Betty Who danced her way onto the national stage and into our hearts in 2013 with her dreamy, independently released EP The Movement. The flirtatious single “Somebody Loves You,” which paid homage to the late Whitney Houston, earned her a deal with RCA Records/Sony Music, yielding two albums including 2017’s The Valley. But the songstress has since parted ways with Sony and returned to her indie roots, starting with the release of “Ignore Me,” her latest powerful pop anthem.
Who says the song could be looked at as an ode to any relationship, romantic or not. “It’s about the experience of being held by somebody when they don’t actually want what you have to offer, but they don’t want you to go just yet,” she says. “It’s about the sadness in those moments but the empowering feeling of coming out on the other side.”
Who says she has never felt more inspired or creative since splitting from her label. “Usually when you’re writing songs, you’ll write 200 and 10 will be released. I wrote about 15 songs and 13 of them are ready to go. My ratio is great. I had a really great string of writing songs that I was super passionate about,” she says.
“Ignore Me” was one of the first songs Who wrote after her deal with Sony ended – an event she looks back on with no regrets. “I was like, ‘I would love it if you could just ignore me so I could heal and be on my way’. So, ‘Ignore Me’ is the perfect song for me to show the world that this is the story I want to tell as an independent artist,” she says.
While the song may be a slight dig at her ex-label, the underlying idea of wanting someone to ignore you in order to move on is universal. Who says she strives to write songs about shared experiences that feel like a knife to the heart. “I want people to listen and think the song is actually written about them,” she says. But in addition to relating to others, she says she also wants to look inward in future music. “Now that I’m a free bird, I want to take this opportunity to spread my wings and explore myself a bit,” she says.
Fans can expect more vintage Betty in upcoming tracks set to be released periodically over the next several months. With a busy spring and summer ahead, Who says the performance she is most excited about is this year’s Firefly Festival – her first appearance there since 2013. “That was definitely one of the highlights of my career,” she says of the performance. “That was a big show for me. I’m excited to go back because I think Firefly has less of an attitude. Music festivals have gotten so ‘cool’ and it’s become less about the music. But I think Firefly is different,” she says.
With her full-circle Firefly Festival moment on the horizon, we cannot wait to watch Who continue on her musical journey.
