The Loneliest Time

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The Loneliest Time
A photo of Jepsen sat at a table with pears and other plants on it.
Standard cover
Studio album by
Carly Rae Jepsen
ReleasedOctober 21, 2022 (2022-10-21)
Recorded2020–2022
Studio
  • Bonnie Hill Studios (Los Angeles)
  • The Royal Room
  • The Penthouse
  • Captain Cuts Studios (Los Angeles)
  • Blue Meets Green
  • Taurus Recording
  • Rodeo Recording
  • Hope Studios
  • Matsor Projects Studios
  • Valentine Recording Studios
  • Valley Girl AV Club
  • Coronado Corner
  • The Fox Den
GenreSynth-pop[1]
Length42:23
Label
Producer
Carly Rae Jepsen chronology
Dedicated Side B
(2020) 		The Loneliest Time
(2022) 		The Loveliest Time
(2023)
Singles from The Loneliest Time
  1. "Western Wind"
    Released: May 6, 2022
  2. "Beach House"
    Released: August 5, 2022
  3. "Talking to Yourself"
    Released: September 16, 2022
  4. "The Loneliest Time"
    Released: October 7, 2022

The Loneliest Time is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen. It was released on October 21, 2022, through 604 Records in Canada, and School Boy and Interscope Records. The album was preceded by the release of its lead single, "Western Wind", which was followed by "Beach House", "Talking to Yourself", and the title track. The album received positive reviews and was placed in several lists of best of the year. In support of the album, Jepsen embarked on The So Nice Tour, which began in September 2022.

Background

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In May 2020, Jepsen revealed that she had recorded an "entire quarantine album" during the lockdown. Jepsen spoke to The Guardian that she was writing songs over Zoom alongside longtime collaborator Tavish Crowe.[2]

While discussing the album in an interview with Crack, Jepsen stated she wanted to be less conscious of the decades she's been moving. Instead, she was inspired by various styles, including 80s pop, 70s folk, funk, and disco. Jepsen also explained she wanted to become more self-reflective and analytical of her own behaviours:

I had the playground of all the eras to jump from, and this was more just writing from the heart, in whatever direction the songs wanted to go, ... It excited me to have those moments of flirtation on the [new] album, but also broaden the spectrum of what the subject of a pop song was allowed to be...[3]

In an interview with The Ringer, Jepsen teased the possibility of releasing a "side B" companion project to The Loneliest Time, as was done with her previous two albums, Emotion (2015) and Dedicated (2019), stating that "there's 65 [B-sides] that I've listened to that I could make something of...".[4] This materialized as a companion piece titled The Loveliest Time, which was released on July 28, 2023.

Promotion

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File:Carly Rae Jepsen at the NorVa 2022.jpg
Jepsen during her So Nice Tour.

"Western Wind" was released as the lead single on May 6, 2022. The album was made available to pre-order on August 2.[5] Second single "Beach House" was released August 5, third single "Talking to Yourself" was released September 16,[6] and the fourth single, the title track featuring Rufus Wainwright, was released October 7.[7]

On September 21, Jepsen embarked on her fourth concert tour across North America, The So Nice Tour. While on tour, she announced more dates in the United Kingdom (Europe) and Australia. The tour finished on March 14, 2023.

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[8]
Metacritic79/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[10]
The Daily TelegraphStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[11]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[12]
Clash6/10[13]
NMEStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[14]
Pitchfork6.5/10[15]
Rolling StoneStarStarStarStarFile:Star empty.svg[16]
Slant MagazineStarStarStarHalf starFile:Star empty.svg[17]

The Loneliest Time received mostly positive reviews from music critics;[18][19] at Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 79 out of 100 based on 17 reviews.[9]

Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote "The Loneliest Time is her most "emotionally adventurous" music yet—"high-gloss post-bubblegum synth-pop that packs a serious punch even at its fizziest."[16] Hannah Mylrea of NME awarded the album four out of five stars, writing that The Loneliest Time "sees Jepsen's now signature sonics infused with more expansive influences, although never deferring too far from the tried and trusted sounds of past."[14] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Heather Phares concluded that Jepsen's "charm holds together The Loneliest Time's whirlwind of daydreams, confessions, and decades of pop allusions", calling it "another strong album" from her.[10] Olivia Horn of Pitchfork complimented certain aspects of the production, but criticized some of its "corny" lyrics and the lack of focus.[20] Gem Stokes of Clash said the album is "a far cry from the saccharine star that launched Jepsen's career but proves her musical pliability."[13]

