Dedicated

This article is about Dedicated, the album; for other uses, see Dedicated (Disambiguation)

DedicatedFourth studio album
Overview
Artist	Carly Rae Jepsen
Released	May 17th 2019
Recorded	2016 - 2019
Length	42:23 • 48:30 • 56:39
Genre	Pop • electropop • synth-pop • disco • dance-pop
Label	604 • School Boy • Interscope
Singles
1. Party for One Released: November 1st 2018 2. Now That I Found You Released: February 27th 2019 3. No Drug Like Me Released: February 27th 2019 4. Julien Released: April 19th 2019 5. Too Much Released: May 9th 2019
Album Chronology
Previous	EMOTION SIDE B 2016 Extended Play Emotion 2015 Studio Album
Next	Dedicated Side B 2020 Studio Album

Dedicated is the fourth studio album from Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released on May 17th 2019 through 604, School Boy and Interscope Records.

The album would serve as a follow-up to her 2015 record, Emotion, and, likewise, would receive a collection of B-Sides in the form of Dedicated Side B a year later in 2020.

Track listing

Standard track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	Julien	Kyle Shearer	3:54
2.	No Drug Like Me	John Hill • Jordan Palmer	3:28
3.	Now That I Found You	Captain Cuts • ayokay	3:20
4.	Want You In My Room	Jack Antonoff	2:46
5.	Everything He Needs	CJ Baran • Ben Romans	3:38
6.	Happy Not Knowing	John Hill • Jordan Palmer	2:41
7.	I'll Be Your Girl	Patrik Berger • John Hill	2:58
8.	Too Much	John Hill • Jordan Palmer • Rob Cohen	3:17
9.	The Sound	Tommy English • Noah Breakfast	2:51
10.	Automatically In Love	John Hill • Rogét Chahayed • Rob Cohen	3:33
11.	Feels Right (feat. Electric Guest)	John Hill • Asa Taccone • Jordan Palmer	2:43
12.	Right Words Wrong Time	Alex Hope • Rogét Chahayed	3:20
13.	Real Love	James Flannigan • Koz • Jim Alxndr • Daniel Zaidenstadt	3:54

Deluxe bonus tracks

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
14.	For Sure	Patrik Berger • Pontus Winnberg	3:04
15.	Party for One	Captain Cuts • Hightower • Julia Karlsson	3:03

Japanese bonus tracks

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
16.	Now That I Found You (Until Dawn Remix)	Captain Cuts • ayokay • Until Dawn	5:23
17.	Party for One (More Giraffes Remix)	Captain Cuts • Hightower • More Giraffes • Julia Karlsson	2:46

Background

Early beginnings as Disco Sweat

Prior to the development of Dedicated, Jepsen's fourth studio album would be conceived in the form of the now-scrapped Disco Sweat project in late 2015, envisioned as a 'understated disco' type of sound inspired primarily by ABBA and the Bee Gees.

Work on Disco Sweat would be carried out through the end of 2015 and into mid-2016. Jepsen states at least an entire 'extended-play's worth' of music was written for the project during this time, including the very first iteration of now-Dedicated track Julien.

During the development of Disco Sweat, Jepsen was eager to meet and work with Patrik Berger and originally approached him in June 2016 to work on the project. However, Berger felt that the disco influence was too constraining, considering that it was something Jepsen hadn't fully played with yet. He advised her to 'open the doors to everything', to which Jepsen says this was 'mind blowing for her' at the time. Jepsen elaborated, 'the idea of it being exclusively disco was sort of pigeonholing me because it wasn’t coming out naturally.'

After their discussion, Jepsen and Berger wrote Dedicated track For Sure together in July 2016, alongside fellow Swedish songwriters Pontus Winnberg and Noonie Bao, the first song of the new album to be fully conceived.

Disco Sweat scrapped

In August 2016, Jepsen would attend a writers camp in Maderas Village, Nicaragua and rework the original Disco Sweat demo of Julien she had wrote previously into the version of the song that would see its eventual inclusion on Dedicated. Because of the song, Jepsen would decide on the new direction to take the project in and ultimately scrap Disco Sweat.

