Carly Rae Jepsen called me! She didn't call me maybe; she called me definitely! I promise that's the last time I'll make a "Call Me Maybe" joke (fingers crossed).
If you don't know who this 26-year-old Canadian poptart is yet, you probably have at least heard her insanely catchy hit single "Call Me Maybe." Thanks to a sizable push by fellow Canadian and pop sensation Justin Bieber, the song has exploded in popularity. It peaked at number three on iTunes' singles chart, one on the Canadian Hot 100 and 24 on The Billboard Top 100.
Signing with Schoolboy Records, the label run by Bieber manager Scooter Braun, gave Jepsen the media resources and marketing to push her into the mainstream. But something tells me she could've done that with or without having a video that featured the likes of the Biebs, Selena Gomez and Ashley Tisdale (that currently has 24,505,654 YouTube views). Like I said before: that song is just so damn catchy.
As long as Jepsen finds the bad puns funny, they're funny. Though she still can't believe her simple "folk-pop" song about "love and all the complications that go with that" is big enough to attract the flood of terrible jokes.
And the rest, as they say, is history. The song and the rest of Curiosity (her second album, which features "Call Me Maybe" as its lead single) has been influenced by, among others, Joni Mitchell, La Roux, Robyn, and Annie Lennox.
Jepsen is one of a rare group of pop stars with a college education. She attended the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, British Columbia, which, to hear her describe it, sounds like the perfect place for an art geek like her.
Besides being a "pure joy," her college experience also helped shape her career path. Jepsen went into school with dreams of performing on Broadway, but came out wanting to write songs.
Another thing college did for Jepsen: give her a greater appreciation of travel and experiencing new places.
"It's important to travel because of how new places can make you realize things about yourself," she said.
Solid words of wisdom. Does she have any more advice for aspiring college singers/songwriters?
Who knew there was a Canadian Idol? Jepsen obviously did, because she finished third on the show's fifth season in the summer of 2007. Unlike American Idol and most American competition shows, Canadian Idol promoted unity among its contestants.
Best part: it was across the street from Prince's mansion. Did she ever meet the famed purple one?
"Can you imagine?" Jepsen laughed. "I probably would've made a fool of myself serenading him with his songs." She followed this up by singing the title words to "Purple Rain," conjuring images of what was sure to be an adorable meeting. If only.
But I digress. When Jepsen summed up her time on Canadian Idol, I immediately realized what it was about this girl that made her so relatable.
"It kind of reminds me of The Hunger Games except I didn't have to kill people," she quipped.
She's a Hunger Games fan! More than that, she's just a normal 26-year-old girl that happens to be a Canadian pop star, like Robin Sparkles minus the sexual innuendo. Anyway: having just finished Mockingjay and aching in anticipation for the first movie, the second I heard her say that I had to know: Team Peeta or Gale?
"I've been having a mini literature crush on Peeta," she said. I could picture her blushing over the phone.
Ignoring the fact I was Team Gale until the very last pages of Mockingjay, with Jepsen's inherent likability, it's no wonder Bieber was immediately taken by her and her music.
Aww. Clearly Bieber has an eye for talent. Or he's trying to amass an army of Canadian pop stars to take over America. What aboot that, eh?
Fair enough. Either way, collaborating with him has given Jepsen the career boost she needed for an American invasion. She's still can't believe how rapid her rise to fame has been.
Even more surreal: she'll be performing on The Ellen Degeneres Show on Friday before heading out on tour. She doesn't have to worry about only maybe getting called from now on; her phones are going to be ringing off the hook for a long time.