The Best Carly Rae Jepsen Songs, Ranked

Carly! Rae! Jepsen! Queen of our hearts. Queen of the most positive comment section on the internet. Queen of bubblegum pop and growing with the times while maintaining a beautiful thread of head-in-the-clouds joy and light. Talk about a slay.

Our favorite singer-songwriter placed third in the fifth season of Canadian Idol back in 2007 before quickly jumping to first place in our hearts. Now, after over a decade of pop perfection, Carly boasts more than 17 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, well over two billion views on YouTube, and a respectable handful of prestigious award nominations. 

She’s collaborated with LGBTQ favorites, such as Nicki Minaj and Charli XCX, as well as fellow Canadians Rufus Wainwright and Justin Bieber. Not only do we really, really, really, really, really, really like her, but with over 19% of Grindr users naming music as their top hobby, she’s provided the soundtrack of our lives through breakups and new beginnings. So this is our love letter right back to her.

CRJ’s biggest hits, top to bottom

Check out our favorite Carly Rae Jepsen songs, ranked in order of popularity according to streams. Honestly, how could we pick a favorite when she literally has a hit for every moment? 

1. “Call Me Maybe”

Where were you the first time you heard “Call Me Maybe?” It’s almost hard to remember a time before Carly’s iconic Billboard Hot 100 debut, a song that peaked at number one on the charts and still owns us with its transcendent, nostalgic power. 

This was the first single from Kiss, her second studio album. It remains her most-played song, with more than a billion streams on Spotify and 1.5 billion music video views on YouTube. 

Without question, this is a mainstay among our favorite karaoke songs and will go down in history as the tune that put Carly Rae Jepsen on the map.

2. “Good Time” (with Owl City)

Second only to “Fireflies” for the one-man band’s popularity, Owl City hit the hyper-positivity pop jam jackpot when this CRJ feature dropped the same week that “Call Me Maybe” hit number one on the Billboard Top 100. Take us back to 2012!

3. “I Really Like You”

Queen of taking a relationship one step at a time! Queen of discerning love from lust and communicating emotions!

Carly has a knack for boiling complicated feelings down to their simplest parts, which is a big reason she’s so universally beloved. We all see a bit of ourselves reflected back through her songs in the best way possible.

4. “Run Away With Me”

We would run away with Carly anywhere, anytime. The electro-pop chorus in “Run Away With Me” is explosive and consuming. She takes us to the feeling, and we cannot get enough.

5. “Cut To The Feeling”

This one’s a B-side; you won’t find it on any of her albums. “Cut to the Feeling” lends all magic, joy, and quintessentially electric CRJ energy to the animated musical film Ballerina. 

6. “Tonight I’m Getting Over You”

The last single from her 2012 album Kiss was so good that even Nicki Minaj hopped on the remix. The ultimate confidence booster for moving on from that lying, cheating asshole who does not deserve you or your tears.

7. “Emotion”

She said breakup revenge song, but make it super light and fun. “Be tormented by me, babe”? Hell yes! May we all feel 10 feet tall while we realize our ex is the one who’s missing out.

8. “Boy Problems”

Sia helped out with this one, including lending her spoken voice to the intro as Carly’s exasperated friend spitting nothing but facts. She really puts things in perspective here, reminding us that best friends are far more important than disposable boys who cause us nothing but headaches.

9. “Want You In My Room”

This song elicits a potent early ’90s nostalgia the likes of which we haven’t felt since Wilson Phillips turned the world upside down with “Hold On.” The background callouts and perfectly wholesome innuendos induce an almost desperate need to sing along. If you aren’t hitting the air guitar during that outro, you’re lying.

10. “This Love Isn’t Crazy”

“It’s your right to hurt me, baby / If you wanted to / Oh, but love isn’t cruel.” Here, Carly expresses the hope and vulnerability of letting yourself fall for someone you know could tear your heart out — and trusting them not to. Queen shit! 

The BPM is high on this one, but it still inspires a wistful little tear at the corner of our eyes. Real men cry, babes.

11. “Making The Most Of The Night”

This one has gotten us through some seriously rough times. Who wouldn’t want Carly Rae Jepsen to run to your side and hijack you when you’re spiraling? She’s the sort of friend we all deserve when we’re really going through it, and that’s why we love her so damn much!

12. “Favourite Colour”

Every once in a while, a song embeds itself in your soul with the very first note, and “Favourite Colour” is definitely one of those tunes. This song is simply gorgeous from start to finish. You know we have chills when that chorus drops.

Add it to your seduction playlist to set the mood for deep connection. Or add it to your yearning playlist for when you’re single and want to break your own heart. Either way, we’re feeling bright baby blue and deep in our longing with this one.

13. “Western Wind”

A beautiful evolution from the familiar dance-pop stylings of earlier albums, The Loneliest Time brings us into Carly’s present with warm and engaging synth-pop. 

After collaborating with Vampire Weekend alum Rostam Batmanglij across multiple albums, their creative chemistry gifted us with the stunning and heady “Western Wind,” a song that feels like home and reminds us that it’s all connected.

14. “Comeback” (feat. Bleachers)

This laid-back masterpiece is a gentle but persistent reminder that, at the end of the day, you’re your own first priority. Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff lends his deep background vocals to the track, effortlessly complimenting Carly.

15. “Heartbeat”

Our queen of unabashed emotions gives us a rare stripped-down slow jam that speaks to the scarier parts of developing feelings for someone new: when emotional vulnerability makes us feel exposed and uncertain, and we want to push them away to protect ourselves. But there they are, speeding up our heartbeat, so it might just be worth the risk.

Honorable mentions

We’re gay — of course, we’re going to have trouble whittling Carly Rae Jepsen’s prolific discography of incredible hits down to just 15 songs.

Special shoutout to the campy humor of “Beach House,” the friendzone survival anthem “Your Type,” and the dance-inducing disco delights of “Now That I Found You” and “I Didn’t Just Come Here To Dance.” 

“Happy Not Knowing” will always be there for when you just don’t have time to catch feelings, especially for someone like “Julien.” And, of course, our queen keeps the hits coming with new faves like “Kollage” and “Psychedelic Switch” in 2023, so we know this list will continue to grow.

No more talking to yourself

Find out what happens when you treat the Grindr DMs like a CRJ comment section. Tell him he’s the king of using the eggplant emoji, and he’ll want you in his room!

Get the Grindr app today and get started.

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