Somebody To Love: Betty Who

The bubbly 22-year-old Australian, born Jessica Newham, relocated from Sydney to the States in 2007 to study cello at Michigan’s Interlochen Center for the Arts.

Having played cello since age 4, by her junior year of high school Who decided she instead wanted to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter. She went on to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, where the musician met producer Peter Thomas, who helped her develop her ‘80s-tinged, dance pop sound.

She released her debut EP, The Movement, in April 2013, initially making it available as a free download. Who signed with RCA in September, days after a marriage proposal video went viral featuring a flash mob dance routine set to her single “Somebody Loves You.” The tune debuted as the fourth-most viral song of the week on Spotify.  

Who is now working on her debut album, which is due out sometime in 2014.

You recently moved to New York. How do you like it so far?

Oh, I love New York. I’m a brand-new New Yorker but I just fell in love with the area, for sure.

What’s your favorite thing about the city?

I think I love how chaotic it is. I love that everyone’s always going somewhere. The “city that never sleeps” is very much an accurate description of the city. And it kind of encourages me to get up and move. Some days it’s definitely daunting. It’s like, “Oh my God, I never want to leave my bed. But other days you get up and it’s like, “Yes, f**k yeah! I can do this!”

I read that your stage name came from a story you wrote at 17 about a boy whose perfect girl was a 1950s housewife. Did you know right away after you wrote the song that Betty Who would be a great moniker?

You know what, I didn’t. About a year and a half later I kind of was toying around with the idea. I kind of always knew I wanted a stage name but it’s such a strange thing to commit to because it’s like you’re committing to being called something else for the rest of your life. You feel kind of pretentious … And then once I said randomly, “What about Betty Who?” And it felt so right that it no longer felt pretentious and weird. And it was like, “Oh great! This is so easy!”

It wasn’t weird at first being called Betty?

I think it still [was]. When [I’m] … working it doesn’t feel weird. And then I’ll go home for Thanksgiving and then I’ll come back to work and someone will call me Betty and I’ll be like, “Oh, that’s right. Yes. Totally.” … If I’m going to a doctor’s appointment or something and my birth name is on the sheet I go to meet them … and I’m like, “Hey, I’m …” and I initially go to say Betty because I’m so used to introducing myself that way. And then I’m like, “Oh, uh, sorry. Uhhh …” and it’s really awkward and weird and they’re like, “Are you OK?”

Can you talk about the decision to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter rather than sticking with the cello?

I always kind of knew that what I’m doing [now] is what I really wanted to be doing. I think I just didn’t exactly realize that it was a possibility and that I might be good enough to do it. I … underestimated my talents at songwriting and singing. I always kind of [thought] it’s just a hobby and no one will ever really take me seriously. And then I got to a point when I [realized] that cello wasn’t where I needed to be. And that [cello] was just not right. So that’s where I ended up probably my junior year of high school in Michigan.

But as for cello, I think I always just wanted to do music and that’s what I knew and at the time cello was what I was doing.

Going back to when you talked about your stage name and how that just felt right, it sounds like trusting your gut has worked out for you.

Right. I think my whole life is a series of right-place, right-time moments.

How has your sound changed since working with producer Peter Thomas?

Oh man. I wanted to be the next Ingrid Michaelson before I met Peter. I was writing songs on guitar and piano, like singer/songwriter, cutesy little songs. Once I met Peter he was initially like, “Your music needs more energy because you have so much energy.” So that’s kind of how we ended up working more on getting this sound.

What kind of music did you listen to growing up?

I didn’t listen to a whole lot of classical because I was playing it all the time. I would listen to the pieces we would play, of course, so I could learn them and everything. … I went through a couple of different phases. A big one for me was boy bands, girl bands slash Britney/Christina era. The early 2000s was very much about ‘N Sync for me.

And then a certain Ke$ha album really affected me in a big way.

When you released your debut as a free download, did you have a say in that decision?

Yes, I did. My management and Peter and I talked about it. And it kind of just made the most sense – that’s kind of how people do it. I just wanted to get my music out there. And I wanted people to just hear it; I didn’t want people to be like, “Four dollars? I’m not going to pay for that. I don’t even know who she is!” Do you know what I mean? I wanted people to know me and to know my music before I asked anything of them. I kind of just wanted to contribute something without asking anything in return.

How did the proposal video that featured your song “Somebody Loves You” affect your career?

I had already had interest from labels for a couple months and we’d been talking to several labels leading up to the video going viral and then once that went viral it kind of jumped everything into this overdrive mode and I signed with RCA a couple days later.

So it wasn’t that the video went viral and everyone all of a sudden was, “Oh my God, we need her!” It was more like a bunch of people I had already been talking to were like, “Here, come quickly, sign with us and not anybody else.” As opposed to before [we were] kind of taking it slow because I didn’t really feel like I needed to sign with a label until the video went viral because it was like, “We’re doing everything on our own!” We had this whole plan for the EP and it was all very gradual and then all of a sudden this thing happened and blew up and it’s like, “Oh. Wait.”

How long have you been touring?

I haven’t even done like a real tour yet. … My first official tour happens in January. … We’re doing a couple dates in the Midwest and then we head up to California for my first Los Angeles and San Francisco and Santa Ana shows. I’m really looking forward to the California shows, I mean, I’m looking forward to all the shows, but I have so many friends in Los Angeles that I’m hoping I can get everybody out to the show when I’m there.

You played some shows in fall 2013, including dates in New York and Chicago. How did those gigs go?

The show in Chicago is one of my favorites I’ve ever played. The shows in New York are always great. I’m so excited about playing other places but I always look forward to coming back to New York because there are familiar faces in the crowd every time.  … If people come to one show in New York, they’ve probably been to a couple because I’ve played around so much so it’s nice, they’re like family kind of.

What’s your live show like? 

I have a three-person band. I have a drummer, a bass player and a keyboard player.

I just sing. Occasionally I play guitar and sing if I do an acoustic song but usually it’s just singing and I dance around a lot. It’s not anything choreographed or Beyoncé-status.

What can you tell us about your debut album coming out in 2014? Do you have a release date yet?

Not too much. A lot is kind of up in the air right now. We’re trying to figure out a lot of  stuff out so I don’t actually have too much information on that yet. But I’m sure when we do you’ll be the first to know.

Upcoming dates for Betty Who:

Jan. 14 – Columbus, Ohio, Rumba Cafe     
Jan. 15 – Milwaukee, Wis., Pabst Theater     
Jan. 16 – Chicago, Ill., Schubas Tavern (Tomorrow Never Knows)
Jan. 17 – Madison, Wis., The Frequency     
Jan. 18 – Minneapolis, Minn., 7th Street Entry     
Jan. 21 – Los Angeles, Calif., Echo     
Jan. 22 – Santa Ana, Calif., Constellation Room     
Jan. 23 – San Francisco, Calif., Rickshaw Stop
Jan. 29 – Boston, Mass. (private function)

For more information please visit BettyWhoMusic.com