Carly Rae Jepsen

Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actress. 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. The album was heavily influenced by songs from the 1980s and received critical acclaim. Its lead single "I Really Like You" reached the top 5 in the United Kingdom and top 15 in Jepsen's native Canada. Jepsen has received multiple awards, including three Juno Awards, a Billboard Music Award, and an Allan Slaight Award, and nominations for Grammy Awards, Emmy Awards, MTV Video Music Award, Polaris Music Prize and People's Choice Awards. As of May 2015, Jepsen has sold more over 20 million records worldwide. 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. 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. 2011–2013: Mainstream success with Curiosity 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. 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" led 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, making her the first Canadian recipient. 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 Song 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. From June to October, Jepsen embarked on The Summer Kiss Tour in support of Kiss, visiting North America and Asia. 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, Christine and the Queens, Tegan and Sara, Bleachers, Bob Dylan, Sky Ferreira, Dev Hynes, Solange Knowles, Joni Mitchell, Sinéad O'Connor, the Spice Girls, and Hank Williams.