Carly Rae Jepsen Was Scared Of Being A One-Hit-Wonder — But You Won’t Believe Her Next Big Gig

Carly Rae Jepsen, the voice behind the internet sensation “Call Me Maybe,” admitted in a recent interview that she has had moments of fear that she might turn out to be a one-hit wonder, without her musical career going anywhere beyond that single viral hit. But Jepsen might find success as a cross-over artist after being cast in Fox’s upcoming show Grease: Live.

According to the Huffington Post, Carly Rae Jepsen spoke toHuffPost Live on Monday about how “Call Me Maybe” actually stood in the way of her second album, which released in June of this year. The single reached unbelievable fame after fellow pop star Justin Bieber promoted the song by posting a video of him lip-syncing to it. Since then, Carly Rae Jepsen has been synonymous with “Call Me Maybe” and known for little else.

“I’ll be honest: Yeah, there definitely was a moment where I felt a little bit like, ‘Wow, this song [‘Call Me Maybe’] is working, it’s working, it’s working — stop working!” Carly Rae Jepsen admitted. “Because we were just trying to put out the next single, and there was so much attention to this one thing that we almost couldn’t beat it.”

Carly Rae Jepsen explained that she was essentially terrified to return to the studio to attempt a follow-up album for fear that she would let her fans down or end up creating a commercial failure. She was finally convinced to make the record after some encouragement from friends and fans, and thus Emotion was born. The album has since brought in generally favorable reviews, with some saying it’s even better than her first album.

“There was a moment or two — a few months, I think — where I was sort of like, ‘I don’t know, I have a desire to rebel this in a big way. I have a desire to kind of stay paralyzed.’ Every time my mind would go in a negative way, I’d redirect it back to that spot of it just being at a wonderful thing, and I took my time. I didn’t rush it, and I finally waited until I felt like I had songs that I was more proud of than anything I’d made so far.”

Now, the career of Carly Rae Jepsen only appears to be taking off. She’s overcome the one-hit-wonder slump and is branching out to other areas of show business. As reported by Us Magazine, Carly Rae Jepsen will be playing the infamous beauty-school dropout Frenchy in the classic musical Grease.

“Tell me more, tell me more!?” I’ll be joining the cast of #GreaseLive as Frenchy! Don’t miss it Jan 2016 on @FOXTV! pic.twitter.com/S5fmun28lK

— Carly Rae Jepsen (@carlyraejepsen) September 30, 2015

While it might be surprising to hear that Carly Rae Jepsen will be crossing over to television, this isn’t her first time starring in a famous play. She played the leading role in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella on Broadway just last year. That added to her abundant experience singing in front of a live audience and should give Carly Rae Jepsen all the experience she needs to nail the performance.

Jepsen will be joining a cast of major stars, including Julianne Hough, who will play Sandy, and musical veteran Vanessa Hudgens, who will take on the role of Pink Ladies leader Rizzo.

“Being Rizzo is something I’ve never imagined, and I love that because it will be a new challenge,” Hudgens said of the role. “She is such an iconic character that continues to transcend generations. I cannot wait to bring her to life on live television.”

Grease: Live will premiere on Fox on Sunday, January 31 of next year.

[Image credit: Jamie McCarthy /Cindy Ord / Michael Loccisano / Getty Images]