Betty Who: ‘I’d follow Katy Perry’s whipped cream bra into hell’

Earlier this year, in our Travel Issue, we chatted to Betty Who, the Aussie-born, American-raised pop sensation who looks set for chart domination.  Since then, she’s managed to tour the States and release a follow-up to last year’s stunning debut EP, The Movement. 

One of the songs on the EP, Somebody Loves You, has become synonymous with the same-sex marriage movement in the US after it was used in a viral proposal video by gay couple Dustin Reeser and Spencer Stout, which has now racked up over ten million views on YouTube.

Betty’s second EP,  Slow Dancing, is online now but she doesn’t actually release The Movement in the UK officially until June 23, so I gave her a call to find out more about its songs, her upcoming UK tour dates and where she plans on going out while she’s over. Oh, and the prospect of slut dropping to Timber happened to come up, obviously…

Hello Betty. How are you?
“I’m doing great. It’s been a great day so far.”

You’ve just finished touring the States. How was it?
“It was great. A month isn’t long, but for me, because it was my first really big tour, it felt long. So it was definitely nice at the end to come home and hang out in New York again.”

Did you have a big tour bus, or was it all a bit on the fly?
“Oh no. There was no luxury on this tour in any way, shape or form.”

That must be quite fun, though?
“It is. It’s definitely one of those things where I’m going to look back on it and be so happy that I did it. But in the moment of it, you’re like, ‘OK, I want a bed, a shower, a latte; the whole thing’.”

Your debut EP The Movement has had a really good reception and it’s still gaining momentum.
“Yeah, it’s crazy. Especially as there’s nothing out officially in the UK [yet]. There are still people who tweet me every day saying, ‘Oh my gosh, I just discovered Betty Who’s The Movement. It’s amazing!’ I love that it’s not just dead and gone.  That would be kind of sad.” 

I first listened to the EP when it was made available as a free download last year. I probably listen to the song High Society every day.
“That’s great, I’m so glad! That song is definitely the crowd favourite. For a little while I was doing it as an encore.”

I’ve always wanted to know: what was the inspiration behind that song?
“High Society was funny. This is so sad. It’s not this big romantic thing. I was in the studio with Peter, my producer, and he said, ‘I think the title High Society is really cool’. I thought, sure, but I’m living in this shitty apartment in Boston with my three best friends from college and nothing about my life right now is very glamorous. He was like, ‘No! That’s the whole point’. He has a little sister who was 17 or 18 at the time, and she was watching Gossip Girl. He was saying he’d watched the finale of the show and there’s this montage of [lead character] Dan Humphrey talking about opulent wealth in New York on the Upper East Side. As we were talking about it, we started writing the lyrics. I was thinking about being the ‘Dan Humphrey’ of that world: spending the night at some ballroom on the Upper East Side and then walking back across the Brooklyn Bridge, dishevelled, with your tux all messed up. But it’s fine because you got to pretend that you fit into that world for a night.”

Another song from the EP, Somebody Loves You, blew up thanks to the viral video for Spencer and Dustin’s engagement. I heard you performed at their wedding. How was that?
“Oh, it was wonderful. They’re just the sweetest. And there’s absolutely nothing in the world like sitting in a room that’s that full of love and non-judgement. They’re both from very conservative families in Utah; it’s very religious and I think in general most of their family doesn’t really understand. But it doesn’t matter. They were all there in support and loving them no matter what. That was so beautiful to be a part of.

Their mums both walked them down the aisle as I was singing Somebody Loves You. Oh my God, it was so beautiful and everyone was crying. I was trying not to cry because I was singing. It was, like, the most emotional day of my life. I finished singing as they were walking down the aisle and then they started doing their vows. I lost my fucking mind. I just started balling. I was sitting next to this groomsman that I’d never met before and I was holding his hand saying, ‘Oh my God, it’s so beautiful!’ It was incredible and totally one of those moments that I’ll look back on in 30 years and go, ‘I can’t believe I was there’.”

You manage to do something that’s quite rare with your music – you tap into something emotional but dress it up in a shiny, glittery way. It’s only really you and Robyn that manage that, I think.
“Wow. I remember when I first heard Robyn. She had a really big single in America in the ’90s [Show Me Love]; then she disappeared for ages before coming back with [the albums] Robyn and Body Talk and my mind was blown. I didn’t know who she was before that, and I had this gay friend in High School who was like, ‘Have you not heard this song called Handle Me?’ I remember hearing it and thinking holy shit, this bitch is so badass. She’s not compromising her femininity, but she’s also not pretending that she’s something she’s not. I thought that she was really awesome: this really beautiful woman singing about heartbreak but also being really fucking cool. She wasn’t letting it get her down. That was when I was 15 and I was really getting into songwriting. You know, sad songs are great for crying in the shower, but I had this moment where I realised that you don’t have to be crying in the shower about it. The best part of singing Irreplaceable by Beyoncé is that it’s this sing-songy melody but you’re also telling some guy to fuck off. It’s so empowering, I love it.”

