September 25, 2019

Carly Rae Jepsen: “When I Needed You” – Song Exploder

Check out the Song Exploder Episode Page & Show Notes

Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actress perhaps best known for her hit single, Call Me Maybe

“When I Needed You” first started to come alive during a jam session between Carly and Tavish Crowe – Tavish also helped write the hit song Call Me Maybe
- “He’s like my favorite writing partner in the world because we’ve been through so much for so long together. Any idea, no matter how stupid, I don’t feel scared to share with him”
At the time of writing the song, Carly was going through a tough breakup and realized that if she wanted to stay with her boyfriend, she would have to be a totally different person than who she truly was
- This song was the final processing piece for Carly’s relationship and after it was completed, she felt like she could finally let go and move on
As part of the song’s creation, Carly’s mission was to make a pop album that adults could enjoy
- “I collect a bunch of ideas and I don’t know what will be good until later on”
Carly worked with producer Ariel Rechtshaid to take the song to the next level
- When Ariel heard the song, he knew it needed some drums, bass, and keyboard
Carly wanted the song to have a bit of the 80’s in it
- “I always wanted to create a song that I felt like could be in 16 Candles or Pretty in Pink and I feel like this is the closest I’ve ever gotten”