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Call Me Maybe

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"Call Me Maybe"
Song
B-side"Both Sides Now"

"Call Me Maybe" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen, taken from her first EP, Curiosity (2012). It was released as the lead single from the EP on September 20, 2011, through 604 Records. After pop singers Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez tweeted about the song, Jepsen gained international attention and got signed to Schoolboy Records, releasing her single in the United States through the label. Produced by Josh Ramsay, "Call Me Maybe" is an upbeat pop track that draws influences from dance-pop and disco. Lyrically, the track alludes to the inconvenience that a love at first sight brings to a girl who hopes for a call back from a crush. It received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics, who praised its composition and clever lyrical content,[1] with some deeming it as "the perfect pop song".

"Call Me Maybe" has attained commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, while peaking inside the top ten in Belgium, Norway, and The Netherlands. After reaching the top position in Canada also, Jepsen became the fifth Canadian artist to do so in her home country. In the United States, the track has reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 15 on the Pop Songs chart. An accompanying music video portrays Jepsen trying to gain attention from her attractive neighbour, who is revealed to be gay at the close of the story. The singer has performed the track live a few times, including on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she made her US television debut.

Background and composition

"Call Me Maybe"
A 19-second sample of the chorus which features Jepsen singing about hoping for a call back from a crush.[1] The dance-pop background incorporates synthesized string chords, and elements from disco and eurodance.[1][2][3]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Call Me Maybe" was written and produced by Josh Ramsay, while additional writing was done by Jepsen and Tavish Crowe.[4] The song had been first released in Canada only through 604 Records on September 20, 2011.[5] In January 2012, pop singers Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez were in the country and heard the track on the mainstream radio. After they tweeted about it on their personal profiles, Jepsen instantly gained international attention, and got signed by Scooter Braun to his Schoolboy Records.[6] Braun revealed that Bieber has "never jumped out and promoted an artist like this before. He sends me different YouTube videos of unsigned artists that he'd like to work with, but never someone who already had a song out and is on the radio."[7] Worldwide distribution of the single was done through Interscope Records.[8] "Call Me Maybe" is an upbeat track that draws influences from dance-pop and R&B.[9] The lyrics of the song describes the "infatuation and inconvenience of a love at first sight," as described by Bill Lamb of About.com.[1] During the pre-chorus, the singer states, "Ripped jeans, skin was showing/Hot night, wind was blowing/Where you think you’re going, baby?"[9] As the chorus begins, the background incorporates synthesized string chords, and she sings, "Hey, I just met you, And this is crazy, But here's my number, So call me maybe."[1][10] Melody Lau of Rolling Stone wrote that "Call Me Maybe" is a "Taylor Swift meets Robyn" song.[7]

Critical reception

Critics compared "Call Me Maybe" to early songs by Britney Spears (left) and Christina Aguilera (right).[11]

"Call Me Maybe" received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that the song "it's breezy and sweet, a eyelash-fluttering flirtation run hard through the Disney-pop model of digitized feelings and brusque, chipper arrangements."[9] Bill Lamb of About.com stated that Jepsen is one of the highlights of Canadian music, and added that although some may dismiss it as "fluffy", the track "is the kind of song that pop fans will take to heart."[1] Rolling Stone journalist Melody Lau considered "Call Me Maybe" "a sugary dance-pop tune ... about hoping for a call back from a crush,"[7] while Kat George of VH1 described it as an eurodance tune and further commented that if Jepsen "keeps turning out little ditties like 'Call Me Maybe', we’re facing a brand new addition for summer."[3] The Village Voice{{{1}}} Maura Johnson deemed it as an "utterly earwormy" song,[12] Emma Carmichael of Gawker did a long review on the track, which she described as the "new perfect pop song."[2] Carmichael further added that the song is "flawless" and that "we will be virtually incapable of escaping the song and its strident disco strings and that horribly catchy hook."[2]

