Carly Rae Jepsen

Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian recording artist and singer-songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. In 2007, she placed third in Canadian Idol season five's competition and was a part of the Canadian Idol Top 3 concert tour. Shortly after competing on Canadian Idol, she independently released her debut album, Tug of War, through MapleMusic Recordings on September 30, 2008. Three years later, she released a new single, titled "Call Me Maybe", on Canadian label 604 Records, which was followed by the release of an EP titled Curiosity on February 14, 2012. In February 2012, pop singer Justin Bieber referred her to his manager, Scooter Braun, who subsequently signed Jepsen to his Schoolboy Records label while obtaining an American deal with global distribution on affiliate Interscope Records, after "Call Me Maybe" gained popularity on YouTube by reaching 400 million views. The single reached the number one spot on both the US Billboard and Canadian Hot 100, while also topping the charts in 19 other countries. Jepsen's musical influences include James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and Van Morrison.

Jepsen has received multiple awards and nominations, including three Juno Awards and two Grammy Award nominations. She was also named by Billboard as 2012's Rising Star and introduced in Canada's Walk of Fame's Slaight Allan Awards.

Life and career
Jepsen was born in Mission, British Columbia, the daughter of Alexandra and Larry Jepsen; her stepfather is Ron Lanzarotta. She attended Heritage Park Secondary School in Mission, and has since performed there post-graduation. She has Danish roots. She later attended the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, British Columbia before auditioning for Canadian Idol. After completing the Canadian Idol tour, Jepsen went back to British Columbia to focus on writing, recording and completing her band. Her demos attracted attention and she was eventually signed a joint management deal with Simkin Artist Management and Dexter Entertainment, which led Jepsen into the studio with producer Ryan Stewart. Founder Jonathan Simkin of Simkin Artist Management, who is also co-founder of the Vancouver-based record label 604 Records, was initially reluctant to also sign her to the 604 label right away, instead opting to jointly take on her management as a first step. Jepsen struck an independent signing with MapleMusic Recordings and distribution via Fontana North.