For Carly Rae Jepsen, Indulgence Is Always In

If you ever wanted to know who is on your favorite singer's playlist, or what albums inspired the latest “it girl” the most, tune in for Marie Claire’s resident music franchise Listen Up. In this interview series, we ask musicians about their listening habits and the specific records that informed their taste—and inherently their journey as an artist.

When Carly Rae Jepsen debuted in the mainstream with the inescapable and polarizing “Call Me Maybe” in 2012, the world decided that she would be a one-hit wonder. Since then, she’s proven she’s anything but.

Although the song was successful across many metrics, the singer-songwriter from British Columbia, Canada, felt it didn’t do justice to her range and, for years, was left fighting against being a “singles artist.” But she took the challenge in stride, refusing to be boxed in by the industry. “There was always this idea, especially when I first came to L.A., you have to be one thing. I fight that idea,” says Jepsen, 40, from her sunlit home office in L.A.

“Especially as women, we’re so many things.” Three years after the success of “Call Me Maybe,” the musician proved as much by releasing E•MO•TION, a cult-beloved ’80s-inspired fantasia, which she created with a coterie of Grammy winners and indie favorites including Shellback, Devonté Hynes, and Ariel Rechtshaid. The LP gave her a new level of critical acclaim and a devout fan base that has followed her as she’s continued to experiment with genres, from 2019’s electro-pop playground Dedicated to 2022’s folk-tinged The Loneliest Time.

By defying another of pop’s litmus tests—that female artists have an expiration date—she has made her most authentic album to date, Day and Night. “I really was allowing myself to ask, ‘What’s my contribution to this genre of music?’ which I don’t think, on any album before this one, I ever nailed,” Jepsen says. But on this 24-track double album, she did so by embracing every part of herself. “I call myself a bit of a late bloomer in general. It took me a second to stand in my own confidence of being unapologetically myself.”

Day and Night feels like a snapshot of what it might’ve been like to turn the radio dial in the early ’70s, when four-on-the-floor music gleamed and songs on the folk station experimented with disco. The album, she says, was made possible by the “incredible, mind-altering, life-altering change” she’s experienced in the past four years—during which she got engaged to, married, and welcomed her first child with music producer Cole M.G.N.

While the pop star’s next few months are largely focused on taking Day and Night out on the road (with her newborn son in tow), she’s also in the throes of working on one of her greatest passion projects: scoring the Broadway musical adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You. “It has been the most gratifying, exciting new flavor of creativity that I've ever been a part of,” she says of the stage show opening in August 2027. (She’s partnering with Ethan Gruska on the music while Lena Dunham and Jessica Huang co-write the book.)

Jepsen says she and the Girls alum had been eager to work together in some capacity for years before theater producer Mike Bosner brought them together for the project. “If we’ve done our job right, it’s going to be funny,” she says of the musical to be directed by Christopher Wheeldon; she points to the Tony-winning Oh, Mary! as a comparison. “I go to work, and I leave in stitches from what their brains have come up with and how dark and twisty and silly we all get together.”

While Jepsen is known for embracing indulgence, it’s safe to say she’s doing so now more than ever—and flourishing.

In a candid May interview, Jepsen talks about the current stage of her life as well as the classics she grew up on, her little-known love for jazz, and what music she’s already sharing with her son.

James Taylor. I have a profound memory of one of the first times that I was left alone at the house; I had the record player, and I put on James Taylor, loud, and went up on the roof. He’s also the first artist I saw live, so that is going to be profound no matter what. I thought, Oh, my God. What could be a better career than this? How do I make that happen?

In terms of pop artists: Sinéad O’Connor. Holy shit, I thought, this is a once-in-a-lifetime voice.

It was by the Spice Girls. My girlfriends and I had our Lip Smackers and nail polish, and we would all trade [being the Spice Girls]—we all wanted to be Baby because she had the lollipop—and we would make up dances. It was a rite of passage.

I’m having a beautiful relationship with my record player again. In the morning, with my baby, I put on a different record for the week. Right now, I’m really blown away by Earth, Wind & Fire’s Greatest Hits. To me, it’s like watching a really good figure skater, where you’re like, “You’re making this look so easy, but I know it’s really hard.” Funk music—being so danceable and also so intelligent but so effortless feeling—I really am bowing down to how much I’m hearing that’s going on and how well it’s done.

A little-known fact about me is that I also have this deep love of jazz, which actually comes out in moments on this album, more so than any other before. I think the ’40s could also be really interesting because a lot of what I’m listening to at home is Billie Holiday. There’s something about hearing how those jazz songs are actually incredible pop songs too. To me, that is really, really wild.

More and more, what I’m loving is knowing two people who haven’t met and ought to meet. It’s almost like, “What’s your favorite color?” and I’m like, “Well, I like color combinations, actually.” I really have been obsessed with this band Say She She—I’ve never met them—but working with them and bringing them to [my frequent producer] Patrik Berger would be an incredible combination. That’s one of my dreams.

This Tegan and Sara T-shirt I bought when I first saw them, before they had broken into the U.S. [market.] It was luck. I was at a festival in Canada somewhere. I was an immediate fan. I went to the [merch tent], and I was like, “Who was that? I’m buying something.” It was a small enough festival that you felt like your contribution of $20 for a T-shirt might help them get to the next festival. I was in a similar place at the time, where I was like, “I need all the help I can get.” So I bought their shirt, and I still have it and cherish it deeply.

Then, fast-forward, they were on my dream list of people to collaborate with, and we got to work together. I waited until session number three, when I was like, “So, not to creep you out, I’m a huge fan.”

It would be all the people I have yet to see. Van Morrison—he's on my bucket list. I would love to see Say She She. I think Doja Cat is one of the most incredible performers of our generation. I really love Feist. I would also bring all my friends. I would bring Bleachers;. I would have Dev Hynes there, absolutely.

I don’t think there’s a better pop song than “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Prince [performed by Sinéad O’Connor]. It’s got everything, all the yearning in the world.

Laura Mvula’s “Show Me Love” was something I was really jealous of in a good way. It’s one of those songs—almost like a good Billie Holiday song—where you’re happy you’ve experienced heartbreak so you can relate to how good the song is.

Lykke Li. She does sad so beautifully. The lyrics [of “hard rain”]: “If you like the feeling of the hard rain falling / I have a sea full, I can give you an ocean.” When [the album so sad so sexy] came out, I remember being like, “Oh, good. I’m set for all my sad feelings this year. I have my playlist.”

The last time I went out was to the Lily Allen concert, and I was listening to her album [West End Girl] to get ready. You feel sassy, you feel vindicated. I don’t know a woman who can’t applaud that she said it for all of us, to that one ex we all know needed to hear it. That was such a satisfying art piece of an album.

That is too much pressure for me. I'd be a terrible DJ because I couldn't stay focused. I'd start somewhere, and then pretty soon we'd be listening to Jesus Christ Superstar. But if somebody hands it to me, I’ve been listening to The Temptations with the baby, and we’re having a great time, so that could be a nice party starter.

[They’re] from “Habits of Creatures”: “It’s nice the way you look at me / Daffodils grow on my street and awful free / I think you can be the one to plant my lemon tree.” It means, you’re the one I want to do this domesticated business with and be blissful, and we’ll slow things down. It feels like a romantic idea, like, when you know, you plant the lemon tree with a person.

I’m a new mom. My baby is fresh. So “All Night Long (All Night)" [by Lionel Richie].”

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.

This piece originally appeared in Marie Claire's 2026 Legends issue.