RedEye's Emily Van Zandt began her review of the track saying, "screw you, Internet. Thanks to a couple of posts on blogs that I refuse to own up to following, my afternoon has been dedicated to Carly Rae Jepsen's 'Call Me Maybe'."[13] Van Zandt continued to state that "all I know is that I have co-dependency issues when it comes to my music. When it's sad, I'm sad. When it's angry, I'm angry. And when it's ridiculously over-produced, up-tempo bubblegum pop with terrible lyrics on a beautiful day in Chicago when I'm wearing pink pants, I just kind of want to start skipping around handing my number out to random bros, you know?"[13] Nicole James of MTV revealed that "Call Me Maybe" is probably the catchiest song she has ever heard, and added that "I don't even want to tell you what the play count is in my iTunes for that song, but the moment you press play you're sucked in."[14] Jon O'Brien of Allmusic stated that the songs of Curiosity recalls the bubblegum pop era of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and added that "Call Me Maybe" is a combination of teen pop and synth pop with "a chorus that just about straddles that fine line between sugary sweet and sickly."[11]

Chart performance

"Call Me Maybe" was a commercial success. The song debuted at number 39 in Australia on the chart issue dated March 18, 2012.[15] Four weeks later, it peaked at number one,[15] and has been certified three-times Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) on May 6, 2012.[16] In New Zealand, the song also reached the top position of the country's chart four weeks after it debuted at number 22.[17] It has since been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ), surpassing digital sales of 15,000 units.[18] "Call Me Maybe" also reached number one in Canada.[19] By doing so, Jepsen became the sixth Canadian artist ever to reach the top position in her home country, after Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne, Nelly Furtado, Nikki Yanofsky, and Young Artists for Haiti.[20] Jepsen commented that she feels "ultimately honored to be mentioned among those names. These are all artists I look up to in a big way. I have their music, they've been on my records since I can remember. It's really hard to believe. It's cool because at the same time, it's all that I've all ever been working for."[21] The song has ever since been certified 3x Platinum by the Music Canada (MC), and has sold over 240,000 units of the track in the country.[22][8]

Following its release in the United States, the song reached number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100[23] and number 15 on the Pop Songs chart.[19] "Call Me Maybe" performed well in Europe also, peaking at number one in the Ultratip chart of Belgium (Wallonia), and in Ireland,[24] while attaining top three positions in Belgium (Flanders), Netherlands and Norway.[24] In the United Kingdom, the song debuted at number one on the issue dated April 14, 2012, selling nearly 107,000 copies in the first week.[25][26] The song became the second fastest selling single of the 2012 in the country, only behind DJ Fresh and Rita Ora, whose track "Hot Right Now" cleared 128,000 units in its first week of sale back in February.[26] "Call Me Maybe" remained at number one for a second week on April 15, 2012, keeping Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" reaching such position after outselling it by two to one.[27] In its fourth week on the chart, the song stayed at number one with 99,569 copies sold. Jepsen is the first female solo artist to stay at number one for four consecutive weeks with her debut single since Leona Lewis' "A Moment Like This" in 2006.[28]

Promotion

Jepsen stares at her neighbour, portrayed by Holden Nowell,[29] as he reveals that he's gay after giving his number to her bandmate.[9]

The music video for "Call Me Maybe" is directed by Ben Knechtel, and begins with Jepsen spying on her attractive tattooed neighbor, portrayed by Holden Nowell, while he's working on his lawn.[9][29] As he takes his shirt off and notices she's staring at him, Jepsen quickly hides below her window. The scene then cuts to her garage, where she's rehearsing the track with her band. Following the rehearsals, her bandmates push her to go wash her car, where she tries to gain her neighbor's attention with various poses only to fall from the hood of the car. The neighbor then helps Jepsen to get up, and watches the band rehearse the track again. After they finish the rehearsal, Jepsen turns to write down her number, she sees her neighbor pass one of her male bandmates his number, indicating he is gay.[9]

