Carly Rae Jepsen has done it again folks. She went and released a song that surpasses her breakout hit, “Call Me Maybe,” both in terms of quality and infectiousness. OK, the latter is up for debate—before it became an annoying viral hit, “Call Me Maybe” was pretty darn catchy but new single, “I Really Like You” is arguably superior. What’s more, Scooter Braun and company are being INCREDIBLY smart about rolling out this new Jeppo era, going for viral gold once again in the just released video for the single featuring Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks in a featured role and recently-roasted Justin Bieber (AKA the man Carly Rae Jepsen owes all of her success to). VERY smart indeed.
The video’s release (March 6th on BravoTV.com) follows hot on the heels of two high-profile live performances of the song on both Good Morning America and Jimmy Kimmel Live! and while the video calls into question HOW an actor of Tom Hanks‘ calibre could be SO BAD at lip syncing, it fits the song perfectly. The video features Hanks strolling down Crosby Street in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, taking #selfies with “fans,” signing ping-pong paddles (Forrest Gump REFERENCE) for passers-by while people swipe right (Tinder REFERENCE) and yes, doing a choreographed dance with Jepsen and the Biebs. My favorite part though has to be his emoji-ladden iMessage chat with CJR in the back of a cab. RUN FORREST RUN! Hey, the video is campy as anything, but that’s OK. No one expected a black & white Jepsen sullenly strolling along the banks of the Seine.
29 year-old Jepsen wrote “I Really Like You” with J. Krash and Peter Svensson (of The Cardigans), who also served as the song’s producer. The song is the lead single lifted off Carly Rae’s forthcoming sophomore album, out this summer on Schoolboy Records/Interscope. According to Jepsen herself:
“Peter Svensson wrote one of my all-time favorite songs, ‘Lovefool,’ and working with him made me rediscover the joy of writing something that’s just pure pop,” Jepsen says. “Lyrically, it’s about that time in a relationship when it’s too soon to say ‘I love you,’ but you’re well past, ‘I like you’ and you’re at the ‘I really, really like you’ stage.”
As I write this, I find myself listening to Jepsen’s CRIMINALLY underrated debut album, lamenting about it’s failure to connect with mainstream pop-loving audiences. While everybody knew it was going to be next to impossible for Jepsen to mimic the success of “Call Me Maybe,” debut album KISS was chock-full of quality pop bops! Featuring the singles “This Kiss,” “Tonight I’m Getting Over You” as well as the Owl City-assisted “Good Time,” not to mention a handful of more-than-decent NON singles, like “Tiny Little Bows,” (with it’s interpolation of Sam Cooke‘s “Cupid“) “Curiosity,” “Hurts So Good” and others. Le sigh. #JusticeForJepsen
Well, from the looks of it, Carly Rae Jepsen will be getting a healthy dose of justice when her second album drops. All indicators point to it being quite the pop comeback. Featuring collaborations with Rami Yacoub (One Direction, Nicki Minaj), Dev Hynes AKA Blood Orange (Sky Ferreira, Diana Vickers), Jack Antonoff (fun., Taylor Swift), Ariel Rechtshaid (Charli XCX, HAIM), Tegan and Sara, Rostam Batmanglij (of Vampire Weekend), Greg Kurstin (Sia, Kelly Clarkson), and the always reliable recent Grammy-winner (for Producer of the Year) Max Martin (Britney Spears, Katy Perry). #JusticeForJepsen indeed.
Download “I Really Like You” on iTunes and stream it on Spotify. Check out the video below
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