The Pitch Perfect series of movies has developed a reputation of featuring a fantastic catalogue of songs, featuring both old and new music hits. It was through this avenue that I got my first exposure to the music of Betty Who when her 2014 hit Heartbreak Dream was used over the closing credits of the second movie in the series – so taken was I by the song that I decided to stay for the the duration of the song in the cinema.

The fantastic instrumentation and production, along with the subject matter, instantly connected with me and the imagery created throughout the track by Who (whose real name is Jessica Anne Newham, the stage name coming from a song about unrequited love that she wrote when she was 16 years old) drew me in instantly.

Throughout the track, Who takes us through the different signs that she can she that the relationship that she once had is starting to unravel. The gradual distancing of two people is something is dealt with especially well at different points during the song, including that moment when you realise that time apart has not been as difficult for the other person as it has been for you.

“When you hold me, it feels like you don’t know me,

We are worlds apart

When you kiss me, I know you haven’t missed me

You keep breaking my heart”

The sense of nostalgia and wishing for the way things were that comes during this phase of a relationship is also put in a central part throughout the song. The song opens with a short refrain about these times and sets up the idea of a happy relationship that will begin to come apart as the song continues to progress.

“It’s you and me

It’s slow dancing to anything playing

It’s us colliding

It’s never finding when we should say when”

MK