Carly Rae Jepsen, best known for her 2011 hit Call Me Maybe, has been performing since 2007, but does she write her own songs?
Carly Rae Jepsen does write her own songs – she’s actually a very accomplished songwriter. She co-wrote her breakthrough hit, Call Me Maybe, and has since had a hand in the creation of every song she’s released.
Read on to learn more about Carly Rae Jepsen’s musical ability and background.
Hey, I Just Met You
Carly Rae Jepsen found incredible success in 2012 when her breakthrough track blew up. The song, titled Call Me Maybe, topped the charts in numerous countries around the world. It became so overplayed that even the artist herself got tired of hearing it.
In an article in 2020, Jepsen revealed that she “… didn’t love it as much as I thought I would have.” She was discussing stardom as a whole, and went into detail. Apparently, she found it quite difficult to cope with the overwhelming attention she received for the song.
Also in the above-mentioned article, Jepsen explained that Call Me Maybe almost ended her career very early on. She was forced to “take a step back” from music, making a conscious decision to reflect before moving on. It would be three years before her next album came.
As a child, Carly Rae Jepsen was preparing herself for a performing lifestyle, however. She would regularly explore musical theater while in high school. While she was attending the Heritage Park Secondary School in British Columbia, she was a lead star in their student productions.
Her key roles were the likes of Sandy, Annie, and Dorothy, all leads. In order, the productions were Grease, Annie, and The Wiz. She had a balanced focus quite early on, settling on the line between acting and singing.
In Canada, she developed her voice and her on-stage acumen. She graduated from a prestigious performing arts college and started performing in local venues around Vancouver. In 2007, she was convinced to audition for Canadian Idol, something which arguably kick-started her career.
Although she didn’t win Canadian Idol, the appearance and exposure were enough to earn her a recording contract. It would be just one year later that Jepsen released her debut album, to considerable – but nowhere near peak – success.
Call Me Maybe
Carly Rae Jepsen enjoyed moderate success with her debut album, Tug of War. However, it would be her 2011 track Call Me Maybe that launched her into true stardom. Throughout her career, Jepsen had worked hard to perfect her songwriting skills. This finally paid off with Call Me Maybe.
This track was co-written with her writing partners, Ryan Stewart and Tavish Crow. It found incredible success a short while after it was released, and changed Jepsen’s life forever. Although it initially panicked Jepsen, she would return to music in earnest just three years later.
Jepsen’s songwriting talent persisted as the years went on. She didn’t only write for herself, but also penned tracks for others. She was well-known for her collaborative efforts and co-wrote several other tracks. She’s never been afraid of lending her pen skills or vocal talent to help other artists.
In 2019, Jepsen released her fourth full studio album, titled Dedicated. Around a year later, in May 2020, she followed this up with Dedicated B Side. At the time, Jepsen also explained that she was working on a ‘quarantine project’. Coincidentally, this project was taking place with her established co-writer, Tavish Crowe.
The album Dedicated was reportedly an immense effort for Jepsen. It is alleged that she personally wrote two hundred songs for the album, breaking them down into the ultimate, final thirteen. In an article in 2019, she stated: “I’m laughing because every time I hear it out loud I have to. But, yes, I wrote 200 songs for this album. And that’s pretty normal for me.”
There’s a video on YouTube, showing Jepsen talking about this album. She explains some of the processes required to write the songs for a full studio release. You can see this video below.
Ultimately, Carly Rae Jepsen soared on the success of Call Me Maybe. In 2020, she was worth a considerable ten million dollars and had a huge fan following. She’d released four full studio albums, and embarked on four huge tours. It’s more than a substantial success for an artist that came just third on Canadian Idol.