After this point, work commenced on what would eventually become Dedicated. Although the project as a whole was shelved, various songs from the initial Disco Sweat sessions would be further reworked for Dedicated and its B-Side between 2016 and 2019. Jepsen states that after scrapping Disco Sweat, she was going to 'allow herself to play in all the genres of pop' that she was interested in, specifically drawing influences from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, stating she 'let go of the rules' of knowing exactly what she was going to make.

Writing and development

The writing process for Dedicated would take place between 2016 and 2019, where well-over 200 songs were written for the album in ‘varying stages of completed-ness’. The process of widdling down these 200 songs into just 15 for the album would take place through a series of track list revisions, influenced by Jepsen's own opinion but also the feedback of friends, family, and her bandmates in listening parties:

'It seems like the top six to eight songs always arise out of that experiment' Jepsen explained. Jepsen also states Julien acted as a benchmark song during this process, and helped in identifying other album contenders, 'That confidence [about Julien] helped me know when I had that feeling about other songs.'

Deciding on the album's title

Jepsen says it took a while to land on the album's title, though for a while after Disco Sweat the album was being developed under the working 'half-joking' title of Music To Clean Your House To inspired by Jepsen's own music listening habits, 'I thought, that’s when I listen to music at this age. It’s not raging, it’s chill, disco kind of sounds [that] sounded interesting to me.'

For a time, the album was also known as Music To Dance To In Your Living Room Versus The Club, because Jepsen states she was 'hoping to create that sort of connection and joy' and explained, 'It’s just how I digest music, I think where I am in my life, it’s less about wanting to go to a club all night.'

The actual title of the album, Dedicated, would eventually be decided on after Jepsen wrote a song of the same name for her then-boyfriend James Flannigan soon after they had began their relationship in 2017. Although the song was cut from the album, the name stuck around and Jepsen explained this was because 'it still really explores the theme I think, of what I was going through in life and what a lot of these songs were about - through a break-up, and singlehood, and even a new something - and what it would mean for me to kind of fully commit myself.' Jepsen also explained, 'I’m a sucker for a one-word title so I knew I would like it if there was simplicity but also strength behind it.'

Announcement and release

Throughout 2018, Jepsen would begin to tease that new music was on the way. Ultimately, the first glimpse of her then-upcoming album would materialise with its lead single Party for One releasing in early November that year. With the release of the song came the first information regarding the album, with an expected release date of sometime in 2019. Likewise, with the release of Now That I Found You, the album was given new release window sometime in the summer. Dedicated was officially announced by Jepsen through social media on April 1st, 2019 and set to be released a month later on May 17th.

Album cover

Announcement and reveal

Upon its initial announcement on April 1st 2019, Dedicated's album cover was still yet to be revealed and was just a placeholder image for the time-being. The official album cover later being unveiled on April 18th alongside the official track listing as pre-orders went live.

Composition and purpose

The album cover for Dedicated decidedly features Jepsen shirtless with her back towards the camera, her head turned away. Jepsen explained this was the result of, in her eyes, a woman's body and face being a 'big selling point' in pop music, and something she disliked; it was as a purposeful statement against that belief. Jepsen states she had to argue with her label not to appear in close-up on the album cover.

Additionally, the album cover is Jepsen's only not to feature text. Despite this, an unused version of the album cover, showcased on designer Dina Hovsepian's portfolio, featured the Dedicated logo and Jepsen's name in white type.

Singles

Party For One

Party For One would serve as the album's lead single, releasing on November 1st, 2018 through 604, School Boy, and Interscope Records. Despite this, the song would only appear on the deluxe version of the album upon release.

Now That I Found You / No Drug Like Me

Now That I Found You was originally announced as the album's second single, in partnership with Netflix and Queer Eye, set to release on February 27th, 2019. On February 25th, Jepsen announced No Drug Like Me would also release alongside the song and the pair would now be issued as a double-single instead, serving as Dedicated's second and third singles respectively.

Julien

Julien is the album's first and only promotional single, released on April 19th, 2019 as a digital download alongside the pre-order for Dedicated. The song would also be made available on streaming platforms that same day.

Too Much

Too Much would serve as Dedicated's final single, preceding the album. The track was released on May 9th, 2019, alongside the album's previous singles now collected together in a single extended-play on streaming services. Dedicated would release a week later on May 17th, 2019.

