Betty Who

Betty Who? Betty WHO. The Australian singer born Jessica Newham brings a greater clarity and intoxicating sense of self in her sparkling new era, supercharged by her epic and playful new single, “Run!” This reintroduction, which marks her first music since 2022’s BIG! is all about authenticity, honesty, and music as a balm in an increasingly hostile and scary world. Following a stint on Broadway performing in Hadestown, Newham felt rejuvenated by this creative detour, taking inspiration from this new style of expression and interpreting the work of Anaïs Mitchell night after night. Betty Who treats life as a stage, the world as her canvas, and life as a vehicle for creative expression—— it’s why her live show is such a transcendent experience. With “Run!,” “Sweat,” and a summer tour on the horizon, Betty Who is bringing that philosophy to audiences around the globe. With passion, optimism, and a renewed belief in the Betty Who mission, Jessica Newham is eager to reintroduce her alter ego to her adoring audience.

“I have to be more brave,” Newham says matter of factly when describing what she learned while playing Persephone in Hadestown. “In the past, I might’ve wanted to be a little bit more safe, and now I realize how much more is to be explored and done. I feel changed,” she explains. The first step in this brave new world? Finally tackling “Run!,” a song that was meant to be included on the last Betty Who album but didn’t make the final cut. It lingered in Newham’s head and heart long after that record came into the world, and it’s easy to hear why: The drums are electrifying, the instrumental somewhere between The Weeknd and Kate Bush. With arena-ready drums and powerful guitar chords, the Broadway influence is clear. When the chorus rolls around, it’s obvious that Betty is comfortable making the grandest, loudest music of her career. Somehow, though, it also marks her catchiest. It’s a tightwire act few could walk as gracefully as Newham does here.

“‘Run!’ was actually my first port of call for this new era. I was like, ‘let me just dip back into the song that I know I wanted to put out and I never did,’” she explains. “It’s the full stop at the end of the sentence before I take a breath and start speaking again.” It was both a continuation of the BIG! era and a fresh start. It signaled for Betty that no ideas would be off limits, that this new direction in her career would follow whatever vision made her happiest and most creatively satisfied.

“I’m really trying to be a little bit more experimental and really have fun. Every artist goes through varying degrees of self seriousness when creating,” Newham says. “Now, I’m at this place where I know a few things: I know I love to dance. I love to make fun music. I love to confess things in music. What if I just bounce around and try a lot of different stuff?” Take “Sweat,” a grinding and techno-inspired dancefloor thriller that is sure to soundtrack late night raves long into the summer. “I wanna get so high heaven’s on the way down,” Betty sings, showcasing that even when enthralled by ecstasy, she’s one of the sharpest lyricists in pop music.

While some artists might shrink at this blank canvas, it’s made Betty Who feel alive and excited about the prospect of new music in a way she’s never felt, not even at her commercial peak (which might just reset itself in the coming months). “My expectation of my art up to now has ultimately made it really difficult to enjoy the process. Since I’ve taken such a step back since Hadestown, I’m trying to just have fun again,” she explains.

Listening to these new singles, it’s hard not to see the smile on Betty’s face, and damn near impossible not to crack a smile yourself. “I have a blank slate in a way that I haven’t had maybe since I started that I’m really excited about. I’m going on a journey and we’ll see what happens,” she declares.

Betty Who has fought too hard and gone to bat for her vision too many times to adhere to someone else’s definition of her work. She’s wrestled back her creativity, and she’s
never letting go. “It’s been an uphill battle sometimes, and I’m not afraid to admit that,” she explains. “This job, in so many senses, is about not stopping.” On singles like
“Run!” and “Sweat” and on her forthcoming tour, Betty Who is defiantly pushing forward, more joyous than ever before.