Tug of War (Carly Rae Jepsen album)

Tug of War
Studio album by
Carly Rae Jepsen
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2008 (2008-09-30)
Recorded2008
Studio
    • The WineCellar
    • the Umbrella Factory (Vancouver, BC)
GenreFolk
Length31:31
Label
ProducerRyan Stewart
Carly Rae Jepsen chronology
Dear You
(2004) 		Tug of War
(2008) 		Curiosity
(2012)
Singles from Tug of War
  1. "Tug of War"
    Released: September 16, 2008
  2. "Bucket"
    Released: April 4, 2009
  3. "Sour Candy"
    Released: October 30, 2009

Tug of War is the debut studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen. Released through MapleMusic, Fontana North and 604 Records, it is mainly produced by Canadian record producer and songwriter Ryan Stewart. Three singles, "Tug of War", "Bucket" and "Sour Candy" supported the album, along with a cover version of John Denver's 1973 single "Sunshine on My Shoulders", which became a promotional single.

After participating at Canadian Idol in 2007, Jepsen began to gain recognition. The same year, she joined Canadian record labels such as 604 Records and MapleMusic Recordings. Commercially, Tug of War failed to chart in major music charts, selling over 10,000 copies in Canada as of June 25, 2012.

Background

In 2007, Jepsen gained popularity by attending at Canadian TV program, Canadian Idol.[1] She signed a record deal with Canadian indie record label, 604 Records, co-founded by Jonathan Simkin and a frontman of Canadian rock band Nickelback, Chad Kroeger.[2] The following year, she also signed with another independent label, MapleMusic, and she began to work on her debut studio album, Tug of War.[3]

Composition

Tug of War has been described as folk record; Washington Post's Allison Stewart called the album as "an over-processed coffeehouse folk outing",[4] while Jacob Uitti of American Songwriter described the album as "folk debut studio album".[5] CBC Music observed that the record emerged before "synth-pop had yet to flourish" and at a point when rock remained "the foundational base of pop" rather than hip-hop. They also found that Jepsen developed a sound "rooted in acoustic guitars and folk sounds" following her third-place finish on Canadian Idol, and that when the album shifts toward a more overt pop sensibility, it "veers closer to Jack Johnson than Cyndi Lauper", aligning it more closely with the singer-songwriter style of Johnson than the theatrical, synth-driven approach associated with Lauper.[6]

Promotion and release

Tug of War's first promotional single is a cover version of John Denver's song "Sunshine on My Shoulders" (1973),[7] released through iTunes Store on June 16, 2008.[8] The album's lead single, "Tug of War", was released on September 16,[9] peaking at No. 36 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart.[10] Its music video was released in 2009.[a] "Bucket" was chosen as the second single; it peaked at No. 32 on the Canadian Hot 100.[10] It samples the children's song, "There's a Hole in My Bucket".[13] Its music video was released in the same year.[14] The third and final single from the album was "Sour Candy", which features Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench on the single version. Ramsay also produced the latter song,[15] marking the only song on the album that was not produced by the album's main producer Ryan Stewart.[16]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]

Chris True of AllMusic noted that the album established Jepsen's presence in the Canadian pop scene following her appearance on Canadian Idol, where she placed third. He highlighted the success of "Sunshine on My Shoulders" as well as "Tug of War" and "Bucket", both of which became hits in Canada. True also credited the album's material with helping Jepsen earn multiple national award nominations.[17] Jon Caramanica from The New York Times described the album as "amiable" and "slicker than it sounds". Caramanica further noted that the record "doesn't reach far, but it overdelivers".[18]

In 2010 Juno Awards, Jepsen and Stewart were nominated for Songwriter of the Year.[19] As of June 25, 2012, the album has sold 10,000 copies in Canada.[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Carly Rae Jepsen and Ryan Stewart and produced by Ryan Stewart, except where noted.

Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Bucket"  2:51
2."Tug of War"  3:44
3."Money and the Ego"  3:10
4."Tell Me"  2:20
5."Heavy Lifting"  3:41
6."Sunshine on My Shoulders"
 3:35
7."Worldly Matters"  3:21
8."Sweet Talker"  2:56
9."Hotel Shampoos"  2:52
10."Sour Candy"
Ramsay3:01
Total length:31:31
Physical reissue edition
No.TitleLength
10."Sour Candy" (featuring Josh Ramsay)3:02
Total length:31:32
Japanese deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
11."I Still Wonder" (acoustic)1:40
12."Tug of War" (Dave "Rave" Ogilvie remix)4:02
13."Sour Candy" (featuring Josh Ramsay)3:02
Total length:40:15

