Carly Rae Jepsen

“I think as long as you’re doing what you’re authentically attracted to, that’s going to shine through eventually,” Carly Rae Jepsen said in a 2019 Apple Music interview. Born in 1985 in British Columbia, Jepsen has seen that commitment to her true self pay off. In 2012, the synthetic disco strings and endlessly meme-able hook of her single “Call Me Maybe” turned it—and her—into a global phenomenon, setting her apart from the pop pack with its unbridled joy. Not one to rest on her laurels, she seized the opportunity to continue her artistic evolution, turning herself into one of the genre’s most distinctive voices with 2015’s E•MO•TION, which saw her cement a cult following through collaborations with fellow innovative artists like Sia and Blood Orange’s Dev Hynes. Jepsen’s reputation as an eclectic outlier has allowed her to buck trends, dabbling in neo-disco (“Boy Problems”), pumped-up tropical vibes (“Now That I Found You”) and Robyn-indebted dance-floor fillers (“Party for One”). The occasional stage performer—Jepsen made her Broadway debut as Cinderella in 2013—continues to follow her own arrow. Her 2019 record, Dedication, written all around the globe with a multifaceted mix of producers including Jack Antonoff and John Hill, found her broadening her creative horizons, crafting a poignant and empowering breakup album without sacrificing what we’ve come to expect from the real CRJ: big feelings and bright, blissed-out tunes.