Life and career

1985-2010: Early life and Tug of War

Jepsen was born in Mission, British Columbia, the daughter of Alexandra and Larry Jepsen; her stepfather is Ron Lanzarotta. She attended Heritage Park Secondary School in Mission, where she pursued her early passion for musical theatre by appearing in student productions of Annie, Grease, and The Wiz. She studied musical theatre at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, British Columbia and took barista, bartender and other minimum wage work after graduation. Jepsen honed her songwriting skills with a guitar her parents gave her and, in 2007, decided to pursue her burgeoning interest in music by auditioning for the fifth season of the reality television competition Canadian Idol. She placed third in the show and was part of the Canadian Idol Top 3 concert tour. After the conclusion of the tour, Jepsen returned to British Columbia to focus on writing, recording and completing her band. Her demo recording attracted the attention of music manager Jonathan Simkin, who signed Jepsen to a management deal. Jepsen struck an independent record deal with MapleMusic Recordings and distribution via Fontana North. To further her music career, she subsequently relocated to Vancouver.

In June 2008, Jepsen released her debut single and another single, a cover of John Denver's song "Sunshine on My Shoulders". Jepsen's debut album, Tug of War, was released in September 2008 through MapleCore/Fontana North. The album was produced in its entirety by Ryan Stewart and includes the song "Sweet Talker", which Jepsen previously performed at her first Canadian Idol audition. Tug of War was re-released via Jonathan Simkin's label 604 Records, with distribution from Universal Music Group, and has since sold 10,000 copies in Canada according to Nielsen SoundScan. The title track "Tug of War" was released the same month as the album and received radio airplay in Canada, followed by the singles "Bucket" and "Sour Candy", a duet with Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench. The former two singles reached the top 40 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. In early 2009, Jepsen toured western Canada with Marianas Trench and Shiloh. She then went on a cross-Canada tour with Marianas Trench, The New Cities and Mission District.

2011-13: Curiosity, mainstream success and Kiss

Jepsen began recording material for her second album in 2011 with Josh Ramsay, Ryan Stewart, and Tavish Crowe, with whom she co-wrote the single "Call Me Maybe", released in Canada in September 2011. In January 2012, fellow Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber tweeted about the song to his millions of Twitter followers, and the following month the song was featured in a viral video in which Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Ashley Tisdale lip-synced and danced to the track. Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, signed Jepsen to a joint worldwide record deal with his own label, Schoolboy Records, and the major label Interscope Records; she remained signed to 604 Records in Canada and retained Jonathan Simkin as her manager.

The release of Jepsen's second album was postponed to allow "Call Me Maybe" to spread in popularity, although 604 Records issued a six-track EP, Curiosity, in February 2012 in Canada. "Call Me Maybe" peaked at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, making Jepsen the fourth Canadian artist to top the chart. In the United States, the single spent nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, earning the title of "Song of the Summer" from Billboard magazine. "Call Me Maybe" topped the charts in 18 countries, including the United Kingdom, where it was the year's second best-selling single. It was the best-selling single of 2012 worldwide, according to the IFPI.

Jepsen recorded a duet with Owl City, "Good Time", which was released as a single in June 2012. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and preceded Jepsen's second album, Kiss, which was released in September 2012 and reached top ten chart positions in Australia, the UK, and the US. Kiss features songwriting and production contributions from mainstream pop artists including Toby Gad, Matthew Koma, Bonnie McKee, Max Martin, Sara Quin (of Tegan and Sara), and LMFAO's Redfoo. The album was certified gold by Music Canada and has sold 289,000 copies in the US; its failure to match the success of "Call Me Maybe" led MTV Hive to write that "Kiss is the best pop album of the year, and nobody is listening". The album's subsequent single, "This Kiss", was premiered in September 2012, followed by "Tonight I'm Getting Over You" in January 2013; neither became major hits. During late 2012, Jepsen appeared on the fifth season premiere episode of The CW primetime soap opera 90210 and became a spokesperson for clothing retailer Wet Seal.

Jepsen received the Rising Star Award at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, making her the first Canadian recipient. At the 2013 Juno Awards, Kiss won the awards for Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year and "Call Me Maybe" won in the Single of the Year category. The single received nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. In 2013, Jepsen became a spokesperson for clothing/footwear brand Candie's. In June 2013, Kiss: The Remix, a compilation album containing remixes and instrumentals of singles from Kiss, was released exclusively in Japan and peaked at number 157 on the Oricon albums chart. From June to October, Jepsen embarked on The Summer Kiss Tour in support of Kiss, visiting North America and Asia.

2014-present: Emotion and other projects

Jepsen's third album was tentatively due for an early 2014 release, but she stated that she would not rush the album, instead taking her time to make sure it was of quality. From February 2014, Jepsen assumed the role of Cinderella in the Broadway production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella. She played the part for twelve weeks and starred alongside new cast member Fran Drescher. Jepsen spoke of her time on Broadway and taking a break from the music industry: "Being around people who not only didn't care if you were in the pop world but actually preferred if you weren't took my head out of that game in a really healthy way. Suddenly, it wasn't about sitting down and writing a song but having an idea while walking through New York City and thinking 'Where's my phone?'".

