Carly Rae Jepsen is for the gays!
The Canadian pop princess has been a queer favorite ever since the release of her pitch-perfect third album, Emotion, giving us iconic bops such as “Run Away With Me” and “Gimmie Love.”
Yet, despite their omnipresence on gay men’s playlists, none of the songs were radio hits. Thus, Carly Rae’s queer cult was born.
We stan an underdog!
Party for one
If you don’t care about me
I’ll just dance for myself
Back on my beat
Sometimes it’s easy to forget, however, that everybody isn’t plugged into gay culture (an exhausting feat for sure). When a Lorde stan account (appropriate) posted a photo from a recent Carly Rae show, people were shocked–shocked!–to learn the concert hall was filled with… men!
While the concert was held in Rio de Janeiro, it should’ve been in Berkeley, if you catch our drift.
Commenters were aghast!
“Where are the women?” one asked.
“Yeah, the men-to-women ratio is way off,” someone added.
An Australian news outlet chronicled the confusion.
Attendees look like they’re from Berkeley
— Manny Moralez (@M_nny) December 2, 2023
and so the legacy continues
— luca (@drunkazed) December 1, 2023
The way 99% of it is fa🐐s
— godamnmanchild (@hesitatingboy) December 2, 2023
iconic
— Therapist for Del Reys (@Therapy4DelReys) December 2, 2023
Though Carly Rae didn’t reach gay icon status until the mid-2010s, she was always winking to us. The music video to her breakout single, “Call Me Maybe” has a gay twist at the end.
OoOoOoOoOo.
It’s true! Jepsen, a suburban girl, writes down her number on a piece of paper for the hunky boy-next-door. He puts down his number on a piece of paper, too, but… doesn’t walk towards an infatuated Carly Rae.
Instead, he heads towards one of his bandmates and passes him the note.
“Call Me. XOXO.”
Yay representation!
While the mega-stars — Beyoncé, Madonna, Britney — are in their own stratosphere, there is a bubbling underclass of gay pop queens who are more niche.
Carly Rae is the centerpiece of this distinguished group.
“What happens when a pop star isn’t all that popular?” asked the New York Times last summer.
Unsurprisingly, the lede of the article is about Carly Rae.
“On certain corners of the internet, The Loveliest Time, the Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen’s seventh album, could be confused for the biggest album of the year,” the article begins.
“But the average Top 40 radio listener probably hasn’t heard it. And when the Billboard 200 chart posted the week after its arrival last month, The Loveliest Time was nowhere to be found.”
Other pop stars highlighted in the piece include: Kim Petras, Ava Max, Sabrina Carpenter, Bebe Rexha, Rina Sawayama, Rita Ora and Troye Sivan.
We don’t think that’s a coincidence!
A few years back, queer Carly Rae stans explained their fandom to the Canadian Broadcasting Company.
“Her songs recount stories of unrequited, fleeting and misguided love — facets of life I’m sure my gay brethren can all too familiarly relate to,” said one.
“Jepsen understands the struggle. She’s out here, on every album, singing about her crushes,” added another.
Regardless of the reasoning, gays love Carly Rae. She just cuts right to the feeling.
Other people don’t understand.
Carly Rae Jepsen makes music for men (who love men)
— alex (@alex_abads) December 4, 2023
Thad
Carly Rae’s “Beach House” video certainly seems made with gay men in mind. But there were girls at both of her concerts I’ve been to. Yes, lots of gay men too. But in Asbury Park, NJ, that’s expected.
She gives a great show. I can’t wait until the next tour.
abfab
Straight people are just perplexed. Period.
hung09uc
Seven albums? If you’d asked me I’d say maybe three. Her problem is that she’ll never top Call me maybe. It had to be downhill from there. Despite being Canadian I’ve not heard her music here in years.
DJLA
I’ve met Carly Rae twice: once at a meet & greet and once when she visited my restaurant in Hollywood. She couldn’t be more down-to-earth or kind, and, what a show she puts on! Carly Rae Jepsen is a true gay icon and is quite literally the definition of pop music.