2015 was a great year in music, from Florence + The Machine's ethereal "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" to the great American hip-hop album that is Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly." But, at the end of the year, there was one album that took over many year-end lists and potentially cemented itself as one of the quintessential pop albums of this decade, propelling its artist beyond previous popular and critical perception.
No, we aren't talking about Adele's newest smash "25" or even Justin Bieber's redemptive "Purpose." We're talking about the third studio album from Carly Rae Jepsen—yes, this Carly Rae Jepsen.
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On the surface, it seems like a joke, that the same person who gave us the gem of a line "Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad" could produce a hit album. And, full disclosure, this article is probably heavily biased because I adore this album. But hear me out for a few seconds before you decide to touch my heart and crush it in your hands.
The Canadian songstress dropped "E•MO•TION" a year ago this month to generally positive reviews from various critics. We could go on about the different things critics had said, from its effervescence to its childish cheapness. But the point remains that many critics and even more fans enjoyed this album. Many refutable sources even placed it in the top ten best albums of 2015 and other year-end lists.
Yet it continues to go down as an underrated success for Carly Rae.
Despite peak positions in the top 25 in five countries, "E•MO•TION" did not seem to break too far sales-wise outside of Japan. As of this writing, neither the album nor Carly Rae received many award nods in 2015 or 2016 save three nominations from the MuchMusic Video Awards, the MTV European Music Awards and the Juno Awards. No Grammy nominations. No Billboard Music Award nominations. Not even a side-eyed look from the Teen Choice Awards (though I've never trusted Fox after the Firefly debacle).
I can only really think of three reasons why "E•MO•TION" did not do as well as it could have.
1. Its artist and her biggest song
This one seems to be the most obvious transgression. After all, as was stated above, the main thing they thought of when they heard the name Carly Rae Jepsen was "Call Me Maybe," a summer song of memetic proportions that some critics deemed the perfect pop song—or at least one of the greatest ones. It threatened to dwarf anything that its artist would do in the future—much like many other songs have done for other artists. Based on sales and other things that we've seen in the year since "E•MO•TION" was released, it's very likely that this happened to Carly Rae. It's a shame, too, because this album is filled with "banger after banger," as Sasha Geffen writes. But psychology tells us that first impressions are pretty strong indicators of perception, so this comes as no surprise, as unfortunate as it may be.
2. Its (lack of) hype caught many by surprise
Anecdotally, I can think of a wide variety of individuals who, upon the album's release, were unaware that Carly Rae Jepsen was still making music. Truth be told, so was I. Some music critics were just as surprised, too. Counter to the typical hype machine that comes along with the modern album release (or, in the case of My Chemical Romance, re-release), "E•MO•TION" came seemingly out of thin air. Beyoncé did a similar thing with her masterpiece of a self-titled album, but CRJ's album success falls more in line with Drake's 2015 mixtape—but even that got some award recognition. Maybe it's because Carly isn't trying to jockey for position as a cultural icon, as Adam Downer writes, while the other two have already worked to establish themselves as one, intentionally or otherwise. Maybe, with this album, Carly just wanted to have some fun.
3. Its status as a purely pop record
Pop music gets a really bad rap some days, usually regarding the lack of originality seen in everything from its lyrical content to its chord progressions. This dearth of newness usually correlates to a lack of authenticity to some critics. Sometimes, the newness is what's wrong, with some considering this decade the worst in music. Indeed, as good as "E•MO•TION" is, it does teeter into the realm of cliché and could be accused of trying too hard. While you could chalk the latter up to a matter of opinion, the cliché and sappiness that comes with this album is part of the essence of pop music. It borrows and melds from various genres, which Carly did masterfully. It writes about love and loss and emotions unbound, a la Taylor Swift's commercial blockbuster "1989." So what if it "sounds the same" or "has no originality"? The originality and the mastery aren't in the "what," but in the "how" with "E•MO•TION," which does that "how" well enough to be considered the second coming of an iconic pop album.
I could go on and on about this album, from its bubblegum lead track to cuts dripping in '90s R&B goodness. But I'll just save you the time. Just do me a favor and listen to it before you judge it. I'll leave you with a link to the first track below. Give it a listen and see if you'll get caught up in the emotion.
