Aussie/Bostonian popster Betty Who (aka Jess Newham) has officially arrived with the release her debut EP, The Movement, available for free download starting today.

Produced by Peter Thomas (Neon Hitch, Hoodie Allen), The Movement kicks off with Betty Who’s super-duper single, “Somebody Loves You,” equipped with a towering chorus to match the 6-foot-2 singer, and partly inspired by Whitney Houston’s passing last year. Midtempo follow-up “You’re In Love” is next, a song as sweet as a schoolgirl crush. Shifting tones, the gentle caress of “Right Here” comes next, before The Movement comes to a fantastic close with “High Society,” a Katy Perry-like confection with a pulsating beat and (another) catchy chorus.

I caught up with Betty Who via email a few hours before The Movement was released, wanting to know more about how the EP came together and how she was feeling about this milestone in her still-early career.

POPSERVATIONS: How did you go about choosing the songs to include on The Movement? 

BETTY WHO: “They came together so perfectly over time, Peter and I just kind of felt out what was right. We only wanted one lower-energy song and ‘Right Here’ was perfect for that, still driving, yet sad and kind of beautiful.  ‘Somebody Loves You’ had of course already been out as the first single and ‘You’re In Love’ felt like the perfect follow-up single. ‘High Society’ was the last song to be written/added to the EP, and it’s currently my favorite (I cycle through favorites every other week).

Together they made up exactly what I wanted to put out as my debut EP. I listened to the whole thing through over and over again thinking, ‘If this was the first piece of work someone heard of mine, would I be proud of it?’ and I couldn’t be more proud of anything.”

After coming out with a couple of singles, how does it feel to release your EP? 

“I feel great about everything that’s happening right now. I’m so excited for people to hear more of what I’m doing.”

What’s up next? Will you be touring at all, writing more songs, getting an album together?

“Hopefully touring more, writing a lot and putting out more music — sooner rather than later, too!”

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I predicted that 2020 would be the year that everyone falls in love with Betty Who, and with the release of The Movement, I’m even more confident that Cupid’s gonna be a busy little cherub.

Free download of Betty Who – The Movement EP via her website.