Betty Who
Betty Who | |
|---|---|
 Betty Who at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles California | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jessica Anne Newham |
| Born | 5 October 1991 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www |
Jessica Anne Newham (born 5 October 1991), known by her stage name Betty Who, is an Australian-American singer and songwriter. After independently releasing her debut single, "Somebody Loves You" (2012), and her debut extended play, The Movement (2013), she signed with RCA Records and later released her debut studio album, Take Me When You Go (2014).[1] Her second studio album, The Valley (2017), saw the commercial success of her cover of "I Love You Always Forever", which peaked inside the top ten in Australia and reached the top of the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in the United States.
Early life[]
Jessica Anne Newham was born in Sydney, Australia, where she lived until her mid-teens.[1] Trained since the age of four as a cellist, she moved to the United States in 2007 to attend Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.
Newham is also self-taught on piano and guitar, wrote her first songs at age 14, and began performing as a singer-songwriter two years later.[2] Her stage name comes from the title of a song she composed at age 16 about unrequited love.[3]
After school at Ascham in Sydney and Frensham in the Southern Highlands, NSW, Newham attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, studying with singer-songwriter Charlie Puth.[2] During her first semester, she met producer Peter Thomas who was also attending Berklee. Thomas suggested pairing Newham's songwriting with a more dreamy, anthemic production style. The two began writing new material together and developed Newham's sound over the next two years.[1]
Career[]
2010–2013: Career beginnings, "Somebody Loves You" and The Movement[]
As Betty Who, Newham's debut single "Somebody Loves You" was initially released independently as a free download, and was premiered by pop music blogger and at-the-time official Grammy blogger Arjan Writes on 30 November 2012.[4] Co-written by Newham and Thomas, and produced by Thomas, the song garnered immediate praise, spreading quickly online and being featured by other well-known outlets including Socialite Life,[5] Pop on And On,[6] and Popservations.[7] A music video, directed by Evan Savitt, was released on 22 January 2013, and an official remix by acclaimed indie pop producer FM Attack was released on 11 March 2013.[8]
Newham's debut EP, The Movement, was released on 17 April 2013.[9] An independent, free-download release initially, the EP's huge success online helped lead to a large amount of major label interest, before she ultimately signed with RCA Records.[10] It premiered on Billboard on 9 April 2013, one week prior to its official release date.[11]
On 11 September 2013, Spencer Stout uploaded a YouTube video[12] of him proposing to his boyfriend Dustin in a flash mob dance routine at a Salt Lake City, Utah Home Depot. The video, which featured "Somebody Loves You" became a viral hit online. The attention of the video coupled with the track's official iTunes release, led to the song debuting at number 44 on the overall iTunes Charts, as well as debuting as the number 4 most viral song on Spotify.[13]
Who signed to RCA Records on 15 September 2013.[14]
2014–2017: RCA record deal, Slow Dancing, Take Me When You Go and The Valley[]
On 8 March 2014, "Somebody Loves You" reached number one on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs chart.[15]
In April 2014, Who released her second EP, Slow Dancing, which made it to number one on the iTunes pop music charts. The first single from that EP, titled "Heartbreak Dream", was released on iTunes and Google Play on 18 February 2014.[16] The song is used over the end credits of the 2015 film Pitch Perfect 2.
Who has praised Katy Perry, Robyn and Miley Cyrus as influences. She told Variance Magazine in 2014 that they "make pop that's generational. They're making the pop music of our generation that's going to stick around. People are going to look back and be like, 'Oh my God, it's Robyn's Body Talk album. That's one of the best pop albums of the last 10 years.'"[17] Who supported Katy Perry and Kylie Minogue on part of the Australia leg of The Prismatic World Tour and Kiss Me Once Tour respectively. In 2014, Who made her American television debut when she performed "Somebody Loves You" on Watch What Happens: Live.[18]
In late August 2014, Who made the announcement that her full-length debut album, Take Me When You Go, would be released on 7 October 2014. She also released the track list with the announcement. Thirteen songs, four of them being taken from her previous EPs, appeared on the album. From the album, the track "All of You" was her second number one on the US Dance chart, peaking at number one on 21 February 2015.[19]
On 3 June 2016, Who released a cover of Donna Lewis' "I Love You Always Forever". It became her third number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and proved to be her breakthrough hit in Australia, reaching number 6 on the ARIA Singles Chart.
On 24 March 2017, Who's second album, The Valley was released.
