After the massive success of Carly Rae Jepsen‘s hit single “Call Me Maybe,” I can’t have been the only one left wondering, what does her other music sound like? It’s not that I even like “Call Me Maybe”; I just had to know, does she even have other music to offer? Sure enough, Jepsen has a few other tracks out there for us to listen to, the most recent coming from her EP Curiosity, which was released in Canada on Valentine’s Day this year.
Curiosity was originally going to be a full-length album, but was transformed into an EP shortly before its release. To give you a not so subtle hint about what I thought of the album, let me just say that I am extremely grateful that it was just an EP. Curiosity includes six singles. Five are Jepsen originals, including “Call Me Maybe”, while the sixth is a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” As you probably already know, “Call Me Maybe” is the paramount piece of radio candy. It has a catchy chorus, amusing lyrics, and a music video to match it. Welcome to the mainstream, Jepsen.
Normally, here’s when I would begin a track by track review of the lesser known singles. Jepsen’s EP includes “Curiosity,” “Picture,” “Talk to Me,” and “Just a Step Away.” Despite having different lyrics, they all sounded the same. I would describe them all as a less catchy and less lyrically amusing version of “Call Me Maybe.” Come to think of it, I would actually recommend listening to “Call Me Maybe” on repeat over listening to this EP. Her cover of “Both Sides Now” has a convincing start, but morphs into a pop version that is by far the worst rendition of the Mitchell song that I adore.
After getting through Curiosity, I frankly had no interest in listening to her debut album Tug of War, which was released in 2008, shortly after her third place finish in Canadian Idol. I did, however, search YouTube for her audition. Her voice is so out of tune in the home video clips included of her that I turned down my sound before it got to her actual audition. When the judges expressed their excitement about her audition, I was absolutely stunned; it sounded awful compared to half of the aired American Idol auditions, and I’m acknowledging the fact that half of the American Idol auditions aired are essentially jokes. I did not expect them to give her positive feedback, let alone send her to wherever they send Canadian Idol contestants.
Jepsen’s newest studio album, Kiss, will be released on September 18, but you certainly won’t find me counting down the days until then.
