"Talking to Yourself"
Single by Carly Rae Jepsen
from the album The Loneliest Time
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2022 (2022-09-16)
Genre
Length2:53
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Captain Cuts
Carly Rae Jepsen singles chronology
"Beach House"
(2022)		 "Talking to Yourself"
(2022)		 "The Loneliest Time"
(2022)
Music video
"Talking to Yourself" on YouTube

"Talking to Yourself" is a song by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen from her sixth studio album, The Loneliest Time (2022). Jepsen wrote it with songwriter Simon Wilcox, and Benjamin Berger and Ryan Rabin from Captain Cuts, the production team that produced the song. The record labels School Boy and Interscope Records released it as the album's third single on September 16, 2022. "Talking to Yourself" is a dance-pop and synth-pop song, in which Jepsen recalls a previous relationship with an ex-lover and wonders if he still has feelings for her.

"Talking to Yourself" received generally positive reviews for its production, which was described as infectious and danceable. Critics praised the song's chorus, and some others commented on its lyrics. It charted at number eight on the Billboard Japan Hot Overseas Songs chart. An accompanying music video for "Talking to Yourself" was released alongside it.

Background and release

A blonde woman in a red top and yello bottoms holding a microphone
Carly Rae Jepsen in 2019

Embarked on The Dedicated Tour, Carly Rae Jepsen began collecting ideas for her sixth studio album in February 2020. Her creativity was stimulated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and she transformed an old office space that was a part of her Los Angeles residence into a home studio.[1] On August 1, 2022, Jepsen announced that the album, titled The Loneliest Time, would be released on October 21, 2022. It was preceded by the singles "Western Wind" and "Beach House" (both 2022).[2][3]

Jepsen wrote "Talking to Yourself" alongside songwriter Simon Wilcox, and Benjamin Berger and Ryan Rabin from Captain Cuts, the production team that produced the song.[4][5] On September 13, 2022, she shared a 17-second snippet of the song on social media and wrote: "with the So Nice Tour almost a week away, I couldn't help myself… Talking To Yourself is coming this Friday so you can learn the words before we see each other!".[6] The record labels School Boy and Interscope Records released it along with a music video as the album's third single three days later.[7][8][9]

Composition and lyrics

"Talking to Yourself" is two minutes and 53 seconds long.[9] Captain Cuts produced the song and engineered it with Rob Kinelski and Eli Heisler; Berger and Wilcox programmed it. Trevor Rabin plays the guitar. Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood mastered it and Kinelski mixed it.[10]

"Talking to Yourself" is a throbbing dance-pop and synth-pop song, with a strong beat and influences of the 1980s.[11][12] The song includes a guitar solo,[13] which "battles synth" according to Clash's Gem Stokes.[14] According to Entertainment Weekly's Maura Johnston, "distorted '80s guitar threads through Jepsen's insistent vocals", followed by "a razor-sharp bass line and resolute beat".[15] Chris DeVille of Stereogum thought it recalled the "'80s pastiche" of Jepsen's albums Emotion (2015) and Dedicated (2019),[13] and Popmatters's Jeffrey Davies said it continued the "glittery, carefree pop" of her previous music.[16] Peter Piatkowski from the same website described the style of "Talking to Yourself" as new wave.[17]

In the lyrics of "Talking to Yourself", Jepsen recalls a previous relationship with an ex-lover and wonders if he still has feelings for her.[11] She obsesses over him and thinks about the possibility that he is unable to sleep at night without her; the song does not specify if it was a serious relationship, friends-with-benefits, or just a crush.[18] According to Consequence's Ben Kaye, it is "for those who come out on the winning side of a breakup".[19]

Critical reception

The song's production received generally positive reviews. Rolling Stone's Emily Zemler described "Talking to Yourself" as a sanguine track and "dance-pop anthem".[11] Consequence picked the track as "Song of the Week", and Mary Siroky thought it is "wildly infectious" and has "a characteristically addictive bass line and an earworm chorus".[18] Kaye believed "Talking to Yourself" reaches the "sweet spot between sultry and dance-floor-ready".[19] Ben Devlin of MusicOMH named the song the "first big hit" on The Loneliest Time's tracklist and compared its topline to the work of Divinyls.[20] The Line of Best Fit's Sam Franzini cited it among the "pop gems" on the album and honed it as "one of Jepsen's best bangers".[21] Writing for The A.V. Club, Gabrielle Sanchez described "Talking to Yourself" as an "enchanting single [...] with an infectious chorus".[22] Pitchfork's Olivia Horn wrote that the song sounds like "two different Dua Lipa outtakes cut-and-pasted together", using some diverting production brandishes.[23]

