The Other SideBetty Who

Betty Who

With an iconic platinum pixie cut and an affinity for anthemic pop music steeped in 80s and 90s nostalgia, it’s fun to hear that Betty Who began her music career as a classical cellist. Born in Sydney, Australia as Jessica Anne Newham, the artist moved to Interlochen, Michigan in 2007 to study music at the town’s acclaimed fine arts high school program. There, she developed an interest in singing and songwriting, a love and talent that ultimately propelled her to Boston’s famous Berklee College of Music, where she met fellow student and producer Peter Thomas. Together, Who and Thomas began shaping her sound over the next few years, graduating from a traditional guitar/piano format to the dreamy, synth-heavy pop sound that eventually became her calling card.

Betty’s initial widespread acclaim and notoriety stemmed from “Somebody Loves You”, her very first track, released in November 2012. The song, which remains her most popular to date, quickly became a success, leading her 2013 debut EP and kick-starting the release of three more EPs over the next two years. It survived to become the main single of her debut solo record in 2014, Take Me When You Go, where positive reception and a viral flash mob proposal video helped the song climb to #1 on Billboard’s Dance Chart.

After touring for two years, Who and Thomas dropped a standalone cover of “I Love You Always Forever” in June 2016 to hold fans over until the announcement and release of her sophomore LP. The track became a sleeper hit for Who, leading her to retroactively make it the first promotional single for the upcoming album, The Valley, which was officially announced in February 2017 and released on March 24. The record is an evolution of the themes and sound of Who’s debut, continuing to combine storytelling lyrics with stadium-filling production but focusing on a blunter, refreshingly frank emotional perspective.