‘It was like a lightning bolt to my life’: Carly Rae Jepsen reflects on 10 years of Call Me Maybe
Carly Rae Jepsen has reflected on 10 years of her hit song ‘Call Me Maybe’ – admitting it was “like a lightning bolt” to her life.
The 35-year-old singer shot to fame following the release of the catchy tune on September 20th 2011, and she has recalled feeling “giddy” the first time she heard people talking about her music when she was working as a waitress, even though they weren’t being very complementary about her tunes.
She wrote on Instagram: “‘Call Me Maybe’ was like a lightning bolt to my little life. I can remember waitressing one day not too long before things picked up and hearing one of the tables outside talk about my music. The table was seated with about 12 people who had all returned from a camping trip in Canada and had sung along to the radio the whole time. I think it was an earlier song that only played in Canada) called ‘Tug of War’ that was on repeat a lot back then and they were not exactly fans. A direct quote I overheard was something like, ‘This girl Carly Rae Jepsen was on repeat over and over our whole trip and we are so sick of it.’ Some of them sang the song in a mocking voice, oblivious to the fact that I was serving them food.
“So I poured the wine, engaged shyly behind my big floppy bangs, and hoped/prayed to not be recognized as their — ahem — waitress. But then something warm in my belly began to make me feel giddy because this was the first time I had heard someone else know my name or my music. I skipped behind the bar and excitedly explained to my manager that, ‘These people outside KNOW ME! Okay they don’t know ME per se but they know my MUSIC! (A giggle.) And they HATE IT but they KNOW IT and I’m kinda weirdly proud of that!’
“That night before they left I printed off their bill and signed my name confidently in bold letters on the back of the receipt.I said, ‘Thanks for letting me take care of you to-night! Also, I signed the back of your receipt since I hear you are all such big fans!’ Their jaws dropped, we had a laugh, and I may have received a slightly bigger tip than usual.
“The point is, don’t give up on your dreams, kids. Not three months later ‘Call Me Maybe’ was released and let’s just say I hope that song really annoyed them. Hehe. (sic)”
Carly joked her former boss must be “very relieved” that ‘Call Me Maybe’ was such a hit, because she was a “terrible waitress”.
She added: “Mostly I want to say thank you all for the joyous videos, silly dances, and wild nights together in different countries! You have opened my world and my heart with this adventure of a song and I could not be more grateful to you all.
“To Josh and Tavish who helped me pen this bad boy… who would have thunk it, hey? When lightning strikes feel lucky and feel grateful. I know I do every single day! Also I know my former boss is very relieved, because I was a TERRIBLE waitress. (sic)”