Credits and personnel

Credits were adapted from the liner notes of Japanese edition[20] and AllMusic.[17]

Recording locations

  • The WineCellar; Vancouver, BC (1–9)
  • The Umbrella Factory; Vancouver, BC (10)

Personnel

Release history

List of release histories
Region Date Label(s) Format(s) Version Ref.
Canada September 30, 2008
Original [21][22][23]
July 24, 2015 604 LP Reissue [24]
Japan May 19, 2010
CD [20]
United States June 14, 2011 604 Digital download [25]
October 1, 2013
CD [26]
Europe July 10, 2015 604 LP [27]

Notes

  1. ^ The official music video for "Tug of War" was released in 2011 through her Vevo channel;[11] however, she uploaded the same music video in 2009 at her YouTube channel.[12]

References

  1. ^ Powell, Nicole (October 25, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen to Be Honored With Billboard's 'Rising Star' Award". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  2. ^ Taylor-Singh, Heather (August 29, 2025). "604 Records Co-Founder Jonathan Simkin Says Carly Rae Jepsen Recorded a Whole Unreleased Album Around 'Call Me Maybe'". Billboard Canada. Archived from the original on September 12, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  3. ^ Cox, Jamieson (August 23, 2025). "An appreciation of Carly Rae Jepsen's perfect, Canadian, pre-'Call Me Maybe' hit". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  4. ^ Stewart, Allison (September 17, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen's Kiss is a pleasantly unremarkable album". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  5. ^ Uitti, Jacob (February 14, 2023). "Who Wrote Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe"". American Songwriter. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  6. ^ Melody, Lau; Adams, Kelsey; Gordon, Holly (October 28, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen's albums, ranked". CBC Music. Archived from the original on October 28, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  7. ^ "Bell Media Site". Ctvmedia.ca. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  8. ^ "Sunshine on My Shoulders - Song by Carly Rae Jepsen". United States: Apple Music. June 16, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  9. ^ "Tug of War - Song by Carly Rae Jepsen". United States: Apple Music. September 16, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  10. ^ a b c Lipshutz, Jason (June 25, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen: The Billboard Cover Story". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  11. ^ Jepsen, Carly Rae (2011). Carly Rae Jepsen - Sunshine on My Shoulders. Carly Rae Music. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ Jepsen, Carly Rae (2009). Carly Rae Jepsen Sunshine on My Shoulders. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ Sawdey, Evan (September 17, 2012). "Carly Rae Jepsen: Kiss". PopMatters. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  14. ^ Jepsen, Carly Rae (2009). Carly Rae Jepsen Bucket. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ Paine, Andre (December 14, 2023). "Downtown Music Publishing signs Marianas Trench's Josh Ramsay, co-writer for Carly Rae Jepsen". Music Week. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  16. ^ "Tug of War / Carly Rae Jepsen". Tidal. Credits. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  17. ^ a b c True, Chris. "Carly Rae Jepsen - Tug of War Album Songs, Reviews & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 10, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  18. ^ Caramanica, Jon (September 19, 2012). "You Had a Monster Hit. Now What?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  19. ^ Thiessen, Brock (March 3, 2010). "Juno Awards Announce 2010 Nominees, Including Drake, Metric, Japandroids and, Um, Michael Bublé and Justin Bieber". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  20. ^ a b Anon. (2010). Tug of War (CD). Carly Rae Jepsen. Japan: Pony Canyon/Surfrock International. PCCY-01946. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via Discogs.
  21. ^ Anon. (2008). Tug of War (CD). Carly Rae Jepsen. Canada: Fontana North. CJM0002. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via Discogs.
  22. ^ "Tug of War - Album by Carly Rae Jepsen". United States: Apple Music. September 30, 2008. Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  23. ^ "Tug of War - Carly Rae Jepsen". 604 Shop. September 30, 2008. Archived from the original on October 8, 2025. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  24. ^ Anon. (2015). Tug of War (Vinyl LP). Carly Rae Jepsen. Canada: 604 Records. 25396 07962. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via Discogs.
  25. ^ Anon. (2011). Tug of War (Digital download). Carly Rae Jepsen. United States: 604 Records. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via Discogs.
  26. ^ Anon. (2013). Tug of War (CD). Carly Rae Jepsen. United States/Canada/Europe: 604 Records/Alliance Entertainment. 762181209725/SIXO 1.2. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via Discogs.
  27. ^ Anon. (2015). Tug of War (Vinyl LP). Carly Rae Jepsen. Europe: 604 Records. 2539607962. Archived from the original on February 24, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026 – via Discogs.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.