Jepsen released her third album's lead single, "I Really Like You", in March 2015. Accompanied by a music video in which actor Tom Hanks lip-synced to the song, it peaked at number 14 in Canada and attained top five and top 40 positions in the UK and US, respectively. The following month, Jepsen performed a track titled "All That" on Saturday Night Live that was released to digital stores the next day. The album, titled Emotion, was released in June 2015 and received positive reviews; the album appeared on many publications' year-end albums lists for 2015. Jepsen herself was named one of People of the Year by Time magazine. Emotion peaked at number eight in Canada and at number 16 on the US Billboard 200. The album includes collaborations with Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend), Sia Furler, Dev Hynes, Greg Kurstin, and Ariel Rechtshaid. The second single, "Run Away with Me", was released in July.

Jepsen embarked on the Gimmie Love Tour in support of Emotion, playing dates along the east coast of the United States as well as Japan in November 2015. Also during late 2015, Jepsen featured on a new version of Bleachers' song "Shadow"—issued on the compilation album Terrible Thrills, Vol. 2—and released a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas". Jepsen played Frenchy in Grease Live, Fox's live television presentation of the musical Grease on January 31, 2016. It was announced on January 15, 2016, that a new song written specifically for Jepsen called "All I Need Is an Angel" was added to Grease Live. It was penned by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey. Jepsen has recorded the theme song to the Netflix series Fuller House, a reboot of the sitcom Full House premiering in February 2016. Also in 2016, Jepsen is to appear on The Knocks' debut album 55.

Carly is nominated for Fan Choice for the 2016 Juno Awards.

In 2016, she will be opening act for Hedley on their Hello World Tour with Francesco Yates.

Artistry and influences

Jepsen said that she shares her parents' interest in folk music as a result of her upbringing, naming artists such as Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, and Van Morrison as inspirations for her debut album, Tug of War (2008). During the recording of her EP Curiosity and her second album, Kiss (both 2012), Jepsen said that she became increasingly influenced by pop and dance music, in particular the works of Dragonette, Kimbra, La Roux, and Robyn. Her third album, Emotion (2015), drew from her love of pop music from the 1980s and the "old-school" albums of Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, and Prince. Jepsen has also expressed admiration for Cat Power, Tegan and Sara, Bleachers, Bob Dylan, Sky Ferreira, Dev Hynes, Solange Knowles, Joni Mitchell, Sinéad O'Connor, the Spice Girls, and Hank Williams.

Activism

Jepsen is a gay rights activist. She was scheduled to perform at the Boy Scouts of America 2013 National Scout Jamboree, along with the band Train. In March 2013, both cited the controversy over the BSA policy on gays as barrier to their performance. Train released a statement saying it "strongly opposes any kind of policy that questions the equality of any American citizen ... We look forward to participating in the Jamboree this summer, as long as they make the right decision before then." Similarly, Jepsen released a statement saying "As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer."

Canadian Idol performances

Below is a list of Jepsen's performances on Canadian Idol.

Episode	Song choice	Original artist	Order #	Result
Audition	"Sweet Talker"	Carly Rae Jepsen	N/A	Advanced
Top 80	"I Try"	Macy Gray	Duets	Advanced
Top 40	"Breathe (2 AM)"	Anna Nalick	N/A	Advanced
Top 22	"Put Your Records On"	Corinne Bailey Rae	11	Advanced
Top 18	"Sweet Ones"	Sarah Slean	4	Advanced
Top 14	"Waiting in Vain"	Bob Marley & The Wailers	3	Advanced
Top 10	"Inside and Out"	Bee Gees	3	Bottom 3
Top 9	"Georgia on My Mind"	Hoagy Carmichael	5	Safe
Top 8	"Torn"	Natalie Imbruglia	7	Safe
Top 7	"Killer Queen"	Queen	3	Bottom 3
Top 6	"Come to My Window"	Melissa Etheridge	4	Bottom 3
Top 5	"Chuck E's in Love"	Rickie Lee Jones	4	Safe
Top 4	"My Heart Belongs to Daddy"	Mary Martin	1	Safe
	"I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"	Ivie Anderson	5
Top 3	"At Seventeen"	Janis Ian	3	Eliminated
	"White Flag"	Dido	6

Discography

Main article: Carly Rae Jepsen discography

• Tug of War (2008)
• Kiss (2012)
• Emotion (2015)

Tours

Headlining The Summer Kiss Tour (2013) Gimmie Love Tour (2015-16) Co-headlining Marianas Trench, The New Cities and The Mission District - Beside You Tour (2009)

Opening act Hanson - Shout It Out World Tour (2012) Justin Bieber - Believe Tour (2012/13) Hedley (band) - Hello World Tour (2016)

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Canadian Idol	Herself (contestant)	Season 5/eliminated 3rd place
2012	90210	Herself	Episode: "Til Death Do Us Part"
2013	Shake It Up	Herself	Episode: "My Fair Librarian It Up"
2015	Saturday Night Live	Herself / Musical Guest	Episode: "Michael Keaton/Carly Rae Jepsen"
2015	Castle	Herself	Episode: "Dead from New York"
2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Herself	Episode: "Carly Rae Jepsen Wears a Chunky Necklace and Black Ankle Boots"
2016	Grease Live	Frenchy	Live Television Special

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella	Ella	Broadway appearance

[ Source: Wikipedia ]