Sophia Michaels
A couple days out from the release of her debut album, Girl of My Dreams, Fletcher comes right out and says it: “[‘Better Version’] is my favorite song that I’ve ever written in my life.”
What she means is that the song hits harder and goes deeper than anything else she’s done. “As an artist, but first and foremost, as a storyteller and as a songwriter, that is what I’m the most passionate about: putting really complex emotions into words,” the 28-year-old singer continues.
“Better Version” hasn’t been promoted as a single yet, so this isn’t part of some big “my new radio hit is actually art” push. Plus, the album’s lead-off single, “Becky’s So Hot,” is garnering enough attention on its own, having gone viral on TikTok for a whole myriad of reasons. Where “Becky’s So Hot” is assertive and confident, “Better Version” sits on the other end of the heartbreak spectrum. “Better Version” is a relationship post mortem, with minimal production underlining Fletcher’s soft but poignant vocals as she chronicles a story of love gone sour — and what happens after.
Fletcher sings, “Do you think of me when you fuck her?/Do you use the moves, the ones we learned?/It’s always the next person, that gets the better version.” It’s a refreshing — dare we say Alanis-esque — angle into post-breakup bitterness that Fletcher came up with aided by three longtime collaborators: songwriting duo Kinetics & One Love and Casamigos tequila. “This idea, you know, all the things you wanted to heal and work on and all the ways you wanted to get better — somebody else is going to get those new versions of each person,” Fletcher said. “That’s a concept that’s always blown my mind a little bit.”
Fletcher is an artist with a healthy sense of humor who’s delivered chaotic bangers full of cheeky choruses about what dating is really like on New York’s Lower East Side, but “Better Version” has none of that. As she puts it: “This one is just fucking sad. This one kind of fucking hurts.” Full stop. There’s no sly wink on the other side or another line about Fletcher’s love of signing boobs or being meta about sleeping with her ex. “Better Version” is honest, raw, and deliberate. For the bridge and the final chorus, Fletcher flips her words and acknowledges: “You were kind, you were warm, you were patient, helped me with the career I was making/Look at me, I’m a star, you’re the reason.” Don’t sell yourself short, Fletch.
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