2018–present: Independent and Betty[]
On 19 January 2018, Who released "Ignore Me", which is Who's first single as an independent artist, after parting in 2017 with RCA Records.[20][21] On 16 February 2018, the singer released a cover of Kylie Minogue's "Come Into My World" for Made in Australia compilation by Amazon Music.[22] In 2018, Who released a remixed version of Widelife's "All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)" to be used as the theme song for season two of the Netflix reboot Queer Eye.[23][24] A music video was released featuring the cast of Queer Eye and Who.[25][26][27]
On 15 June 2018, Betty, Pt. 1, Who's third EP, was released containing the singles "Ignore Me", "Look Back" and "Taste" as well as two other previously unreleased songs: "Just Thought You Should Know" and "Friend Like Me".
On 14 November 2018, "Between You & Me" was released as another new single. It was the first single from the new album Betty that had not been previously released on the Betty, Pt 1 EP.[28] With the release of this single, Betty Who used different shades of blue and photos of herself on her social media profiles to release lyrics to the song.[29] The lyrics that were revealed were "You've got one hand on the wheel", "Sitting at the red light, tensions are high, vibe you could cut with a knife", and "just between you & me, I can feel something here, wondering if you do too". An Instagram post by Betty Who on the day after the release showed that the single already had 22,310 streams on Spotify, and had risen to 31,000 streams two hours later.[30] By 12 December 2018, streams had surpassed 500,000.[31] The music video for this song dropped on 28 November 2018, in which Betty Who plays herself as well as her own love interest. On 10 January 2019, "I Remember" was released as the fifth single from the album, with the music video for the song being released on 24 January.[32]
In June 2020, Who launched a Patreon to fund new music and give fans access to exclusive content.[33]
Personal life[]
Who describes herself as a "queer, bisexual woman".[34] In 2014, Who began dating photographer Zak Cassar, son of director and producer Jon Cassar. The couple announced their engagement on 21 November 2017.[35] They were married in 2020.[36] Who is a dual citizen of Australia and the United States.[37]
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [38] |
US [39] |
US Indie [40] | ||
| Take Me When You Go |
|
—[A] | 68 | — |
| The Valley |
|
58 | 105 | — |
| Betty |
|
— | —[B] | 24 |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||
Extended plays[]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [39] |
US Heat. [43] | ||
| The Movement | — | 22 | |
| Slow Dancing |
|
57 | —[C] |
| Spotify Sessions |
|
— | — |
| Worlds Apart |
|
— | — |
| Betty, Pt. 1 |
|
— | — |
Singles[]
As lead artist[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [49] |
NZ [50] |
US Bub. [51] |
US Dance [52] | |||||||||
| "Somebody Loves You"[4] | 2012 | — | — | 16 | 1 | The Movement and Take Me When You Go | ||||||
| "Heartbreak Dream"[53] | 2014 | — | — | — | — | Slow Dancing, Worlds Apart, and Take Me When You Go | ||||||
| "All of You"[54] | 2015 | — | — | — | 1 | Take Me When You Go | ||||||
| "I Love You Always Forever"[55] | 2016 | 6 | 33 | — | 1 | The Valley | ||||||
| "Human Touch"[57] | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Some Kinda Wonderful" | 2017 | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "You Can Cry Tomorrow" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Mama Say" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "If You're Hearing This"[58] (with Hook N Sling & Parson James) |
— | — | — | — | non-album single | |||||||
| "Ignore Me" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | Betty, Pt. 1 and Betty | ||||||
| "Look Back" | — | — | — | — | Betty, Pt. 1 | |||||||
| "Taste"[59] | — | — | — | — | Betty, Pt. 1 and Betty | |||||||
| "All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)" (from Queer Eye) | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |||||||
| "The Other Side" (from Sierra Burgess Is a Loser) | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Between You & Me"[60] | — | — | — | — | Betty | |||||||
| "I Remember" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays"[61] | 2020 | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||
| "—" denotes a single that failed to chart. | ||||||||||||
As featured artist[]
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Heaven" (Troye Sivan featuring Betty Who) |
2016 | Blue Neighbourhood |
| "Rocket Girl" (Lemaitre featuring Betty Who) |
2018 | non-album singles |
| "Lovely" (Fly by Midnight featuring Betty Who) |
2019 |
Album appearances[]
| Title | Year | Album | Other artist(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Heartbreak Dream" | 2015 | Pitch Perfect 2 (Special edition)[62] | N/A |
| "Higher" | 2018 | Future | Don Diablo |
| "The Other Side" | Sierra Burgess Is a Loser | N/A | |
| "Easy" | Samurai Sessions Vol. 3 | Miyavi, RAC |
Remixes[]
| Title | Year | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| "Neon Lights" | 2013 | Demi Lovato |
Music videos[]
| Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| "Somebody Loves You" | 2013 | Evan Savitt |
| "Heartbreak Dream" | 2014 | |
| "Somebody Loves You" (New version) | ||
| "All of You" | 2015 | |
| "I Love You Always Forever" | 2016 | |
| "Human Touch" (acoustic version) (featuring Jarryd James) | George Sloan | |
| "Some Kinda Wonderful" | 2017 | |
| "Mama Say" | ||
| "Human Touch" | ||
| "Human Touch" (To the Beat with Kurt Hugo Schneider) | ||
| "Ignore Me" | 2018 | Mark McCune & Mariana McCune |
| "Taste" | Jake Wilson | |
| "Between You & Me" | ||
| "I Remember" | 2019 | |
| "Just Thought You Should Know" (stripped version) | ||
| "The One" | 2020 |
Notes
- ^ Take Me When You Go did not chart in the top 100 of the Australian albums chart, but reached number 4 on the Hitseekers albums chart.
