Carly Rae Jepsen is performing at Victoria鈥檚 Royal Theatre on Sunday as part of her national tour. Photo by Strut Entertainment
In a recent 3,000-word profile of Carly Rae Jepsen 鈥� which bore the title, The People鈥檚 Pop Star 鈥� GQ magazine described its story subject as 鈥減op鈥檚 most unassuming figure鈥� and 鈥渢alkative in the way someone is when they spend a lot of time indoors.鈥�
When the turns-of-phrase were put before Jepsen during an interview with V.I.A. sibling publication the Times Colonist, the two-time Grammy Award nominee laughed off what could be considered a couple of backhanded compliments. She seemed completely at ease with the description of her personality 鈥� which is not surprising, given how much time the Mission native has put into keeping herself even-keeled.
Though she is one of the most successful artists to hail from Canada during the past 10 years, she is less famous than many of her dance-pop ilk, some of whom have enjoyed far less commercial and critical success.
That is by design.
鈥淚t became really clear to me, really early on, that I wanted to embrace the artistry of what a career is rather than the celebrity of it,鈥� said Jepsen, 33. 鈥淎ll of the decisions I have made since then have been focused on steering the ship in that direction. It doesn鈥檛 mean there can鈥檛 be fun moments of getting recognized here or there, but it鈥檚 not the motivation for me. It never has been.鈥�
Though the biggest song of her career, "Call Me Maybe," arrived in 2011, Jepsen is just now getting around to touring Canada as a headliner. She has toured across the U.S. on her own over the years, but on previous tours of Canada with Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Marianas Trench, Hanson and Hedley, she was the opening act. With a new album, Dedicated, in contention for Canada鈥檚 annual Polaris Music Prize next month, she is enjoying her time in the spoltight at the moment. 鈥淧erforming on your own brings me a different joy that I feel every night. We鈥檙e at home on stage, getting to do our own thing with a room full of our people.鈥�
We caught up with a chatty Jepsen on the first day of her first-ever headlining tour of Canada, which got underway Wednesday with the first of two shows at Vancouver鈥檚 Commodore Ballroom. Jepsen was expecting lots of family at all three of her B.C. concerts, including her performance in Victoria at the Royal Theatre on Sunday. 鈥淢y grandmother is coming down from Nanaimo for the show in Victoria,鈥� she said with a laugh. 鈥淢y mom was just texting with her and she said she is going to get her hair done and her nails done and tell everyone about it. It鈥檚 very cute.鈥�
Jepsen, who has roots in the Comox area, lived in Victoria in 2004, while attending the Canadian College of Performing Arts. After graduation, she placed third on Canadian Idol in 2007, and in 2010, earned two Juno Award nominations for her full-length debut, Tug of War. The Jepsen of that era bears little resemblance to the sophisticated songwriter she is today, but the foundation remains the same, she said. She might seem inexplicably poppy and cheery on the outside, but her musical influences run far deeper.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a weird quirk about myself that I鈥檓 very much attracted to melancholy music. I love sombre, more introspective things. I鈥檓 really into things that make you sit back after a long night, maybe because it is a palette cleanser after what I write. I鈥檝e even tried to write music like this, and out comes is the complete opposite. It鈥檚 naturally what I seem to do.鈥�
Jepsen has a very deep connection with her audience, which has led to a bond with fans that appears to one of the strongest in pop music today. She is rarely the subject of scorn, and has successfully navigated a profession that often results in short-lived careers. Jepsen drew some of her best reviews to date in May with the release of Dedicated, the fourth full-length album of her 11-year career.
It would have been easy to assume she would hit upon a losing streak following the storybook success of "Call Me Maybe," which at more than 20 million copies sold ranks as one of the best-selling singles in U.S. history. But that has not been the case.
贰鈥翱鈥滨翱狈, her 2015 album, remains much-loved by millions and has been crowned a pop masterpiece; I Really Like You, a hit single from the album, featured a video starring Tom Hanks that has been viewed 242 million times on YouTube 鈥� a far cry from the 1.2 billion views for Call Me Maybe, but a sizable total nonetheless. Her fans have stood by Jepsen in the years following her breakout, which has given her the push to move forward in direction that she feels comfortable with. The result is a quiet confidence, Jepsen said.
鈥淚 feel like that is maybe how I got over my nerves on stage. I remember the first time I opened for Justin [Bieber, in 2012], I was still thinking, 鈥榃here do I put my hands when I sing? What do I do?鈥� I鈥檓 happy to say that went away. I鈥檝e learned to embrace a bit of spontaneity on stage, which always excites me. I like not knowing what I鈥檓 going to do next. It鈥檚 my greatest joy.鈥�
Jepsen said she has always been an 鈥渙ver-writer鈥� who brings more songs than necessary to the table during recording sessions for a new album. She wrote about 200 songs for 贰鈥翱鈥滨翱狈, and nearly the same amount for Dedicated. For both albums, she had advance listening parties for her friends and family, who were asked to vote on which songs they liked and which ones they didn鈥檛. During those experiments, the six or eight songs that had a unanimous appeal would make the final cut.
That doesn鈥檛 mean Jepsen gave up on the others, however. She likened her song-selection process that of a squirrel 鈥渟toring my food for the next little while,鈥� and said she has a vault of songs that will be released at some point in the future.
鈥淲hat I love about the therapy of songwriting is that you get to try on the same situation from a different angle. It鈥檚 almost like journal writing. I use music to connect to myself. It鈥檚 how I deal with the actual realities of my life.鈥�
