- Matthew Welch
- CARLY RAE JEPSEN Yep, we called her. No “maybe” about it.
CARLY RAE JEPSEN rode the wave as long as she could. After her 2012 global mega-hit “Call Me Maybe,” the Canadian singer/songwriter released more singles and a sophomore LP, Kiss; toured; performed on TV; signed endorsement deals; toured some more; and collected awards.
And then she disappeared. For more than two years.
In the midst of “one-hit wonder” snark, Jepsen holed up in her favorite songwriting spots to work on her follow-up to Kiss. When she finally had her foundation for the new album, she went to her band and played them the demos.
“My keyboard player was like, ‘I’m going to have to learn the saxophone again, aren’t I?'” Jepsen says with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘I know you used to play. Dust that thing off because yes, there’s a lot of sax on this album.'”
The resulting body of work turned out to be last summer’s Emotion, a vibrant and mature collision of unabashedly ’80s synth-pop and punchy, 21st-century indie-rock production. Despite raves from critics and fans, the album struggled commercially, debuting at number 16 on the Billboard 200 album chart and plummeting thereafter. The combination of positive reviews and disappointing sales spurred speculation about the album’s promotional rollout and drew comparisons of Jepsen to another critically adored pop singer who lacks a major mainstream footprint: Swedish star Robyn.
Nevertheless, Jepsen has been busy reprising the role of Frenchy for the live TV production of Grease and kicking off her Gimme Love Tour, which brings her to Portland Tuesday night.