Jepsen has performed "Call Me Maybe" live a few times. She has performed the unreleased intro to the song on some of her live performances.[30][31][32] She made her US television debut during The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Emily Exton of Pop Dust summarized the performance, writing, "delivering fairly true-to-radio vocals that seemed to overcome any lingering nerves performing for millions of viewers (and your sorta boss?) might bring on, Carly left the security of the mike stand to move beneath the oversized dandelion lights during the final moments of her euphoric head-bobber."[33] On March 26, 2012, Jepsen visited WBBM-FM's Morning Show and performed two tracks of her EP, "Call Me Maybe" and "Curiosity".[34] The singer also performed an acoustic version of the song on Kidd Kraddick in the Morning and KISS 92.5.[35][36] On May 2, 2012 on a visit to Australia she performed "Call me Maybe" on the popular TV show Sunrise.[37]

Cover versions

An alternate music video done by Big Time Rush, Ashley Tisdale, Justin Bieber, and Selena Gomez was uploaded to YouTube and instantly turned viral,[2] having almost 105 million views as of May 8, 2012.[25] Kayla Upadhyaya of The Michigan Daily thought that the viral video is "far superior to the actual music video put out by Carly Rae Jepsen. The official music video looks like any ol' average pop vid, with the staple shots of Carly rocking out in a garage, observing a cute boy from afar and sexily washing a car — it’s patently uninspiring, without anything of interest until the final twist. Carly Rae and her crew simply don’t possess the energy and uninhibited goofiness of the fake mustachioed Bieber & Co."[38] Pop singer Katy Perry also released a similar viral video with her friends on April 19, 2012.[39] A cover of the song released by Tribute Team peaked at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart for one week.[40] New York Mets infielder Justin Turner has also used the song as his at-bat music at home games.[41]

