Here’s the thing (we started out friends…): Carly Rae Jepsen‘s “Call Me Maybe” may very well be the catchiest song in the world, and it’s about to be literally everywhere.
If you weren’t already familiar with Ms. Jepsen, the Canadian-born 26-year-old chanteuse first rose to fame after placing third on the fifth season of Canadian Idol in the summer of ’07.
Her debut album Tug of War, which came out in 2008, did approximately nothing on the charts more or less, but her second attempt–an EP called Curiosity released in February, fared better due to a certain lead single released in September: “Call Me Maybe.”
The track, which was co-crafted alongside band-member Tavish Crowe and Marianas Trench lead Josh Ramsay, isn’t just catchy–it’s irresponsibly addictive, and all because of the chorus.
Those urgent strings (OH, THOSE STRINGS!), mixed with an equally urgent sugary-sweet plea, leads to one disastrously memorable hook: “Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy/But here’s my number…so call me, maybe?” NOOOOO! So earnest, like a less country-fied Taylor Swift! You’ll never get it out of your head, ever! EVER! It’s like Contagion, but more Canadian! Oh God, it’s just so GOOD.
Canadians quickly latched on, which is why “Call Me Maybe” slowly grew to become a radio hit by the holiday season. But Canada simply wasn’t enough. Nay, not if a certain Canadian crooner–one with the power to incite war, endless Twitter death rumors, lay hands and cure all ailments with a single wink–had the power to do anything about it. That’s right: Justin “God” Bieber.
So tweeteth The Bieber while on holiday in December:
“Call me maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen is possibly the catchiest song I’ve ever heard lol.”
And just like that, the Internet literally shat itself.
The unspeakably catchy tune soon started climbing rapidly at radio, eventually clawing its way to the #1 spot on the Canadian charts by early February.
Then, on Valentine’s Day, Bieber announced that Jepsen was going to be signed to his manager Scooter Braun‘s label, School Boy Records.
The kerfuffle only further exploded in the next few days when Bieber’s ladyfriend, Selegenda Godmez, tweeted a silly singalong video featuring herself, Bieber and the Legendary Ashley Tisdale (amongst countless other tweens), leading to over 22 million views to date and counting (which, for the record, far surpasses the original video).
“Call Me Maybe” has since been submitted to mainstream radio on March 6 in the US, and the song’s already climbed from #38 to #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the past two weeks. How long until Beliebers/the general public get this one to #1? Oh, I’d give it about two more weeks, tops.
In the meantime, Jepsen’s already been flown out to LA to meet Braun and Bieber to record, calling the experience “like Entourage, but swankier.”
So start scribbling your phone numbers on napkins now, everyone–you’ll never be the same again.
A big thank you (and also a curse!) to Muuser Ben T., who first brought this earworm to my attention weeks ago.
“Call Me Maybe” was released on February 22. (iTunes)
