
September 25, 2019
Carly Rae Jepsen: “When I Needed You” – Song Exploder
Check out the Song Exploder Episode Page & Show Notes
Intro
- Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actress perhaps best known for her hit single, Call Me Maybe
On Creating When I Needed You
- “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”