In my gay opinion, Carly Rae Jepsen’s new album Dedicated is like cotton candy. It’s colorful, light and sweet with Carly Rae singing in her sugary voice without over-producing. The music is pure pop with fun house-like lyrics that are repetitive and able to be sung along to with just a few listens.
Although she sounds the most Carly on “Now That I Found You” and got critical acclaim for her 80’s sounding album, Emotion, Dedicated is more mature and sexy. “Too Much” is all about overindulgence, on “No Drug Like Me” her love is an addition, and “I’ll Be Your Girl” has a Fatal Attractionesque feel to it but I haven’t been this excited about a masturbation single like “Party For One” since “She Bop” by Cyndi Lauper.
Many of the songs on Dedicated are suited for certain venues. I could imagine roller skating around a retro roller disco like Donna Summer to the song “Julien”, singing “Want You In My Room” at karaoke at a resort’s beach side bar, hearing “Everything He Needs” sung in a Jem And The Holograms or Betty Boop cartoon, or being at an Ingrid Michaelson concert when “Feels Right” gets covered.
Speaking of concerts, I’m crossing Carly Rae off my concert bucket list this summer. I pre-ordered Dedicated to get a pre-sale code and took a shot buying tickets for a tour promoting an album I hadn’t heard. It paid off because the show I got seats to sold out and Dedicated is just as perky as her previous albums.