The album was nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2023.[21]

Rankings

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Year-end rankings for The Loneliest Time
Publication List Rank Ref.
The A.V. Club The 30 Best Albums of 2022
6
[22]
Clash Clash's Albums of the Year 2022
52
[23]
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2022
26
[24]
The Forty Five Albums of the year 2022
34
[25]
GQ Magazine The best albums of 2022 —
[26]
No Ripcord The 50 Best Albums of 2022
33
[27]
Nylon Nylon's Favorite Albums of 2022 —
[28]
PopMatters The 80 Best Albums of 2022
39
[29]
The Ringer The 33 Best Albums of 2022
27
[30]
Under the Radar Under the Radar's Top 100 Albums of 2022
61
[31]

Commercial performance

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In Jepsen's homeland, Canada, The Loneliest Time debuted at number 18 on the Canadian Albums Chart. In the United States, the album debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 and number 6 on the Billboard Top Albums Sales Chart, with 12,000 copies sold.[32] The Loneliest Time also went on to debut at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart, becoming her highest-peaking album in the UK in ten years.[33]

Track listing

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The Loneliest Time – Standard edition[34]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Surrender My Heart"
  • Royal
  • Hershenow
  • Jordan Palmer[a]
2:48
2."Joshua Tree"
  • Jepsen
  • Tavish Crowe
  • Luke Nicolli
  • Nicolli
  • Palmer[a]
2:29
3."Talking to Yourself"
Captain Cuts2:53
4."Far Away"
  • Jepsen
  • Crowe
  • Nathan Jenkins
  • Bullion
  • Jenkins[v]
  • Jonathan Gilmore[v]
2:59
5."Sideways"
  • Hill
  • Palmer
2:16
6."Beach House"
  • Hope
  • SameSame[a]
2:30
7."Bends"
  • Jepsen
  • Crowe
  • Jenkins
  • Bullion
  • Gilmore[v]
3:15
8."Western Wind"
Batmanglij3:45
9."So Nice"
  • Jepsen
  • Cyphert
  • Kyle Shearer
Shearer3:39
10."Bad Thing Twice"
  • Jepsen
  • Stolar
  • Hill
  • Palmer
  • Crowe
  • Hill
  • Palmer
3:13
11."Shooting Star"
  • Jepsen
  • Jared Solomon
  • Danny Silberstein
  • Crowe
Solomonophonic3:19
12."Go Find Yourself or Whatever"
  • Jepsen
  • Batmanglij
Batmanglij4:44
13."The Loneliest Time" (featuring Rufus Wainwright)
  • Jepsen
  • Cyphert
  • Shearer
Shearer4:34
Total length:42:23
The Loneliest Time – Target and HMV editions (bonus track)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Keep Away"
  • Jepsen
  • Cyphert
  • Shearer
Shearer4:02
Total length:46:25
The Loneliest Time – Japanese CD edition (bonus tracks)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
14."Anxious"
  • Jepsen
  • Crowe
  • Oliver Lundström
Lundström2:57
15."No Thinking Over the Weekend"
  • Jepsen
  • Bao
  • Patrik Berger
Berger4:42
Total length:49:23
The Loneliest Time – Digital edition (bonus track)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
16."Keep Away"
  • Jepsen
  • Cyphert
  • Shearer
Shearer4:02
Total length:54:04

Notes

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  • ^[a] indicates an additional producer
  • ^[v] indicates a vocal producer

