After topping the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, gaining teen king Justin Bieber's seal of approval, getting four simple lines stuck in our heads all summer long, and inspiring thousands of spoofs on YouTube, pop music's latest sensation, Carly Rae Jepsen, is ready to show us what else she has to offer. It's important to start at the beginning, where the story starts much earlier than anyone really knows. Starting out as just a coffee house singer, Carly auditioned for Canadian Idol in 2007 and placed third that season. Shortly thereafter, in September 2008, Carly released her first album, Tug of War, which gained some success. Same month, three years later, Carly released new original music for her second album, Curiosity. The song was called Call Me Maybe, and it signaled a change of sound for Jepsen, as she moved from coffeehouse music to strictly pop. Luckily, her critics didn't mind the change, and noted that it was fun pop that wasn't cringe inducing or stale. The song became a hit in Canada, but it was only just the start. That Christmas, teenage dream Justin Bieber was visiting home for the holidays with his girlfriend, teen actress Selena Gomez, and heard this infectious song on the radio. All it took was one tweet, "Call me maybe by Carly Rae Jepson [sic] is probably the catchiest song I've ever heard lol" from the singer and Jepsen's song gained a new legion of fans. Yet, it wasn't until February 18, 2012 that the song really took off. That night, Carlos Pena, an actor and one-fourth of the band Big Time Rush, uploaded a video onto his YouTube channel of himself, the rest of his BTR crew, Bieber, Gomez, Ashley Tisdale, and some other famous friends dancing around to Call Me Maybe. The video skyrocketed overnight and Jepsen was suddenly a new star in the United States. As the video gained more views, the song's U.S. sales rose and the song gained airplay on American radio. By the end of June, Carly Rae Jepsen had the #1 song in America, a spot she wouldn't give up for a record-breaking eight weeks. Call Me Maybe became the hit of the summer, and Jepsen was the new "It" girl in music. In late June, Jepsen and alternative artist Owl City released a duet titled Good Time which also saw much chart success, peaking (at least as of right now) at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sure, it was one thing to have two major successes, but many wondered if Jepsen could produce a whole album that was just as good as her hits. On August 8, fans were greeted with news that Jepsen's third album, Kiss, would be available September 18th. In an exclusive statement to her fans, Carly stated, "These are lyric and song ideas that I have been collecting over the years...The record is pop. It's inspired by Robyn, The Cars, Madonna, and believe it or not, James Taylor. I can't wait to share it with everyone!" The star worked with big-time producers Max Martin, LMFAO's RedFoo, Toby Gad, and of course, Josh Ramsay, who produced Call Me Maybe. Fans are anxiously awaiting the album, which will be out in a little less than a month's time. It's fair to say this should be one of the fall's biggest releases, granted that Jepsen delivers as expected. In the meantime, check out Jepsen's first two hits, as if you haven't already heard them enough:
No comments:
Post a Comment