Carly Rae Jepsen Lists Madonna, Spice Girls & More As Inspirations

International Women’s Day was last Friday (March 8), and Carly Rae Jepsen celebrated in style. Fresh off gracing our ears with two new bangers, the 33-year-old stopped by Apple Music’s Beats 1 to celebrate some of her biggest musical inspirations. Compiling a playlist titled “Women Who Kickass,” she included the likes of Madonna, Robyn, the Spice Girls and more. The “Run Away With Me” diva kicked things off with Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” – the ultimate breakup song. “I have a friend who had requested the actual vinyl of this when going through a really bad breakup and that’s what made me re-listen to the song again with fresh ears,” she explained.

“It just gave me this new appreciation for what the song can really do in terms of making you feel empowered and just want to take over your day.” She also highlighted Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and opened up about how the timeless anthem inspires her. “I think I’m constantly trying to remake a song sort of like this. It makes you feel like you’ve got your own catwalk and you should just be taking New York by storm.” Christine And The Queens’ “Tilted” and Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” made the cut. And CRJ also made sure to pay tribute to the song that started her love of all things pop – “Wannabe.”

“The first time I went to a record store was to request a song I didn’t know the title of and I didn’t know the artist’s name. Just it sounded kind of like ‘Tell me what you want, what you really, really want.’ And the guy was like, right this way. You’re not the first person here today. So ‘Wannabe,’ Spice Girls, the reason that I am in fact into pop music, has gotta be on the list.”

Check out the whole segment here and revisit “No Drug Like Me” and “Now That I Found You” below!

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