Forever a Mission, B.C., girl, Carly Rae Jepsen's homecoming a family affair

Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen kicks off her first headlining tour of Canada in Vancouver this week promoting her latest album, Dedicated, close to her hometown of Mission, B.C. 

Jepsen, 33, spoke with host Gloria Macarenko on CBC's On The Coast Thursday afternoon about family, the process of songwriting, fame and coming home. 

On her hometown Mission, B.C.

"Mission is my hometown and forever will be," said Jepsen, who now lives in Los Angeles. Members of her family — and her best friend — live in the Fraser Valley municipality of nearly 40,000, and Jepsen says she tries to make it home every Christmas. 

Her family members were in the crowd at her Vancouver show Wednesday — "[the Commodore Ballroom] is one of my father's favourite venues" — but says it's not just her family who is her biggest fan base in town. 

"I felt bad for my little sister in high school because I think they had built something like a little bit of a mini shrine," she said, laughing. "I was like, 'oh, I'm so sorry — high school must have been tough!'"

On 'Call Me Maybe' and 'mega fame'

Call Me Maybe was a breakout hit for Jepsen, propelling the songstress to the top of the international charts in 2011. It recently picked up a Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) Award for being the most performed song in SOCAN history.

"There was a time I was, like, done on that song," Jepsen said, adding now she sees the song and its success as "a gift to my life."

"The era of mega fame with Call Me Maybe was dreamlike and really fun in lots of areas, but it was also all-consuming for the rest of my life that I was missing.

"I definitely prefer being able to focus on making albums of quality, spending time in the studio, taking my time with it ... I feel like I kind of won the lottery with where we landed."

On the process of songwriting

Jepsen's follow-up to Call Me Maybe was the Polaris Music Prize nominated album Emotion. Jepsen says her songwriting process is continuous.

"It's not, like, an on and off switch of, like, it's time to make an album, let's write. It's just a daily part of my personality and I'm very attracted to words and conversations I'm inspired by the little things that I want to write down," she said.

On coming home

Jepsen is playing another show Thursday night at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom before heading to Victoria for a show Sunday. 

"I made some like goals and wishes when I was just getting started ... and one was, I'd love to play the Commodore one day," she said, noting she had seen singers Tegan and Sara and Katy Perry play there. 

When she heads to Victoria, it'll also be a homecoming of sorts.

"I attended college at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria and it was my first time not living at home and stretching my legs a little bit," she said. "My grandmother's flying over with my mom [to watch the show] and I get to have family there, too."

Jepsen continues her cross-Canada tour throughout September.

Listen to the full interview on CBC's On The Coast here: