After Justin Bieber’s endorsement sent it viral, the irresistibly infectious hit was suddenly everywhere. And still we can’t get enough of itRead our 100 greatest list as it counts downThere are No 1 pop songs you hear everywhere you go and soon hope never to hear again; and then there are pop songs that, to quote the critic Robert Christgau, “actually reveal themselves to you in that kind of saturation”. Nearly 20 years ago, he gave the examples of the Backstreet Boys’ I Want It That Way and Cher’s Believe – songwriting so irresistible, it withstands not only play after play but years of changing tastes and production.
Call Me Maybe is another song you are still glad to be reminded of, even after hearing it a gazillion times. As
Justin Bieber tweeted to his many millions of
Twitter followers, after hearing it on Canadian radio in late 2011: it is “possibly the catchiest song I’ve ever heard lol”. His endorsement prompted his manager, Scooter Braun, to sign the artist, one Carly Rae Jepsen – then best known as the third-place runner-up on 2007’s Canadian Idol.