Newham is also self-taught on piano and guitar, and wrote her first songs at age 14, and began performing as a singer-songwriter at age 16.
After high school, Newham attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. 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.
Betty Who'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 November 30, 2012. 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, Pop On And On, and Popservations. A music video, directed by Evan Savitt, was released on January 22, 2013, and an official remix by acclaimed indie pop producer FM Attack was released on March 11, 2013.
Betty Who’s debut EP The Movement was released on April 16, 2013. 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. It premiered on Billboard on April 9, 2013, one week prior to its official release date and continually received rave reviews from countless major blogs and magazines throughout 2013. Upon release, Idolator described the EP as "A spine-tinglingly euphoric 80's pop nugget," indie pop blog All Things Go claimed she was "charting new musical territory," and the famous UK outlet Popjustice called it "the best proper EP so far of 2013". Press continued to organically build throughout the year, with ELLE calling her "Your Next Pop Obsession" on August 5, 2013 and TIME hand-picking Betty as one of 14 Musical Acts To Watch In 2014.
She’s described her sound as, “taking influences from [past] music and mixing it in with the emotions I’m actually living through. We’re all secretly wrecks and we’re all in love and all being heartbroken. Combining those things for me has been a huge tool to get the sound I want.”
So far, her music has been crafted in collaboration with producer Peter Thomas. The pair operate under the motto that “making something good is easy, the challenge is making it right.”
Betty Who signed to RCA Records on September 15, 2013.
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. 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.'" 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.
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.
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.
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. 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. 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. A music video was released featuring the cast of Queer Eye and Who.
On 15 June 2018, Betty, Pt. 1, Betty 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. 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. 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. By 12 December 2018, streams had surpassed 500,000. 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.
In June 2020, Who launched a Patreon to fund new music and give fans access to exclusive content.
Betty Who describes herself as a "queer, bisexual woman". In 2014, Who began dating photographer Zak Cassar, son of director and producer Jon Cassar. The couple announced their engagement on 21 November 2017. They were married in 2020. Betty Who is a dual citizen of Australia and the United States.
Alone Again
Betty Who Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give you a break driving til you disappear and maybe
Then you'll say, don't ever leave me alone again
You say those three little words, like it's the same as saying
You like my hair when I work this way, but you
Don't seem to care I don't want to end up alone again
So come a little closer, closer
I'll be sure to leave the lights on, lights on
You'll run to me like in a love song, love song
So won't you please just tell me what you want
I'm waiting alone for you to tell me what you need
So baby we can be alone again
Waiting for you, to come around it's like
Waiting for rain in a year long drought, but when it
Rains it pours and you drown me out all alone again
But if there comes a day when you're fast asleep, and you
Call out my name cause you needed me, I'd be the
First to say you'll never have to be alone again
So come a little closer, closer
Let me know if you're coming over, over
I'll be sure to leave the lights on, lights on
You'll run to me like in a love song, love song
So won't you please just tell me what you want
I'm waiting alone for you to tell me what you need
So baby we can be alone again
So come a little closer, closer
Let me know if you're coming over, over
I'll be sure to leave the lights on, lights on
You'll run to me like in a love song, love song
So won't you please just tell me what you want
I'm waiting alone for you to tell me what you need
So baby we can be alone again
The lyrics of "Alone Again" by Betty Who express a desire to escape an unfulfilling relationship and find happiness with someone who truly cares. The song starts with the singer wanting to "get away, anywhere but here" and take a break from the relationship. She hopes that by doing so, the other person will realize how much they need her and never want to leave her alone again.
The chorus reinforces this notion, with the singer asking the other person to "come a little closer" and tell her what they want and need. She is willing to leave "the lights on" and wait for them, hoping that they will return to her like in a "love song". The second verse describes how the singer feels like she is waiting for something that may never come, comparing it to waiting for rain during a long drought. However, she ends on a hopeful note, expressing her willingness to always be there for the other person and never let them be alone again.
Overall, the lyrics of "Alone Again" evoke feelings of longing and desperation, but also hopefulness and determination. The singer knows what she wants and is willing to wait for it, but also recognizes that sometimes you need to walk away from a toxic situation to find true happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Get away, anywhere but here I'm gonna
I want to leave this place and go anywhere else
Give you a break driving til you disappear and maybe
I'll take the wheel and drive until we're far from here and out of sight
Then you'll say, don't ever leave me alone again
You'll realize how much you need me and promise not to leave me alone
You say those three little words, like it's the same as saying
You tell me you love me but your actions say otherwise
You like my hair when I work this way, but you
You appreciate my appearance and my efforts, but
Don't seem to care I don't want to end up alone again
You disregard my fears and concerns about being lonely again
So come a little closer, closer
Move closer to me physically and emotionally
Let me know if you're coming over, over
Tell me if you're planning to visit me
I'll be sure to leave the lights on, lights on
I'll keep the lights on so you can find your way to me
You'll run to me like in a love song, love song
You'll come to me excitedly and passionately, like in a romance movie
So won't you please just tell me what you want
Can you please communicate your desires and needs to me?
I'm waiting alone for you to tell me what you need
I'm here alone, waiting for you to express your needs
So baby we can be alone again
Once we're together, we can have our alone time again
Waiting for you, to come around it's like
Waiting for you to show up feels like
Waiting for rain in a year long drought, but when it
Waiting for something that seems impossible, but when it finally
Rains it pours and you drown me out all alone again
It comes all at once, overwhelming me and making me feel isolated again
But if there comes a day when you're fast asleep, and you
But if there is a time when you're asleep and
Call out my name cause you needed me, I'd be the
If you call out to me because you need me, I'd be
First to say you'll never have to be alone again
The first to reassure you that you'll never be lonely again
So come a little closer, closer
Get closer to me, both physically and emotionally
Let me know if you're coming over, over
Inform me if you plan on visiting me
I'll be sure to leave the lights on, lights on
I'll keep the lights on so you can find your way to me
You'll run to me like in a love song, love song
You'll come to me with passion and love, like in a romantic song
So won't you please just tell me what you want
Can you please communicate your desires and needs to me?
I'm waiting alone for you to tell me what you need
I'm here all alone, waiting for you to express your needs
So baby we can be alone again
Once we're together, we can spend time alone again
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: PETER WALSH, JESSICA NEWHAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind