Carly Rae: Expect the unexpected

MANILA, Philippines - Carly Rae Jepsen was giddy and looking a little overwhelmed at a presscon yesterday, seeing the pack of reporters as well as bloggers, some of whom professed they were fans of her music.

The 27-year-old Canadian singer behind the hits Call Me Maybe, Good Time, This Kiss and Tonight I’m Getting Over You is in town for a concert tonight at the Big Dome.  

Asked if she’s feeling any pressure to duplicate her hits, particularly the phenomenal Call Me Maybe from her first internationally-released album Kiss (what with reports that she’s now working on a brand-new record) Carly Rae, who was named Billboard’s 2012 Rising Star, said, “Actually, I got asked that a lot. For me, I am filled with the most gratitude that I even have a song like that. When I was working in Canada to have a career in music, I had a goal for myself to make it on the Top 10 chart in iTunes. The song not only became No. 1, the song (broke out) me worldwide and it was a total, unexpected dream come true.”

Telling the story behind Call Me Maybe, she said that she is just being brave through her music because in real life, “I’m too shy” in things like letting a guy know “that I want him to call me, maybe.”

“Music is one of the places you get to make-believe,” she added.

Her favorite Call Me Maybe version among them all (including covers/parodies by popular foreign artists and even Filipino celebrities)? “My favorite is probably the one by the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street (laughs). I grew up watching that show. I never thought that one day the Cookie Monster would sing Call Me Maybe.”

Dream collaborations as a follow-up to her Good Time with Owl City frontman Adam Young? “I actually love jazz. I want to collaborate with an artist named James Blake.”

With her debut album Tug of War (released in Canada only) folksy in sound, her second Kiss (released locally by MCA Music, and available in CDs at Astroplus and Odyssey Music and on iTunes) pop-oriented, she can’t really tell where her music is headed next. What’s certain is that she is very grateful to be in a position to be able to create and share more of her music.

“I’m looking at my new situation now as an incredible opportunity (and) pop platform to share my music,” she said.

While in the Philippines, Carly Rae plans to go shopping “which is what I do everywhere I go; it’s kind of an addiction (laughs).” She has also looked up on some Filipino artists like Baihana and is excited to sample the local food.

For the concert tonight, mounted by Wilbros, Carly Rae promised a retro-pop party and lots of interaction and spontaneity that audiences should “expect the unexpected.”