Here's what you should know about pop music's friendliest Canadian export.
Carly Rae Jepsen is not a one-hit wonder (but yes, "Call Me Maybe" is a perfect pop song)
The 29-year-old Jepsen is best known for her 2011 bubblegum plea "Call Me Maybe." The song gained worldwide attention when Justin Bieber tweeted about it, calling it "the catchiest song I've ever heard lol." He and then-girlfriend Selena Gomez were so obsessed with the song that producer Scooter Braun swooped in to represent Jepsen, who had previously been limited to Canadian radio.
Then came one of the greatest social media pushes for a song ever, in the form of a charmingly low-resolution YouTube video in which Bieber, Gomez, and their friends lip-synced along to "Call Me Maybe." While it was undoubtedly a calculated publicity move, the result still feels loose, like the teen idols hit that late hour at a sleepover when sanity becomes optional.
After that, Jepsen was off. Her official video for "Call Me Maybe" currently has more than 720 million views on YouTube.
Jepsen's subsequent album, Kiss, struggled, however, without another single to match the platinum-selling "Call Me Maybe." It sold a relatively disappointing 292,000 copies, and the buzz surrounding Jepsen started to fade.
There are plenty of artists who would happily live off the massive success of a song like "Call Me Maybe," and there's no shame in that game. Still, Jepsen was eager to use the single's momentum to build a more lasting pop career.
Enter Emotion.
Carly Rae Jepsen's new album Emotion is that rare pop record that doesn't depend on singles
While Kiss depended on the success of "Call Me Maybe" as a single, Emotion's priority is creating a more perfect pop album.Braun told the New York Times that while they counted on singles for Kiss, with Emotion they scrapped that mentality entirely in favor of creating a more cohesive, "critically acclaimed album." Still, they released the song that hews closest to "Call Me Maybe" as a single to prime people for Jepsen's return. "I Really Like You" didn't reach the zenith that "Call Me Maybe" did — and Jepsen acknowledges that no song of hers likely ever will again — but it at least got an accompanying video starring none other than an ecstatic Tom Hanks.
Jepsen has a writing credit on every single one of the new album's songs, and is reportedly meticulous about her choices. After scrapping an entire album of folk songs, she brought in musicians she admired to produce and co-write the tracks. Emotion's guest talent includes Sia, Blood Orange's Dev Hynes, Ariel Rechtshaid, Tegan & Sara, and Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij. Together, Jepsen and her collaborators reportedly took more than 200 possible songs, whittled them down, and streamlined them into bite-size pop fantasies.
The songs are lacquered with glossy '80s synth, alternately lush and a little wicked. They sometimes even give way to throwback '90s saxophone solos. While some songs are grander than others, like the sweeping opener "Run Away With Me," every one has merits. "Let's Get Lost" is pure joy, bopping to and fro without overselling the saccharine message. The Hynes-produced title track "Emotion" pops and sizzles, delivering bite with a grin as Jepsen sings, "Be tormented for me, babe." She's not the wide-eyed girl she was in "Call Me Maybe," but she's still relentlessly hopeful.
Most pop albums are lucky if they have three standout songs. Emotion has 12.
The acclaim just doesn't stop. I've tried to push the album to my friends but a lot are stuck with the mentality that the Call Me Maybe singer can't possibly have an album as polished and amazing as Body Talk.