PLAYDAR: Carly Rae Jepsen Stuck in Shadow of ‘Call Me Maybe’

Resident DJ Patrick DeMarco recalls last summer's radio earworm, and has the lingering thought every pop star dreads: "What ever happened to her?"

By Patrick DeMarco· 5/29/2013, 11:11 a.m.

I always have fun reminiscing about music from summers come and gone, so I wanted to take everyone way back to last summer when a little ditty called “Call Me Maybe” took hostage of radios and eardrums everywhere. The bubbly diva behind this global phenomenon, Carly Rae Jepsen, burst onto the music scene with her viral bar pick-me-up jam, and behold: a new pop star was born!

But not so fast — the story hasn’t exactly ended with rainbows and unicorns.

Since the release of the song that spawned a trillion gay YouTube videos, Ms. Jepsen has yet to duplicate its success. There have been a few more single releases (ones I guarantee you’ve never heard of), which I’m posting for you guys today. But not one of them has taken off to be that fire that “Maybe” was.

Now, I may not be the biggest fan of Carly Rae; in fact, I sometimes think she may be a 10-year-old girl trapped in a 26-year-old’s body. But hey, I’m a gay man who loves his gay music. If I can get that extra push in my workout from her energizing single “This Kiss,” or get that extra spring in my step during my night out thanks to the bouncy “Curiosity,” then I’m all about it.

I just want to go out by saying that I feel as if this is a case of a song overshadowing the artist. I mean, we never saw Los Del Rio have staying power after the “Macarena” phenomenon, did we? Also, with the music industry changing at a rapid pace, proper promotions of music artists seems to be a tricky — and sometimes losing — game.

Check these songs out, and decide for yourself if you think Ms. Jepsen will ever be able to outgrow the bonafide smash that is “Call Me Maybe.” Until then, only time — and radio airwaves — will tell.

I think it may be time to throw a wish in the well for another hit, girl.

1. “This Kiss” by Carly Rae Jepsen