The teens are really going to love this one. Carly Rae Jepsen (pictured) is coming to South Africa for two shows. The singer who gave us the hits Call Me Maybe and I Really Like You will be at Cape Town’s Grand Arena, GrandWest, on October 21 and in Pretoria on October 24 at the Monument Amphitheatre.
“I am really excited to come to South Africa for the first time. I have heard good things about the place for a long time and if I am to go by the feedback we get, then there is a lot of love out there for our sound,” said the 29-year-old singer.
Speaking about her video for I Really Like You, Jepsen was ecstatic to feature legendary actor Tom Hanks who appears to be having fun during the shoot.
“I was very lucky to have an actor whom I had adored for the longest time. He didn’t give us any hassles when we asked him to be part of the video. I really enjoyed the experience and it was a dream come true,” she said.
The song comes off her latest album, E.MO.TION, the follow-on to Kiss, which spawned the hit, Call Me, Maybe.
“The album is very ’80s pop. I know I am too young to remember, but there is something about the ’80s that I found so intriguing. They had a specific energy, a style and culture that was really special. The music of the time also matched that so it was intriguing to try and go back in time and have fun while at it,” she explained.
Going back to her success with Call Me Maybe, Jepsen admitted that it was unexpected to have the song become part of pop culture.
“It’s very surreal to have that kind of success over a song that we wrote, not knowing how good it would be. Now everywhere I go, people really love it and it’s a humbling feeling to be in that space where people loved it to that level,” she said.
That said, the new album has to do better than the previous material and Jepsen is slightly worried as to how well it will fare.
“Making a new album is always a daunting task and this time was no different. Every artist has pressure to perform better than the last record, but that doesn’t have to get in the way of the music. So we will see what the fans think about E.MO.TION, but we had fun making it,” she explained.
After bagging Hanks on her latest video, the singer looks forward to entering other big names on her resume in the years to come.
“There are so many artists who I would like to work with, but if I had to choose one then it definitely would be Cyndi Lauper. She looks like she would be fun to work with,” she explained.
So what can you expect from her when she lands in the country?
“For South Africa we have a plan to showcase highly energetic shows. We will do all the hits and some of the new material too,” she said excitedly.
l Tickets to the show are pegged between R375 and R550 and are available at Computicket.