Back in 2017, Entertainment Weekly gave “Cut to the Feeling” a #4 spot for best song of 2017. This time, they decided to include her TWICE on their 21 Best Songs of Summer (off all time, based on the range of song selections).
Cut to the Feeling:
Carly Rae Jepsen earned rave reviews (though not very many sales) for her full-length album Emotion back in 2015, but it seems indisputable at this point that her true strength lies in crafting world-breaking pop singles that you want to listen to 20 times in a row right after hearing them for the first time. In the same way that “Call Me Maybe” launched her into the pop spotlight back in 2012, “Cut to the Feeling” stormed onto the scene last summer and immediately stole the season with its thundering beat and sky-high vocals. Try listening to it just once, especially with the sun shining down or waves lapping nearby; you can’t. — Christian Holub
Call Me Maybe:
If you didn’t want to call Carly maybe by the end of summer 2012, you clearly weren’t listening. The giddy ditty about a girl meeting a cute boy and plucking up the courage to slip him her number stood our for its simplicity and innocence — Jepsen didn’t need sleazy innuendos or overt sexuality to craft a pop classic. Perhaps that freshness and her endearing vocals was what made it such a summer sizzler (well, that, and its ridiculous ability to get stuck in your head). —Ruth Kinane
