"Julien" is a song by Canadian singer
Carly Rae Jepsen
Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...
from her fourth album ''
Dedicated''. It was released on April 19, 2019, by
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Year 604 ( DCIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 604 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe f ...
,
School Boy and
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
as the fourth
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
off of the record. It is a midtempo
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
-Pop music, pop, synth-pop, disco, electropop and Electronic dance music, dance song influenced by soft rock.
Background and release
"Julien" was written at Maderas Village, Nicaragua in August 2016. Jepsen revealed that the title was inspired by an ex-boyfriend with whom she had a "romantic weekend" in Quebec City, saying that she found the name "musical" and has been trying to write it into a song since they met, going through multiple different songs of the same name. She stated, however, that the song itself is not about a specific person, but is a metaphor of "what it is to have that person that is maybe the one that got away". The singer described "Julien" as "the heart" of ''Dedicated'' and stated that it is about an "everlasting fantastical love" that follows you for the rest of your life.
Jepsen posted a line from the song and announced its release date on social media on April 16, 2019.
It was released as an instant download alongside the pre-order for ''Dedicated'' on April 19, 2019 as the fourth
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
off of the album. The song was performed live throughout The Dedicated Tour.
Composition and lyrics
"Julien" is a "squelchy"
and "shimmery"
midtempo
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
-Pop music, pop, synth-pop,
disco,
electropop
and Electronic dance music, dance
song composed in the key of A minor.
It has a tempo of 119 Tempo#Measurement, beats per minute
and influences of soft rock.
Its instrumentation consists of a "clean, robotic" and "driving" beat,
"soft" and "swelling" guitars,
as well as "slippery" synths.
Lyrically, the track is a "simmering reflection on fleeting romance", which portrays Jepsen as a "wounded animal, searching for a way to cauterize her injuries as she lies on the road to heartbreak".
Jepsen "sings about somebody she wishes she was with"
and "tells the story of a long lost love that she prays will come back but knowing deep down that he probably won't" on the song.
Critical reception
Mark Young of Mxdwn called the song the "centerpiece of the album", and complimented the synthesizers used in the beginning of the song. Young also praised the buildup verse to pre-chorus to hook, writing that it is "perfectly executed". Writing for ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork'', Anna Gaca noted the "windshield-wiper synths that open Julien", "pointing to Jepsen's other guiding aesthetic: chill disco". Music critics Heather Phares of AllMusic and Anthony Fantano highlighted "Julien" as one of the best songs on ''Dedicated''. It was selected as one of the best tracks of 2019 by ''The Guardian'' journalist Graeme Virtue and voted one of the top songs of 2019 by ''Pitchfork (website), Pitchfork'' readers.
Year-end lists
Charts
Release history
References
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2019 singles
2019 songs
Carly Rae Jepsen songs
Funk songs
Synth-pop songs
Disco songs
Electropop songs
Canadian dance songs
Songs written by Carly Rae Jepsen