Background information
| Also known as | Carly Jepsen |
|---|---|
| Born | November 21, 1985 Mission, British Columbia, Canada |
| Origin | Vancouver, British Columbia |
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| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels |
Website www.carlyraemusic.com
Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter from Mission, British Columbia currently based in Vancouver. In 2007, she placed third in Canadian Idol season five's competition. Jepsen independently released her debut album, Tug of War, in 2008. In 2011, she released the single "Call Me Maybe", which was followed in 2012 by her debut EP,Curiosity, and her second album, Kiss. "Call Me Maybe" reached number one in 18 countries during 2012 and was the year's best-selling single worldwide. Jepsen's third album,Emotion, was released in 2015 and is influenced by songs from the 1980s. It produced the hit single "I Really Like You".
Jepsen has received multiple awards and nominations, including three Juno Awards, two Grammy Award nominations, a Billboard Music Award, and an Allan Slaight Award.
Life and career
1985–2010: Early life and Tug of War
Jepsen was born in Mission, British Columbia, the daughter of Alexandra and Larry Jepsen; her stepfather is Ron Lanzarotta. She attended Heritage Park Secondary School in Mission, where she pursued her early passion for musical theatre by appearing in student productions of Annie,Grease, and The Wiz. She studied musical theatre at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, British Columbia and took barista, bartender and other minimum wage work after graduation. Jepsen honed her songwriting skills with a guitar her parents gave her and, in 2007, decided to pursue her burgeoning interest in music by auditioning for the fifth season of the reality television competition Canadian Idol. She placed third in the show and was part of the Canadian Idol Top 3 concert tour. After the conclusion of the tour, Jepsen returned to British Columbia to focus on writing, recording and completing her band. Her demo recording attracted the attention of music manager Jonathan Simkin, who signed Jepsen to a management deal. Jepsen struck an independent record deal with MapleMusic Recordings and distribution via Fontana North. To further her music career, she subsequently relocated to Vancouver.
In June 2008, Jepsen released her debut single and another single, a cover of John Denver's song "Sunshine on My Shoulders". Jepsen's debut album, Tug of War, was released in September 2008 through MapleCore/Fontana North. The album was produced in its entirety by Ryan Stewart and includes the song "Sweet Talker", which Jepsen previously performed at her first Canadian Idol audition. Tug of War was re-released via Jonathan Simkin's label 604 Records, with distribution from Universal Music Group, and has since sold 10,000 copies in Canada according to Nielsen SoundScan. The title track "Tug of War" was released the same month as the album and received radio airplay in Canada, followed by the singles "Bucket" and "Sour Candy", a duet with Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench. The former two singles reached the top 40 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. In early 2009, Jepsen toured western Canada with Marianas Trench and Shiloh. She then went on a cross-Canada tour with Marianas Trench, The New Cities and Mission District.
2011–13: Curiosity, mainstream success and Kiss
Jepsen began recording material for her second album in 2011 with Josh Ramsay, Ryan Stewart, and Tavish Crowe, with whom she co-wrote the single "Call Me Maybe", released in Canada in September 2011. In January 2012, fellow Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber tweeted about the song to his millions of Twitter followers, and the following month the song was featured in a viral video in which Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Ashley Tisdale lip-synced and danced to the track. Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, signed Jepsen to a joint worldwide record deal with his own label, Schoolboy Records, and the major label Interscope Records; she remained signed to 604 Records in Canada and retained Jonathan Simkin as her manager.
The release of Jepsen's second album was postponed to allow "Call Me Maybe" to spread in popularity, although 604 Records issued a six-track EP, Curiosity, in February 2012 in Canada. "Call Me Maybe" peaked at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, making Jepsen the fourth Canadian artist to top the chart. In the United States, the single spent nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, earning the title of "Song of the Summer" from Billboard magazine. "Call Me Maybe" topped the charts in 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it was the year's second best-selling single. It was the best-selling single of 2012 worldwide, according to the IFPI.
Jepsen recorded a duet with Owl City, "Good Time", which was released as a single in June 2012. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded Jepsen's second album, Kiss, which was released in September 2012 and reached top ten chart positions in Australia, the UK, and the US.[19][12] Kiss features songwriting and production contributions from mainstream pop artists including Toby Gad, Matthew Koma, Bonnie McKee, Max Martin, Sara Quin (of Tegan and Sara), and LMFAO's Redfoo. The album was certified gold by Music Canada and has sold 289,000 copies in the US; its failure to match the success of "Call Me Maybe" lead MTV Hive to write that "Kiss is the best pop album of the year, and nobody is listening". The album's subsequent single, "This Kiss", was premiered in September 2012, followed by "Tonight I'm Getting Over You" in January 2013; neither became major hits. During late 2012, Jepsen appeared on the fifth season premiere episode of The CW primetime soap opera 90210 and became a spokesperson for clothing retailer Wet Seal.
Jepsen received the Rising Star Award at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. At the 2013 Juno Awards, Kiss won the awards for Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year and "Call Me Maybe" won in the Single of the Year category. The single received nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2013, Jepsen became a spokesperson for clothing/footwear brand Candie's. In June 2013, Kiss: The Remix, a compilation album containing remixes and instrumentals of singles from Kiss, was released exclusively in Japan and peaked at number 157 on the Oricon albums chart.