Track listings

Charts and certifications

Release history

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Lamb, Bill. "Carly Rae Jepsen - "Call Me Maybe"". About.com. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d Carmichael, Emma (March 9, 2012). "Have You Heard 'Call Me Maybe,' the New Perfect Pop Song?". Gawker. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  3. ^ a b George, Kat (March 6, 2012). "Your New Guilty Pop Pleasure: "Call Me Maybe" By The Bieber Endorsed Carly Rae Jepsen". VH1. MTV Networks. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  4. ^ Curiosity liner notes. 604 Records (2012)
  5. ^ a b c "Call Me Maybe - Single by Carly Rae Jepsen". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. September 20, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  6. ^ Kurchak, Sarah (March 12, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen, 'Call Me Maybe': Singer Reveals How Justin Bieber's Tweet Sent Her Into Pop Stratosphere". AOL Radio. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Lau, Melody (March 12, 2012). "Justin Bieber Gives Singer Carly Rae Jepsen a Boost". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  8. ^ a b "Carly Rae Jepsen Signs to Schoolboy Records/Interscope, Run by Scooter Braun and Justin Bieber". PR Newswire. February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Caramanica, Jon (March 16, 2012). "Small-Town Sentiments, Bass From the World Over". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  10. ^ Oldenburg, Ann (March 13, 2012). "Who is Carly Rae Jepsen and why does Justin Bieber love her?". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  11. ^ a b O'Brien, Jon (February 14, 2012). "Curiosity - Carly Rae Jepsen". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  12. ^ Johnson, Maura (March 30, 2012). "The 17 Best Songs Of 2012 (So Far)". The Village Voice. Michael Cohen. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  13. ^ a b Zandt, Emily Van (March 7, 2012). "True Life: I'm obsessed with a Bieber-approved kiddie pop track". RedEye. Tribune Company. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  14. ^ James, Nicole (February 21, 2012). "Who Is Justin Bieber's New Girl, Carly Rae Jepsen?". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  15. ^ a b c d "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  16. ^ a b "Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. May 6, 2012. Archived from the original on May 6, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  17. ^ a b "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  18. ^ a b "New Zealand single certifications – Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  19. ^ a b c d "Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  20. ^ "Ask Billboard: Madonna's Biggest Radio Hits". Billboard. Prometheus Glboal Media. February 4, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  21. ^ Benjamin, Jeff (March 26, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen: Meet Justin Bieber's Favorite New Artist". Billboard. Prometheus Glboal Media. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  22. ^ "Call Me Maybe Triple Platinum". Music Canada. March 26, 2012. Retrieved April 06, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  23. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (May 2, 2012). "Jack White Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  24. ^ a b c "Chart Track: Week 12, 2012". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  25. ^ a b Lane, Dan (April 4, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe set to debut at Number 1". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  26. ^ a b Eames, Tom (April 8, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen wins second-fastest selling UK No.1 single of 2012". DigitalSpy. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  27. ^ Kreisler, Lauren (April 15, 2012). the song then stayed at number 1 for a 3rd week.-1339/ "Carly Rae Jepsen is still Number 1, outselling Justin Bieber two to one!". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 28, 2012. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  28. ^ Jones, Alan (30 April 2012). "Official Charts Analysis: Jack White revives albums market with 40k sales". Music Week. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  29. ^ a b "Interview with Carly Rae Jepsen". WMKS. uStream. April 3, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  30. ^ WhibleyAvril (November 22, 2011). "Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe - Live at SAIT". YouTube. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
  31. ^ 1712acadia (November 13, 2011). "Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe, LIVE! Encore. Nanaimo, BC". YouTube. Retrieved April 10, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ panthurr2 (February 4, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen - Call Me Maybe - #Winnipeg Shout it Out World Tour Live 2012". YouTube. Retrieved April 10, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ Exton, Emily (March 23, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen introduces Herself". Pop Dust. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  34. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Performs "Call Me Maybe" & "Curiosity" Live At The B96 Studios In Chicago". WBBM-FM. CBS. March 26, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  35. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen's acoustic performance of "Call Me Maybe" on U.S. TV". NovaFM. DMG Radio Australia. March 8, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  36. ^ Adickman, Erika Brooks (March 21, 2012). "Watch Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" Acoustic Version". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  37. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen performs live - Sunrise". Yahoo!. May 2, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  38. ^ Upadhuyaya, Kayla (March 27, 2012). "Hating to love 'Call Me Maybe' and the viral video it inspired". The Michigan Daily. Zachary Yancer. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  39. ^ Frio, Zak (April 19, 2012). "Katy Perry Covers 'Call Me Maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen". Ryan Seacrest. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  40. ^ "Chart Stats - Carly Rae Jepsen Tribute Team - Call Me Maybe". UK Singles Chart. Chart Stats. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  41. ^ {citeweb|url=http://www.complex.com/sports/2012/05/a-mets-player-uses-carly-rae-jepsens-call-me-maybe-as-his-at-bat-music%7Ctitle=A Mets Player Uses Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" As His At-Bat Music|publisher=Complex Sports. Article|accessdate=May 9, 2012}}
  42. ^ a b "Amazon.de: Call Me Maybe: Carly Rae Jepsen" (in German). Amazon.com. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  43. ^ a b "Call Me Maybe - EP by Carly Rae Jepsen". iTunes Store. Canada. March 30, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  44. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  45. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  46. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  47. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  48. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 15. týden 2012 in the date selector.
  49. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". Tracklisten. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  50. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  51. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen: Call Me Maybe" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  52. ^ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  53. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard.
  54. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Carly Rae Jepsen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  55. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". VG-lista. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  56. ^ "Top 5 airplay - nowości". ZPAV.
  57. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  58. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201215 into search.
  59. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  60. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  61. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  62. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". Music Canada. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  63. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" Certified Platinum In The U.S." Digital Journal. April 24, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  64. ^ "American single certifications – Carly Rae Jepsen – Call Me Maybe". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  65. ^ "Call Me Maybe - Single". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. February 22, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  66. ^ "Call Me Maybe - Single" (in Portuguese). iTunes Store. Apple Inc. February 24, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  67. ^ "Call Me Maybe - Single" (in German). iTunes Store. Apple Inc. February 24, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  68. ^ "Amazon.com: Call Me Maybe: Carly Rae Jepsen". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
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