- ^ Betty did not chart on the Billboard 200, but peaked at number 86 on the Top Current Albums chart.[42]
- ^ Since Take Me When You Go charted in the top 100 of the Billboard 200 in 2014 all of Who's subsequent releases are ineligible for the Heatseekers Albums chart.
Awards[]
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | NewNowNext Awards | Best New Musician | Herself | Won |
Tours[]
Headlining[]
- The Convertible Nights Tour (2015)
- Party in the Valley Tour (2017)
- Betty: The Tour (2019)
Co-headlining[]
- Kiesza – Sound of a Woman Tour (2015)
Opening act[]
- Katy Perry – Prismatic World Tour (Australia dates) (2014)
- Kylie Minogue – Kiss Me Once Tour (Australia dates) (2015)
- Panic at the Disco – Pray for the Wicked Tour (2019)
- Kesha – Kesha Live (2021)
See also[]
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Somebody To Love: Betty Who". Pollstar. 8 January 2014. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Amanda Mair / Betty Who". Berklee.edu. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
- ^ Iandoli, Kathy (20 February 2014). "Betty Who? You'll Be Dropping That Question Mark Soon". vice.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Writes, Arjan (30 November 2012). "Somebody Loves You Exclusive Premiere".
- ^ "Somebody Loves You Music Video". Socialite Life. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
- ^ "Download Betty Who's Somebody Loves You". Pop on And On. 27 March 2017.
- ^ "Track of the Moment". Popservations.
- ^ "Betty Who Somebody Loves You FM Attack Remix". Kick Kick Snare. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ Writes, Arjan (16 April 2013). "Betty Who Releases Free Debut EP The Movement".
- ^ "Betty Who Signs To RCA". Billboard. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
- ^ "Betty Who The Movement Exclusive EP Premiere". Billboard. 9 April 2013.
- ^ "Spencer's Home Depot Marriage Proposal". YouTube. 11 September 2013.
- ^ "SPOTIFY'S TOP 10 MOST VIRAL TRACKS". The Big Story. 17 September 2013.
- ^ Writes, Arjan (17 September 2013). "Pop Newcomer Betty Who Signs to RCA Records".
- ^ "Hot Dance Club Songs – March 8, 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ^ "Betty Who's "Heartbreak Dream": Listen to the New Single, Which Is Out Today". Idolator. 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Betty Who: The Promising Fresh Face of Pop". Variance Magazine. 3 February 2014.
- ^ Villa, Lucas (16 July 2014). "Betty Who marks TV debut with 'Somebody Loves You' on 'Seth Meyers' – AXS". AXS. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ "Hot Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ Silver, Jocelyn (19 January 2018). "Betty Who Broke Free & Found Empowerment In Rejection". Out Magazine. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ Bell, Keaton (19 January 2018). "Meet Betty Who, an Unconventional Pop Star With a Plan". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Come Into My World (Amazon Original)". Amazon. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ "Betty Who, Fab Five star in video of 'Queer Eye' theme song". Chicago Pride. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ^ Ziss, Sophy. "Can You Believe? This Video Of The 'Queer Eye' Cast Dancing To The New Theme Is SO Good". Bustle. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ^ Wong, Curtis M. (1 June 2018). "Betty Who Helps 'Queer Eye' Guys Give Their Theme Song A Fancy Makeover". Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ^ Moniuszko, Sara M (1 June 2018). "Let the Fab 5 and Betty Who brighten your day with a glittering 'Queer Eye' music video". USA TODAY. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ^ "'Queer Eye' Star Antoni Cradles His Avocados in New Music Video for Show's Theme Song, Feat. Betty Who". Billboard. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
- ^ "Betty Who Talks New Song 'Between You & Me,' 'Betty' Album & Finding Herself as an Independent Artist". Billboard. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Betty Who on Instagram: "You've got one hand on the wheel"". Instagram. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Betty Who on Instagram: "Over 20,000 streams in a day. I am constantly so humbled by you all. Thank you for hearing and seeing me. Making music for you has been the…"". Instagram. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Betty Who on Instagram: "Crossed half a million streams on Between You & Me