“I had been wanting to do this for a long time,” Bettens has said of her solo career. “It’s a whole new challenge, and it kind of makes me feel like it’s my first record. Everything has a new level of excitement to it, especially touring.” In the summer of 2006, Bettens played several of the summer’s biggest European festivals, in front of crowds of more than 20,000 people. Gigging with new musicians, Bettens was thrilled with the reaction from fans. “The shows were amazing,” said Bettens. “The K’s Choice fans were really excited that I’m doing something different, and people who didn’t know me from Ks Choice really responded to the new songs. It was way beyond my expectations.” The new songs that Bettens has written as a solo artist have also surpassed her expectations. As part of K’s Choice, Bettens wrote songs with a certain sound in mind. Now, on her own, she feels more able to explore herself as an artist, taking risks and blending pop, rock and folk to create a new radio-ready sound that goes beyond anything she had done before. Bettens takes a chance with her lyrics as well, taking a political stance and tackling issues that are important to young people everywhere. The first single from Scream, “Not Insane”, has been described by Bettens as a mini-protest song, attacking people who cannot tolerate others who are different or who live alternative lifestyles. The spirited songwriter’s desire to take risks is also evident in Scream’s title track. “I’d been working on these two songs, and I was really happy with the verses on one but the chorus wasn’t happening. And it was just the opposite with the other - the chorus rocked, but I didn’t like the verses.” Bettens took the verses from the first song and combined them with the chorus from the second to create a quirky song that boasts a sense of urgency. The experiment worked just like her solo career. |
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