Your Next Pop Obsession: Betty Who

Photo: Alexander Stein

"Betty Who. What? Betty Who. Wait, who? Betty Who. What?" That’s a typical exchange between a Betty Who neophyte and someone from The Who Crew, the steadily bourgeoning fan base of 21-year-old unsigned Australian pop girl Jess Newham, better known by her previously mentioned, sometimes-confusing stage name. (The back story to the idiosyncratic moniker: At 17 she wrote a song called "Betty Who" about an unrequited crush on a boy whose perfect girl was a kind of 1950s housewife—something Newham, a 6'2 bottle blond, pixie-cut, high-fashion loving, classically trained cellist glamazon, is entirely not.) A Sydney native who recently finished cutting her musical teeth at The Berklee School of Music in Boston, Betty Who is riding comfortably on a wave of momentum created by her current EP, The Movement, released earlier this year.

It's a mere five songs, but each is so honed to her smart, infectious, party-pop treatment that it leaves first-time and obsessed listeners alike begging for ten more tracks—which, if all the label meetings she’s had as of late are any indication, we might get. For now, it’s just been her first two singles, "You’re in Love" and "Somebody Loves You," on repeat; next to join the loop is Betty's wistful rumination on living the better life with your one and only, "High Society." Over the weekend at a raucous show at NYC’s Brooklyn Bowl, she played them all, and had the entire place mad-hopping into the early morning. For a taste of what she brings to the live stage, we bring you an exclusive live performance of "High Society" from a recent Betty Who show at seminal NYC music joint, Pianos. We also sat down with her to talk about the track, her impending world domination, and finding love in unexpected places (try your local salad bar).

"High Society" is one of my favorite songs on the EP and I’m so excited it's finally getting out there.
It's such a crowd favorite. Easily my favorite. Maybe even the best song on the EP!
Anything about drinking "chardonnay through the day."
Right? I just wanted to have a song that encompassed that little part of me that like, thinks I deserve to have a Chanel bag. That enjoys spa days with mother. Those kinds of things just feel right in my spirit, ya know? [Laughs] No but really, my producer, Peter, had come up with the title "High Society," and we sat on it for a while. Then Gossip Girl ended.
'Gossip Girl?'
Yes. Let me explain: In the last episode, when Dan is revealed to be Gossip Girl, he gives this long monologue that's set against a montage of the season. Him and Serena at cotillion. Blair and Chuck. All of that stuff at that level of society. Well Peter told me about the montage and wanted me to watch it, so while I was doing that, Peter was playing the music to "High Society," and I started to think about the lyrics and how attractive that lifestyle is, but how only 1% of the population gets to live it. And a lot of times when I'm with a guy, probably in my shitty apartment in Boston watching Arrested Development, I'd really like to pretend that we're going to a ball. I have this image of me standing next to a GQ model with his collar turned up, and we're underneath a bridge walking home at dawn after we've been out all night in the city—and he doesn't make me feel tall in heels. That’s very important.
Of course.
I just wanted the opening of the song to feel like you're leaving a fantasy. Like it had just happened and now you're at that point of going home, but then what's next? Like the country club reference. I’ve never been to a country club, but it happens a lot in Gossip Girl. And also in that Mary Kate and Ashley movie where they escape in England. If Mary Kate can play polo—I want to play polo!
I think that's totally rational. But also hard to fulfill when you're guiding a music career and finishing school.
Well, I'm actually done with school.
Oh, that's great!
Yeah because...I withdrew. You know, one of those things. I was six weeks away from the end but just had to say, "sorry!" I was going to fail. Things have been so crazy and I was never there! So I could do that and waste everyone's time or, ya know, just do the Betty Who thing since it’s all I want.
You're working on a new EP, right?
Yup. Five songs I think. That’s the plan.
That's it? We want more!
My intent for EPs–and really my philosophy on my music—is that every single song has to be worth it. I don't do filler songs. I don’t get them. They don't make any sense to me. Why would I literally waste my time on a song that doesn't hold up to the same standards as the other songs on the album? I won't play it live. So then it's just out there in the universe bringing your name down. So on the next EP I want every track to just be one that I love with every fiber of my being.
Right. And I guess when all of your artistry and vision and, frankly, money are wrapped up in these five songs, they better be good.
I don't even think it's about just that I have really good songs. It's also what they mean. They're such reflections of my spirit. I've put so much of me into this music, but I want it to translate. I try to show people, "This is a song I wrote about one specific time in my life when I had this relationship and it was really hard," and people are like, "Oh my God, I had one just like that!" And I'm like, "I know you did because everyone does and that's why I wanted to write it!" We're all related like that.
Can you talk about one of those moments? One of those relationships?
I have this track, "Giving Me Away." I wrote it about this one guy. The lyrics kind of express it: "If it's all the same to you, could I fall asleep next to you? I've been waiting to hear you breathe because without it I can't sleep...Judging from how we've been, you should kiss me again. Because I don't want to be your friend." He was a friend, obviously. I was feeling this way and he had joked that I should write a song about him, so I did. Then I sent it to him with a text, "I wrote a song about you." It took him like 15 minutes to respond and I was freaking out the whole time. He finally wrote back and just said, "Wow, it's really pretty." I'm like, "That's it?" He just goes, "I really liked it." And all I could say was, "Okay."
That's pretty vulnerable.
I'm a pretty aggressive girl in general. So if there's a boy that I like, you're going to know how I feel. I just put it out there. Which is probably why I'm still single. But also being at Berklee, my environment was being around a bunch of skinny tattooed artists. Fucking artists! I need a little more stable energy in my life, which is why the struggle has been so real for me. And that's what my songs are in a lot of ways. I go through something and then I'm like, "Hey I wrote a song about you."
But I think a lot of people have a similar, immediate response to someone. They just don't know how to express it. Or are afraid to.
Totally! Literally, there was this boy who worked at my local salad bar in Boston. He asked me out and I was immediately like, "Oh my God, he's my new husband! We're having a spring wedding!" He's 26. And he works in a salad bar. But we went on two dates and I haven't heard from him since. Because that’s what happens when you plan your spring wedding around a salad bar boy.
You're already penning a song about him, aren't you?
Not yet but maybe I will now.
So what's next? Where does Betty Who go from here?
My team—I say team, but there’s only three of us! [Laughs]—we're taking meetings at the labels and going from there. I'm so lucky to have them, my manager and my producing partner. If it were up to me I would have signed with 17 people already. But I'm ready to get a full length going. I want to be on the radio.
That's important to you?
Oh yeah. I want it all. I want the Pepsi endorsement. I want the arena shows. I want Times Square!
So you're influenced by the celebrity of it all?
I just like to make it part of my artistry. Like Britney Spears or Beyoncé. But ultimately the music still has to be smart. It still has to say something. Like Michael Jackson. He's a huge influence, artistry and production wise. He took being a singer-songwriter and turned into entertainment, and that's what I love doing. Entertaining in a bunch of different ways. It's not just visual, not just audio. It's everything. It's kinetic. It's tactile. And I love that. It's scratch-n-sniff One Direction posters.
Who doesn't want that?
That's what I want!
Let's be honest. It's what we all want. And salad boys.
Yes, always the salad boy.