Tracks 11 and 20 from Tug Of War (2008)

Tracks 2, 7, 14 and 18 from Kiss (2012)

Carly Rae Jepsen placed third in season 5 of "Canadian Idol" (making her, I suppose, the Canadian equivalent of Elliott Yamin). Her first album Tug Of War was a modest hit in Canada, more acoustic than her later work but with her singing style and ear for hooks already pretty well developed. And it's possible that even "Call Me Maybe" never would've broke through to America if Justin Bieber hadn't championed the song and helped get her signed to Scooter Braun's Interscope imprint, Schoolboy Records. 

Kiss didn't go gold and only spun off one more top 10 hit, and for a moment it felt like Jepsen would become one of those artists who'd desperately spin their wheels trying to make another smash (I really really hate "I Really Really Like You," which made me less receptive at the time to how good Emotion is). But a decade later, Jepsen is still releasing acclaimed albums on Schoolboy and plays to theaters full of fans that know every word to every song, the only non-Bieber artist on the label with a viable career amongst a revolving door of also-rans (remember Cody Simpson or Madison Beer? Or, more likely, never heard of them?). She's kind of like Cyndi Lauper, accruing goodwill long after her brief reign on the Hot 100. 

Jepsen has worked with a number of hitmakers on her albums, including Dallas Austin ("Tiny Little Bows"), Redfoo ("More Than A Memory"), Toby Gad ("Your Heart Is A Muscle"), Mattman & Robin ("Gimmie Love"), Sia ("Making The Most Of The Night"), Greg Kurstin ("Higher"), John Hill ("Summer Love"), Jack Antonoff ("Comeback"), and Rostam ("Go Find Yourself Or Whatever"). But it feels like she's zeroed in on her own sound, her persona, her brand, and is extremely consistent in finding it within the different styles of her various collaborators. Her nostalgic, vaguely '80s style of synth pop has its own flavor, distinct from Taylor Swift's or Katy Perry's. 

Jepsen wrote "Call Me Maybe" with Marianas Trench frontman Josh Ramsay (who also guested on the Tug Of War single "Sour Candy") and Tavish Crowe. And that trio only wrote one other song together, "Guitar String / Wedding Ring." Jepsen reportedly worked with Ramsay for Emotion but nothing he did wound up on the final album. Crowe, however co-written a number of Jepsen's songs over the years, including "Happy Not Knowing" and "Bends."