2014–present: E·MO·TION and other projects
Jepsen's third album was tentatively due for an early 2014 release, but she stated that she would not rush the album, instead taking her time to make sure it was of quality. From February 2014, Jepsen assumed the role of Cinderella in the Broadway production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. She played the part for twelve weeks and starred alongside new cast member Fran Drescher.
Jepsen released her third album's lead single, "I Really Like You", in March 2015. Accompanied by a music video in which actor Tom Hanks lip-synced to the song, it peaked at number 14 in Canada and attained top five and top 40 positions in the UK and US, respectively. The following month, Jepsen performed a track titled "All That" on Saturday Night Live that was released to digital stores the next day. The album, titled Emotion (stylized as E·MO·TION), was released in Japan in June 2015. Emotion includes collaborations with Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend), Sia Furler, Dev Hynes, Greg Kurstin, and Ariel Rechtshaid The second single, "Run Away with Me", was released in July.
Artistry and influences
Jepsen said that she shares her parents' interest in folk music as a result of her upbringing, naming artists such as Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, and Van Morrison as inspirations for her debut album, Tug of War (2008). During the recording of her EP Curiosity and her second album, Kiss (both 2012), Jepsen said that she became increasingly influenced by pop and dance music, in particular the works of Dragonette, Kimbra, La Roux, and Robyn. Her third album, Emotion (2015), drew from her love of pop music from the 1980s and the "old-school" albums of Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, and Prince. Jepsen has also expressed admiration for Cat Power, Tegan and Sara, Bleachers, Bob Dylan,Sky Ferreira, Dev Hynes, Solange Knowles, Joni Mitchell, Sinead O'Connor, Spice Girls, and Hank Williams.
Activism
Jepsen is a gay rights activist. She was scheduled to perform at the Boy Scouts of America upcoming 2013 National Scout Jamboree, along with the band Train. In March 2013, both cited the controversy over the BSA policy on gays as barrier to their performance. Train released a statement saying it "strongly opposes any kind of policy that questions the equality of any American citizen ... We look forward to participating in the Jamboree this summer, as long as they make the right decision before then." Similarly, Jepsen released a statement saying "As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer."
Legal issues
In October 2012, Jepsen was sued in federal court in Los Angeles for copyright infringement. Jepsen and Owl City's Adam Young were named in a lawsuit for the song "Good Time". Allyson Nichole Burnett, a singer-songwriter from Huntsville, Alabama, sued Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City, along with Universal Music Group, Songs Music Publishing and School Boy Records, ASCAP and SESAC. Burnett claimed "Good Time" featured many similarities to her 2010 song "AH, It's a Love Song". Matt Thiessen and Brian Lee, the songwriters of "Good Time", were also mentioned in the suit. The suit was dropped in 2014 after an investigation found the song to be an original work.
On November 8, 2012, Ukrainian pop star Aza filed a lawsuit against Jepsen in US District Court in Los Angeles in which Aza accused Carly Rae Jepsen of sampling lyrics from Aza's song "Hunky Santa" without approval or consent. Aza claimed her tune "Hunky Santa" also features a "call me" call out, which Aza claims was used to create Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe". Scooter Braun was also named in the suit. A representative for Jepsen denied the allegations.
Canadian Idol performances
| Episode | Song choice | Original artist | Order # | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | "Sweet Talker" | Carly Rae Jepsen | N/A | Advanced |
| Top 80 | "I Try" | Macy Gray | Duets | Advanced |
| Top 40 | "Breathe (2 AM)" | Anna Nalick | N/A | Advanced |
| Top 22 | "Put Your Records On" | Corinne Bailey Rae | 11 | Advanced |
| Top 18 | "Sweet Ones" | Sarah Slean | 4 | Advanced |
| Top 14 | "Waiting in Vain" | Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | Advanced |
| Top 10 | "Inside and Out" | Bee Gees | 3 | Bottom 3 |
| Top 9 | "Georgia on My Mind" | Hoagy Carmichael | 5 | Safe |
| Top 8 | "Torn" | Natalie Imbruglia | 7 | Safe |
| Top 7 | "Killer Queen" | Queen | 3 | Bottom 3 |
| Top 6 | "Come to My Window" | Melissa Etheridge | 4 | Bottom 3 |
| Top 5 | "Chuck E's in Love" | Rickie Lee Jones | 4 | Safe |
| Top 4 | "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" | Mary Martin | 1 | Safe |
| "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" | Ivie Anderson | 5 | ||
| Top 3 | "At Seventeen" | Janis Ian | 3 | Eliminated |
| "White Flag" | Dido | 6 |
Discography
- Tug of War (2008)
- Kiss (2012)
- Emotion (2015)
Tours
Headlining
- The Summer Kiss Tour (2013)
Co-headlining
- Marianas Trench, The New Cities and The Mission District – Beside You Tour (2009)
Opening act
- Hanson – Shout It Out World Tour (Canada dates) (2012)
- Justin Bieber – Believe Tour (North America, Europe & South America dates) (2012/13)
