Carly Rae Jepsen on How Marriage, Motherhood and the Joy of Pop Music Fueled Her Ambitious Double Album ‘Day and Night’: ‘I Knew What Colors I Was Playing With’

Carly Rae Jepsen approached her latest double album, Day and Night, with a single guiding principle: compose whatever music she herself longs to hear. Speaking with Variety over Zoom shortly before the record's Friday release, the 40-year-old artist explained that her creative process invariably kicks off with the same inward question about her own unique contribution. According to Jepsen, that self-inquiry drove her to trust her authentic musical instincts. The result is her sixth full-length studio project, a 24-song collection divided equally between two distinct sonic worlds—one rooted in Laurel Canyon folk-pop, the other anchored in synth-driven dance music.

The Day portion leans into gentle, acoustic textures, with the ballad Wild Child and the lively After All exemplifying its folk-inspired tone. Meanwhile, Night takes a more playful and adventurous turn, as demonstrated by the sultry Amalfi Coast and the pulsating Don't Leave Me on the Dance Floor. Jepsen described the entire endeavor as a mixed bag of chips, drawing from a broad spectrum of influences including Blossom Dearie, Minnie Riperton, ABBA, and house music. Such eclecticism should come as no surprise to longtime listeners who witnessed her breakthrough with 2012's Call Me Maybe—she has always been remarkably prolific, having famously recorded 250 songs for her 2015 cult favorite Emotion, an album she commemorated with a 10th-anniversary concert at Los Angeles' Troubadour. That 500-capacity West Hollywood venue, operating since 1957, has historically functioned as a launchpad for talents as diverse as Elton John and Joni Mitchell.

The album's dual structure emerged thanks to her guitarist, Tavish Crowe, who noticed she was composing in two divergent directions. Crowe suggested the metaphor of a house party with contrasting atmospheres on different floors, and the phrase Day and Night came to Jepsen while she was driving through Los Angeles. To her, its simplicity perfectly captured the divide between the dreamy, organic daytime tracks and the more intense, nocturnal material. This organizing principle lent greater clarity to her studio sessions, as she always knew which creative headspace she was occupying. The record also functions as a chronicle of her romance with now-husband Cole Marsden Greif-Neill, a producer known professionally as Cole M.G.N., whose credits include work with Beck, Wallows, and Christine and the Queens. The couple had previously collaborated on So Right from her 2023 album The Loveliest Time, and he contributed to several Day and Night tracks inspired directly by their relationship.

Jepsen has been candid about how this partnership transformed her understanding of love and commitment. For years, she admitted, she viewed herself as an artistic observer rather than an active participant in life, often penning songs about doomed affairs because she was drawn to an impossible situation. All that shifted once she met Greif-Neill. She recalled their first day writing together in the studio on the song No Labels, I Love You, and how she resisted any romantic feelings, joking about the unwritten rule against kissing your producer. Then he texted her about the track's second verse, and she saved his contact as Cole I Love You—a label that remains on her phone to this day. The two married in October 2025 and welcomed their first child in March, all while Jepsen was still completing the album. She now characterizes herself as a more deliberate planner than ever, intent on constructing a career that serves her life rather than the other way around.

Looking ahead, Jepsen is penning music and lyrics for the Broadway adaptation of the 1999 romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, scheduled for previews in August 2027. Lena Dunham and Jessica Huang are writing the book, while Jepsen collaborates with Ethan Gruska, whose previous work includes projects with Ryan Beatty, Fiona Apple, and Phoebe Bridgers. She noted that the team aims to honor the source material without being paralyzed by reverence, seeking out those moments where the characters' emotions demand to be sung. When asked about the iconic scene in which Heath Ledger's character serenades Kat with Frankie Valli's Can't Take My Eyes Off You, Jepsen playfully declined to reveal her approach, saying audiences will need to purchase a ticket to find out. As for what comes next, she hasn't ruled out a companion B-sides album for Day and Night, likening herself to a chipmunk stockpiling ideas for a rainy day. Regardless of her choice, Jepsen remains committed to constant creation, maintaining that making things fuels rather than depletes her—even as she navigates how to sustain that habit while raising a child.