Critical reception

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.4/10
Metacritic	79/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Consequence of Sound	B
Exclaim!	8/10
The Guardian
The Independent
The Irish Times
NME
Pitchfork	7.3/10
Rolling Stone
The Times

Dedicated received generally favourable reviews from publications, with Metacritic reporting an overall rating of 79 based on 22 critical reviews.

Heather Phares of AllMusic gave Dedicated a rating of 4 and a half stars out of five, writing that 'Jepsen is just as committed to her music as she is to the ideal of true love, and the way she's grown without sacrificing her uniqueness makes. Dedicated is a master class in what a 2010s pop album can be.'

Laura Snapes of The Guardian gave a rating of 4 stars out of five, stating that 'Jepsen leaves a stronger impression: swooning into the gently funky Julien; seductively in control on the looser No Drug Like Me; cheeky as Cyndi Lauper on Want You in My Room'.

Pitchfork rated the album a 7.3, with reviewer Anna Gaca writing 'Jepsen is doing what she does best, calibrating lovesick or lovelorn synthpop that’s neither too hot nor too cold—and sometimes, regrettably, only lukewarm.'

Album credits

Writing and production

• Written by: Carly Rae Jepsen • Jared Manierka • Ben Ruttner • Nate Cyphert • Kyle Shearer • Jordan Palmer • James Flannigan • John Hill • Daniel Ledinsky • Ben Berger • Ryan McMahon • Ryan Rabin • Alexander O’Neill (ayokay) • Tavish Crowe • Jack Antonoff • Ben Romans • CJ Baran • Harry Nillsson • Amanda MNDR Warner (MNDR) • Patrik Berger • Noonie Bao • Noah Breakfast • Tommy English • Nate Campany • Rogét Chahayed • Asa Taccone • Matt Compton • Alex Hope • Chris Whitehall • Pontus Winnberg • Anton Rundberg • Julia Karlsson
• Produced by: Kyle Shearer • Jordan Palmer • John Hill • Captain Cuts • Alexander O’Neill (ayokay) • Jack Antonoff • Ben Romans • CJ Baran • Patrik Berger • Noah Breakfast • Tommy English • Rogét Chahayed • Asa Taccone • Alex Hope • Jim Alxndr • Koz Alxndr • Pontus Winnberg • Anton Rundberg

• Vocal production by: Jordan Palmer • Rob Cohen • Alex Hope • James Flannigan • Daniel Zaidenstadt • Julia Karlsson

Performance

• Vocals: Carly Rae Jepsen • Electric Guest (Asa Taccone)
• Background vocals: Nate Cyphert • Julia Karlsson • Noonie Bao
• Instrumentation: Kyle Shearer • John Hill • Jordan Palmer • Captain Cuts • Jack Antonoff • Ben Romans • Amanda Warner • Patrik Berger • James King • Noah Beresin • Rogét Chahayed • Asa Taccone • Alex Hope • Jim Alxndr • Pontus Winnberg • Hightower

Technical

• Mixing: Șerban Ghenea • Mitch McCarthy • Jon Castelli • Tony Maserati • Elijah Merritt-Hitch • Josh Gudwin
• Mastering: Gene Grimaldi • Chris Gehringer • Dave Kutch
• Engineering: John Hanes • Rob Cohen • Captain Cuts • Laura Sisk • CJ Baran • Ingmar Carlson • Blake Mares • Miles Comaskey
• Arrangement: Captain Cuts • Hightower
• Programming: John Hill • Jordan Palmer • Captain Cuts • Jack Antonoff • CJ Baran • Patrik Berger • Rogét Chahayed • Alex Hope • James Flannigan • Koz Alxndr • Jim Alxndr • Pontus Winnberg • Hightower

Overview credits

• Production: Gretchen Anderson
• Musical director: Tavish Crowe
• Creative director: Amy Davis
• Art director: Dina Hovsepian

Album cover credits

• Album cover design by: Dina Hovsepian
• Album cover photography: Natalie O’Moore
• Additional photography: Markus & Koala
• Styling: Hayley Atkin

Navigation

Discography

Dedicated

References