Personnel

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Musicians

  • Carly Rae Jepsen – vocals
  • Tavish Crowe – musical direction
  • Imad Royal – background vocals, bass, drums, guitar (1)
  • Max Hershenow – background vocals, drums (1)
  • Luke Niccoli – bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming (2)
  • Captain Cuts – programming (3)
  • Trevor Rabin – guitar (3)
  • Simon Wilcox – programming (3)
  • Nathan Jenkins – bass, synthesizer, vocals (4, 7); vocal programming (7)
  • Liam Hutton – drums (4)
  • Jordan Palmer – drums, guitar, synthesizer (5, 10); bass (10)
  • John Hill – drums (5), guitar (5, 10), bass (10)
  • Nate Cyphert – background vocals (6, 9, 13, 16)
  • Alex Hope – guitar, programming, synthesizer (6)
  • Rob Cohen – programming (6)
  • Tony Marino – vocals (6)
  • Bobby Wooten – vocals (6)
  • Ben Romans – vocals (6)
  • Joey Hendricks – vocals (6)
  • Jared Manierka – vocals (6)
  • Rostam Batmanglij – acoustic guitar, bass, electric guitar, piano, synthesizer (8, 12); clapping, conga, drums, organ, programming, shaker, tambourine (8); drum programming, Hammond B3, mandolin, percussion, sitar (12)
  • Andrew Tachine – conga, drums, tambourine (8)
  • Joey Messina-Doerning – conga (8)
  • Kyle Shearer – bass, programming (9, 13, 16); guitar (9, 16); background vocals, drums, synthesizer (13)
  • Georgia Greene – background vocals (12)
  • Quinn D'Andrea – background vocals (12)
  • Lauren Jones – background vocals (12)
  • Andrew Bulbrook – violin (12)
  • Cara Fox – cello (13)
  • Cody Fry – string arrangement (13, 16)
  • Avery Bright – violin (13)
  • Elizabeth Lamb – violin (13)
  • Emily Kohavi – violin (13)
  • Cassie Morrow – violin (13)
  • Rufus Wainwright – vocals (13)
  • Oliver Lundström – bass, guitar, programming, synthesizer (14)
  • Cristoffer Cantillo – drums (15)
  • Evan Smith – flute (15)
  • Patrik Berger – programming (15)

Technical

  • Emily Lazar – mastering
  • Chris Allgood – mastering
  • Tom Norris – mixing, engineering (1, 2, 5, 10)
  • Rob Kinelski – mixing, engineering (3)
  • Anthony Dolhai – mixing (4, 7, 14), engineering (4, 7)
  • Mitch McCarthy – mixing, engineering (6)
  • Shawn Everett – mixing, engineering (8)
  • James Krausse – mixing, engineering (9, 13, 16)
  • Nathan Phillips – mixing, engineering (11)
  • Geoff Swan – mixing, engineering (12)
  • Davey Badiuk – mixing (14)
  • Jamie Snell – mixing (15)
  • Imad Royal – engineering (1)
  • Max Hershenow – engineering (1)
  • Luke Niccoli – engineering (2)
  • Jordan Palmer – engineering (2)
  • Captain Cuts – engineering (3)
  • Eli Heisler – engineering (3)
  • Nathan Jenkins – engineering (4)
  • Rostam Batmanglij – engineering (8, 12)
  • Joey Messina-Doerning – engineering (8, 12)
  • Kyle Shearer – engineering (9, 13, 16)
  • Rob Cohen – engineering (10)
  • Jared Fox – engineering (13)
  • Ivan Wayman – additional engineering (8)
  • Matt Cahill – additional engineering (12)
  • Niko Battistini – additional engineering (12)
  • Travis Pavur – engineering assistance (8)

Visuals

  • Jolie Clemens – creative direction, art direction, design
  • Meredith Jenks – photography
  • Alexis Franklin – painting of Carly's eye
  • Hayley Atkin – styling
  • Jenna Remy – fashion assistant
  • Jon Liekcfelt – hair
  • Gregory Arlt – makeup
  • Jolie Clemens – Art Direction, Creative Director, Design[35]

Charts

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Chart performance for The Loneliest Time
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[36] 62
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[37] 180
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[38] 180
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[39] 18
German Digital Albums (GfK Entertainment)[40] 39
Irish Albums (IRMA)[41] 61
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[42] 52
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[43] 52
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[44] 37
Scottish Albums (OCC)[45] 7
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[46] 94
UK Albums (OCC)[47] 16
US Billboard 200[48] 19
US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)[49] 7

Release history

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Release dates and formats for The Loneliest Time
Region Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various October 21, 2022
[50]

References

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  37. ^ "Ultratop.be – Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  38. ^ "Ultratop.be – Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
  39. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  40. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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  45. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
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  47. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  48. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  49. ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
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