Some critics commented on the lyrics of "Talking to Yourself". Siroky called the song "unabashedly obsessive", and she opined it "speaks for those of us who are delightfully unhinged" and gives listeners a "taste of what's to come" while demonstrating Jepsen's pop sensibilities.[18] Todd Dedman of Beats Per Minute thought it recalls the "ideas of invisibility in a relationship" expressed on the Emotion track "When I Needed You".[24] Writing for AllMusic, Heather Phares believed "Talking to Yourself" demonstrated "feeling at once separate and connected", a running motif on The Loneliest Time, and he called it "an '80s pop fantasia with massive choruses".[25]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Loneliest Time.[10]

Charts

Chart position for "Talking to Yourself"
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan)[26] 8

References

  1. ↑ Kaplan, Ilana (August 5, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen: More than a Feeling". Crack. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  2. ↑ Richards, Will (September 16, 2022). "Listen to Carly Rae Jepsen's soaring new song 'Talking To Yourself'". NME. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  3. ↑ Rettig, James (August 2, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen Announces New Album The Loneliest Time". Stereogum. Archived from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  4. ↑ Minsker, Evan (September 16, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen Shares New Song 'Talking to Yourself'". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  5. ↑ Renshaw, David (September 16, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen looks inwards on new song 'Talking to Yourself'". The Fader. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  6. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (September 13, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen previews new single 'Talking To Yourself'". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  7. ↑ Kenneally, Cerys (September 16, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen delivers new cut 'Talking To Yourself'". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on September 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  8. ↑ Arnone, Joey (September 16, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen Shares Video For New Single 'Talking to Yourself'". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on September 16, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  9. 1 2 "'Talking to Yourself' by Carly Rae Jepsen". Apple Music (US). Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Schoolboy Records, Interscope Records (2022). The Loneliest Time (Media notes). Carly Rae Jepsen.
  11. 1 2 3 Zemler, Emily (September 16, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen Evokes Lost Love on Buoyant Single 'Talking to Yourself'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  12. ↑ Mylrea, Hannah (October 21, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time review: slick sounds from a cult pop hero". NME. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  13. 1 2 DeVille, Chris (September 16, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen – 'Talking To Yourself'". Stereogum. Archived from the original on October 14, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  14. ↑ Stokes, Gem (October 21, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time". Clash. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  15. ↑ Johnston, Maura (October 21, 2022). "The Loneliest Time review: Carly Rae Jepsen's sixth album is a lovesick study of what makes humans tick". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  16. ↑ Davies, Jeffrey (October 31, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen Gets In Touch on The Loneliest Time". PopMatters. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  17. ↑ Piatkowski, Peter (November 11, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen Brings Poignancy to Her Synthpop with The Loneliest Time". PopMatters. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  18. 1 2 3 Siroky, Mary (September 16, 2022). "Song of the Week: Carly Rae Jepsen Speaks for All of Us With 'Talking to Yourself'". Consequence. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  19. 1 2 Kaye, Ben (September 16, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen Drops New Single 'Talking to Yourself'". Consequence. Archived from the original on October 13, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  20. ↑ Devlin, Ben (October 21, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time". MusicOMH. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  21. ↑ Franzini, Sam (October 21, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen The Loneliest Time". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on October 30, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  22. ↑ Sanchez, Gabrielle (October 21, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen finds bliss in solitude on The Loneliest Time". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  23. ↑ Horn, Olivia (October 21, 2022). "Carly Rae Jepsen: The Loneliest Time Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 24, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  24. ↑ Dedman, Todd (October 27, 2022). "Album Review: Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time". Beats Per Minute. Archived from the original on December 5, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  25. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loneliest Time". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas – Week of October 5, 2022". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
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