Songs like Heartbreak Dream have that defiant moment despite being about something really sad.
“Right. It’s like, I’m in the worst place right now, but also I’m fine and still here and you can go fuck yourself while I play a sold out show.”

Exactly. I love that.
“I try to write from that place because it creates change within you when you listen to it, as opposed to being sad. If you listen to a sad song you’re going to sit and cry. It doesn’t change anything. But if you’re sad and you listen to kind of a sad song that you really relate to that’s also masked as this dance-pop song, I feel like it creates change. It makes you tap your foot as well as cry your eyes out. You’re conflicted about it but at least it gets you off of your bed and dancing.”

You’re currently working on your debut album. Are you still working with Peter?
“I am, yes.”

Who else?
“I had such a good experience writing with [Ellie Goulding producer] Starsmith. He and I did some really cool stuff. Peter says every time I get into the studio with Starsmith, I come out with this way dark song. Everything that Peter and I do is the ‘crying on the dancefloor’ music, but everything that Starsmith and I do, it’s me being so angry. Peter’s like, ‘I love this side of you. I’ve never seen it before’. It’s very moody. Starsmith and I had so much fun, and we wrote those songs we did together with Babydaddy [from Scissor Sisters].”

Amazing.
“Phenomenal. I’m, like, obsessed with him entirely. We had so much fun in the studio. I also did some really cool songs with Claude Kelly [Miley, Britney] and some with Martin Johnson [Avril, Christina Perri]. It’s a very eclectic group of pop writers all around that have worked on my album.”
You’re a big fan of Katy Perry – and told us last year you were having some difficulties getting into her new album Prism. Is that still the case?
“Oh man, yeah, I’m a big fan. I’d follow her and her whipped cream bra into the depths of hell. I think initially everyone wanted Teenage Dream part two and that’s not what she made. I think that was challenging for a lot of fans. I think that she’s amazing and Prism is an artistic album – she made a lot of choices on there that, actually, I think were right choices.” 

I’ve found that it’s been a bit of a grower.
“I think so too. I think it’s hard. How do you make an album after Teenage Dream? When you make an album that is that widely-respected, and it’s the perfect pop album, what do you do then? It’s so hard and her position was so difficult. I think she handled it really gracefully and I think she made a really great album.”

You’re coming to the UK at the end of this month. Are you excited?
“I’m super excited. I think I’m over for two weeks and I’ll mainly be touring. I’m playing the Dot-To-Dot festival and that travels around the country a bit. So I’ll be all over the place.

Where are you planning to go out and party? I thought you’d probably end up in G-A-Y when you’re in London, because there’s one floor where people are dutty wining to Beyoncé, and then another where it’s all hands in the air to Firework.
“That definitely sounds like my vibe, I’ll tell you that. Absolutely. I’m not actually in London for that long, and I definitely really want to go on the Harry Potter studio tour while I’m there. I said to my tour manager: ‘Listen, I know we have work, but this is priority’. My ideal day in London would be a trip to Harry Potter world and then going to that club where I can dutty wine to Beyoncé.”

Before you go out and you’re having some drinks at home, what do you listen to?
“Right now I’ve been listening to Ariana Grande. Baby I and Right There are my fucking jams.”

I can’t handle her. She’s so tiny and has such an amazing voice.
“I know! It’s not fair; none of this is fair. She’s incredible.”

I have to ask: have you ever slut dropped to Timber?
“Slut dropped? Tell me what slut dropping is, I haven’t heard of it.”

Slut dropping is where you stand with legs bended at the knee, then squat until your arse almost reaches the floor, and then pop back up with a body roll, onto someone.
“Oh fuck, that sounds awesome. No, I’ve never done that to Timber. I should though, Pitbull and Kesha are my label-mates. I hear Timber every time I’m in the [record label] RCA offices, like, eight times.”

I don’t know what it is about that song. It’s kind of the worst and best thing I’ve ever heard.
“Right? It’s very conflicting.”

I’ve definitely slut dropped to Timber.
“Good for you.”

Betty Who’s The Movement EP is released officially in the UK on June 23. She plays a string of lives dates across the UK in May, including London’s Hoxton Bar & Grill on May 27.