Betty Who

Betty Who
Who performing at Capital Pride in Washington D.C.
Background information
Birth name	Jessica Anne Newham
Born	5 October 1991 Sydney, Australia
Genres	Synthpop power pop electronic nu-disco electro house indie pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals keyboard guitar cello
Years active	2010–present
Labels	RCA
Website	www.bettywhomusic.com

Jessica Anne Newham (born 5 October 1991), better known by her stage name Betty Who, is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician based in New York City. She is signed to RCA Records.^[1]

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, and wrote her first songs at age 14, and began performing as a singer-songwriter at age 16.^[2]

After high school at Frensham in the Southern Highlands, NSW, Newham attended Berklee College of Music in Boston.^[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.^[3] 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,^[4] Pop on And On,^[5] and Popservations.^[6] 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.^[7]

Newham's debut EP, The Movement, was released on 17 April 2013.^[8] 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.^[9] It premiered on Billboard on 9 April 2013, one week prior to its official release date. ^[10]

On 11 September 2013, Spencer Stout uploaded a YouTube video^[11] 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.^[12]

Who signed to RCA Records on 15 September 2013.^[13]

2014–present: RCA record deal, Slow Dancing and Take Me When You Go

On 8 March 2014, "Somebody Loves You" reached number one on Billboard's Dance/Club Play Songs chart.^[14]

Who released her second EP, Slow Dancing, in April 2014, 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.^[15] 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.'"^[16] 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.^[17]

In late August 2014, Who made the announcement that her full-length debut album, Take Me When You Go, will 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.^[18]

On 3 June 2016, Who released a cover of Donna Lewis' "I Love You Always Forever".

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions		Certifications
		AUS [19]	US [20]
Take Me When You Go	Released: 3 October 2014 Label: RCA Formats: CD, digital download	—^[A]	68
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Notes

• A. ^ 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.

Extended plays

Title	Details
The Movement	Released: 16 April 2013 (independent)[21] Re-released: 17 September 2013 (RCA)[22] Label: RCA Records / Sony Music Entertainment Format: Digital download
Slow Dancing	Released: 8 April 2014[23] Label: RCA Records / Sony Music Entertainment Format: Digital download

Compilations

Title	Details
Worlds Apart	Released: 23 June 2014 (United Kingdom)[24] Label: RCA Records / Sony Music Entertainment Format: Digital download

Singles

As lead artist

Singles as lead artist, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Certifications	Album
		AUS [25]	US Dance [26]
"Somebody Loves You"[27]	2012	—	1		Take Me When You Go
"Heartbreak Dream"[28]	2014	—	—
"All of You"[29]	2015	—	1
"I Love You Always Forever"[30]	2016	6	1	ARIA: Platinum[31]	Non-album singles
"Human Touch"[32]		—	—
"—" denotes a single that failed to chart.

As featured artist

Singles as feartured artist, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
		AUS [25]
"Heaven" (Troye Sivan featuring Betty Who)	2016		Blue Neighbourhood

Album appearances

Title	Year	Album	Other artist(s)
"Heartbreak Dream"	2015	Pitch Perfect 2 (Special edition)[33]	N/A
"Heaven"		Blue Neighbourhood[34]	Troye Sivan

Awards

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
2014	NewNowNext Awards	Best New Musician	Herself	Won

Tours

Headlining

• The Convertible Nights Tour (2015)

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)

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

References

1. "Somebody To Love: Betty Who". Pollstar. 8 January 2014.
2. "Amanda Mair / Betty Who". Berklee.edu.
3. Writes, Arjan (30 November 2012). "Somebody Loves You Exclusive Premiere".
4. "Somebody Loves You Music Video". Socialite Life.
5. "Download Betty Who's Somebody Loves You". Pop on And On.
6. "Track of the Moment". Popservations.
7. "Betty Who Somebody Loves You FM Attack Remix". Kick Kick Snare.
8. Writes, Arjan (16 April 2013). "Betty Who Releases Free Debut EP The Movement".
9. "Betty Who Signs To RCA". Billboard. 17 September 2013.
10. "Betty Who The Movement Exclusive EP Premiere". Billboard. 9 April 2013.
11. "Spencer's Home Depot Marriage Proposal". YouTube. 11 September 2013.
12. "SPOTIFY'S TOP 10 MOST VIRAL TRACKS". The Big Story. 17 September 2013.
13. Writes, Arjan (17 September 2013). "Pop Newcomer Betty Who Signs to RCA Records".
14. "Hot Dance Club Songs – March 8, 2014". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 8 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
15. "Betty Who's "Heartbreak Dream": Listen to the New Single, Which Is Out Today". Idolator. 18 February 2014.
16. "Betty Who: The Promising Fresh Face of Pop". Variance Magazine. 3 February 2014.
17. Villa, Lucas (16 July 2014). "Betty Who marks TV debut with 'Somebody Loves You' on 'Seth Meyers' – AXS". AXS. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
18. "Hot Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 21 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
19. "ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 6th September 2004" (PDF). Pandora Archive. ARIA (758). 20 October 2004. Retrieved 30 December 2008.
20. "Artist Chart History – Betty Who- Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
21. "Betty Who the Movement". Discogs. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
22. "The Movement (EP) by Betty Who". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
23. "Slow Dancing (EP) by Betty Who". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
24. "Worlds Apart (EP) by Betty Who". iTunes Great Britain. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
25. Peak chart positions on the ARIA Charts:
    • Top 50 positions: "Discography Betty Who". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
26. "Betty Who Billboard Charts". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
27. Writes, Arjan (30 November 2012). "Somebody Loves You Exclusive Premiere".
28. "Heartbreak Dream by Betty Who". Discogs. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
29. "All of You Remixes by Betty Who". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
30. "I Love you Always Forever by Betty Who". iTunes Australia. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
31. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
32. "Betty Who Announces New Single "Human Touch"". We Got This Covered. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
33. "Pitch Perfect 2 [Special Edition] – Original Soundtrack | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
34. "Blue Neighbourhood – Troye Sivan | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 17 October 2016.