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.
Wanna Be
Betty Who Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you send me home
'Cause she comes 'round late and she hates it
When we're left alone
She's beautiful, and I just can't compete
But I'd ride with you, die with you
I'd spend my life with you
So come make love to me
I know she's sweet, but she isn't me
Where she lies in your eyes
That's where I wanna be
When a stranger says we look good together, we just laugh
If you only knew how it hurts 'cause you're my other half
This nightmare has become my favorite dream (favorite dream)
'Cause I'm standing in for a love that is the real thing
You know I need you
'Cause I'd ride with you, die with you
I'd spend my life with you
Stuck with me, fuck with me
So come make love to me
I know she's sweet, but she isn't me
Where she lies in your eyes
That's where I wanna be
That's where I wanna be
On the side of the bed where she sleeps
Driving home with your hand on my knee
Not the one that you want, but the only one you need
That's where I wanna be
Ride with you, die with you
I'd spend my life with you
Stuck with me, fuck with me
So come make love to me
I know she's sweet, but she isn't me
Where she lies in your eyes
That's where I wanna be
Ride with you, die with you
I'd spend my life with you
Stuck with me, fuck with me
So come make love to me
I know she's sweet, but she isn't me
Where she lies in your eyes
That's where I wanna be
That's where I wanna be
That's where I wanna be
That's where I wanna be
That's where I wanna be
The lyrics to Betty Who's "Wanna Be" explore the complexities of a love triangle and the longing to be with someone who is already in a relationship. The singer describes a situation where she is sent home after spending time with her love interest because his girlfriend gets jealous. Despite knowing that she can't compete with his girlfriend in terms of beauty, she expresses her willingness to ride, die, and spend her life with him. She desires to be where the girlfriend currently resides in his eyes, as that's where she wants to be.
The lyrics depict the pain and frustration of being in love with someone who is committed to someone else. The singer mentions how others perceive them as looking good together, but it only hurts more because she considers him her other half. The situation of being a substitute for true love has become her favorite dream, emphasizing the longing she feels for a genuine relationship with him. She admits her need for him and expresses her willingness to be with him despite not being the one he truly wants.
Overall, "Wanna Be" delves into the complexities of unrequited love and the desire to be with someone who is already in a relationship. It showcases the singer's vulnerability and longing for a love that may never be fully realized.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a long, cold walk after midnight
The feeling of loneliness and longing that comes after being left alone late at night
When you send me home
When you choose someone else over me and I have to leave
'Cause she comes 'round late and she hates it
Because she dislikes being alone with you when I'm not there
When we're left alone
When it's just the two of us without her presence
She's beautiful, and I just can't compete
I am aware of her attractiveness and feel inadequate in comparison
But I'd ride with you, die with you
I am willing to go through anything with you, even if it means risking my life
I'd spend my life with you
I am committed to being by your side for the rest of our lives
Stuck with me, fuck with me
I want you to be stuck with me, to be emotionally invested and intimate with me
So come make love to me
I desire physical intimacy with you
I know she's sweet, but she isn't me
I acknowledge her positive qualities, but I believe I offer something unique and irreplaceable
Where she lies in your eyes
The way you see her and value her presence
That's where I wanna be
That's the place I aspire to occupy in your mind and heart
When a stranger says we look good together, we just laugh
We find it amusing when others recognize the compatibility between us
If you only knew how it hurts 'cause you're my other half
The pain I feel because you are the missing piece that completes me
This nightmare has become my favorite dream (favorite dream)
The painful situation of wanting you has paradoxically become a source of joy
'Cause I'm standing in for a love that is the real thing
I am substituting for the genuine love that should be directed towards me
You know I need you
I want you to be aware of my dependency on you
On the side of the bed where she sleeps
I desire to be the one who occupies the position next to you when you sleep
Driving home with your hand on my knee
The intimate and affectionate moment we share while driving home
Not the one that you want, but the only one you need
Although I may not be your first choice, I believe I am the one you truly require
That's where I wanna be
Being the person you need, even if I'm not the one you desire the most
That's where I wanna be
The place I strive to occupy in your life and heart
That's where I wanna be
Where I aspire to be with you, emotionally and physically
That's where I wanna be
The position I long to hold in your life and relationship
Lyrics © THESE ARE PULSE SONGS
Written by: Jessica Anne Newham, Peter Thomas, Ali Tamposi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind