Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actress. Born and raised in Mission, British Columbia, Jepsen performed several lead roles in her high school's musical productions and pursued musical theatre at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, British Columbia. After completing her studies, she relocated to Vancouver and later competed on the fifth season of Canadian Idol in 2007, placing third. In 2008, Jepsen released her folk-influenced debut studio album, Tug of War, in Canada.
Jepsen's breakthrough came in 2012, when her single "Call Me Maybe" achieved significant mainstream popularity; the song was the best-selling single of that year, reaching number one in 18 countries. As a result, she was signed to a joint worldwide record deal with School Boy Records and Interscope Records. Jepsen's second studio album, Kiss, was released later that year. It marked a greater shift into mainstream pop music and saw fair commercial success, reaching the top ten in Canada and the United States. In 2014, Jepsen made her Broadway stage debut as the titular character in Cinderella. The following year, she released her third studio album, Emotion. It is noted for its influence from 1980s music as well as blending dance-pop and synth-pop with indie sensibilities. While less commercially successful than Kiss, it saw the success of its lead single, "I Really Like You", and received critical acclaim. In 2016 Jepsen performed in the television special Grease: Live and lent her voice to the animated film Ballerina. Her fourth studio album, Dedicated, was released on May 17, 2019, along with a follow-up titled Dedicated Side B was distributed a year later.
Jepsen has received multiple accolades, including three Juno Awards, a Billboard Music Award, and an Allan Slaight Award, in addition to various nominations for Grammy Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Polaris Music Prize and People's Choice Awards. As of May 2015, Jepsen has sold over 25 million records worldwide.