Standing in a crowded bar, surrounded by friends, I lean against a booth, thinking, what could make this night better? Suddenly, the jukebox answers. Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song Call Me Maybe fills the bar. Soon, everyone is dancing and shouting the oh-so catchy chorus. I’ll admit it: I’m one of these people. I’m not afraid to look like a lunatic when this catchy little number starts playing.
Call Me Maybe is junk food pop in its purest form. The lyrics don’t make sense —how can you miss someone who’s never been in your life? —-, the accompaniment is laughably simple and Jepsen is endorsed by the Biebs. I should hate this song with an intense passion, yet here I am, semi-fist pumping and bouncing on my heels like a tween. I don’t even like it ironically; I just like it.
Carly Rae doesn’t seem like a taste maker, but her song is extremely popular. Her look is like a brunette Taylor Swift whose stylist let her get dressed in the dark. Watching her on Ellen, she seemed genuinely excited to be there, smiling widely and letting J. Biebs do all the talking. Her earnestness transfers well to the song, making me like the tune even more. Most teens in show business seem like entitled brats whose ennui set in at three.
Maybe it’s because Call Me is one of those songs that everybody hates together, and then the hatred slowly evolves into a true love for it. This may seem dramatic, but this song brings everybody together in a weird way. Walking up to a stranger and saying “Here’s my number, so call me maybe” doesn’t seem crazy when everybody else is doing. Who knows? You might even get a real date out of it.