Carly Rae Jepsen at Alexandra Palace

Perhaps there isn’t a more appropriate time than the day after Valentine’s Day to go to a Carly Rae Jepsen concert, especially when her latest album, The Loneliest Time, is a pop-synth ode to love in all its forms – the highs and the lows, the sweet and the angst-laden – and a celebration of a romantic heart’s elastic properties (stretching out or shrivelling under certain circumstances). Jepsen takes a long look inward, playing with her signature sound and experimenting with different genres, including disco-pop, funk synth-pop, country and folk. She looks like an 80s fitness instructor in a pink leotard, and she doesn’t shy away from calling out ex boyfriends. Apparently, “Julien turned out to be d***.” 

She opens the concert with Surrender My Heart, the first track from her new album. It’s a jaunty reintroduction to the recurring themes of her songs: broken hearts, glued hearts, starving hearts, soothed hearts. Despite this not being a small gig (Ally Pally can hold up to 10,500 spectators), there is still an element of intimacy in the experience, possibly due to the warm friendliness exuded by the singer and the way she interacts with her audience, sharing anecdotes and personal experiences (from grieving a family member to picking up a man in a bar). 

A collective roar ensues as she invites the venue to join in with an anthem that takes everyone back to 2012, Call Me Maybe. Everyone seems to be having the time of their lives, singing along, dancing, swaying, hands in the air, possibly reminiscing about sweeter, lighter times. 

The highlight is a stripped-back acoustic version of Go Find Yourself or Whatever, with the artist and her guitarist sitting on stools next to each other. The song has the potential to become a Carly classic – a soft rock ballad with heart, born from a place of vulnerability. Another standout is the dramatic Boy Problems, preceded by some loud cheering from the crowd. “We need men!” Carly says, “But men just turn out to be old boys and we don’t want that!”.

Towards the end of the concert, the pop star blesses her audience with an energetic rendition of the catchy Beach House, all about her experiences with dating apps, sour disappointment coated in humour. After all, how else can one survive in this modern dating jungle if not with a sense of humour and friends to shrug it all off with? The lyrics are hilariously and surprisingly dark: “I’ve got a lake house in Canada / And I’m probably going to harvest your organs”.     

Jumping and dancing up and down the stage, the Canadian songstress delivers an overall entertaining performance, delighting her audience with a plethora of different music genres mixed with pop, and filling Ally Pally with charm, energy and vulnerability. Carly Rae Jepsen sure knows how to have fun, as do her fans.

Benedetta Mancusi

For further information and future events visit Carly Rae Jepsen’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Beach House here: