Call her (name) maybe

As awards show season enters the homestretch I grow nauseous of Hollywood blowing smoke up its tight-fitting sequined dresses and wish for some normalcy for a few months. But I am looking forward to the Grammys when California gets a taste of Canada thanks to Carly Rae Jepsen.

She took the world by storm with Call Me Maybe. For her sake I hope she’s not a one-hit wonder. But I also feel bad for her that she had such a huge hit with her first major single and the pressure to have a second song just as big. (Many people don’t know she previously released albums after her run on Canadian Idol.)

I met Jepsen a couple years ago in St. John’s, Nfld. This was long before her voice was heard several times a day on thousands of North American radio stations. We were there for the Juno Awards – Canada’s unseen version of the Grammys.

The event took place at a mall where there was an autograph signing and hundreds of screaming fans. Jepsen was meeting fans who fell in love with her on Canadian Idol. You can check out the commotion at junos.jbonair.com.

Following the afternoon meet and greet I crossed paths with Jepsen “backstage” – it was an empty store in the mall that led to a back hallway for service employees. We grabbed a slice of cold pizza and a drink and chatted a few minutes before going to the awards gala that happens the night before the actual Junos telecast nobody watches.

While it was meant to be an actual segment for a radio broadcast we gabbed a while and realized, oh yeah, we’re supposed to be recording. It was almost three years ago when she was barely known in Canada and when I see Jepsen in interviews now she is still the same down-to-earth humble young woman.

Many people say Call Me Maybe was the catchiest tune in 2012 and most believe the song is a shoo in for Song of the Year at the Grammys on Feb. 10. And even if Bieber was Grammy snubbed this year, there’s still a sense of pride when we have so many Canadian artists nominated for Hollywood’s biggest music awards.