd they could "catch [her] outside, how 'bout dah?" - essentially asking for a fight.

A few months later her popular catchphrase became a meme and viral sensation, prompting a ton of tweets, videos, and remixes all over the internet.

The video of Danielle's Dr Phil appearance is now the most-watched on the show's YouTube channel, having amassed more than 46 million views.

Off the back of her newfound fame, she released her own line of "cash me ousside" merchandise, the majority of which is currently sold out - aside from a single T-shirt.

Controversy

Despite becoming a social media star almost overnight, Danielle's rise to fame hasn't been without controversy.

The now 15-year-old was sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including grand theft auto, possession of marijuana, and filing a false police report.

The teen was also banned for life from flying with Spirit Airlines after getting into a fight with another passenger, and has also reportedly been accused of ripping off the brand Champion with her merchandise design.

Perhaps as an ironic nod to her past, Danielle's music tour is called "BHANNED IN THE USA".

Music

Danielle's notoriously bad behaviour hasn't stopped her music career from flourishing though.

Under the stage name Bhad Bhabie, Danielle released her first single These Heaux - which not only made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 77 but also made her the youngest female to land a debut single on the chart.

The single peaked at number one on Spotify's Viral US and Global Charts and garnered over 5 million streams.

Shortly after, she demonstrated just how big an internet meme can become when she was signed to Atlantic Records on a multi-million dollar, multi-album deal.

Billboard Music Award Nomination

Given the power of the internet today it's perhaps shocking but not wholly surprising that Danielle has been nominated for a Billboard Music Award under the top rap female artist category.

According to its guidelines, Billboard Music Awards are based on a 12-month reporting period and take into account album and digital song sales, radio airplay, steaming, touring, social engagement, and interaction with music fans.

Aside from two of her singles making the Billboard Hot 100, Danielle's Bhad Bhabie YouTube channel, which has almost 4 million subscribers and features much of her music, has amassed over 204 million views between the first four videos alone.

The stats suggest Danielle's music has been seriously popular, but some people's reactions have been less than favourable - and a little confused.

Bhad Bhabie is nominated in the category along with Nicki Minaj and Cardi B.

Nicki Minaj has had 86 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, 15 of which were top 10 hits.

Cardi B has had 17 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and her number one hit, Bodak Yellow, marked only the second time in history that a female rapper has topped the charts on her own.

The 2018 award show will be taking place on 20 May and hosted by Kelly Clarkson.

Follow Newsbeat on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.