Josh Ramsay Lends His Talents to 'Call Me Maybe'

Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench and Carly Rae Jepsen were “fortunate to get lucky” with ‘Call Me Maybe’

In addition to being the front man of one of Canada’s most popular rock bands, Marianas Trench lead singer Josh Ramsay is also currently enjoying an impressive run on the music charts all over the world as co-composer of Carly Rae Jepsen’s, catchy hit single, ‘Call Me Maybe’.

The Creation of “Call Me Maybe”

Collaboration between the two musicians is nothing new. In 2009, Ramsay both produced and lent his vocals to the then emerging pop music sensation on her song “Sour Candy”.

The two would reteam again for what has become one of the biggest pop hits of the year, “Call Me Maybe.”

“I had been telling Carly she needed an up tempo dance single,” says Ramsay. “She played me a song she had written with (guitarist) Tavish Crowe. I didn’t love the whole thing but it had a single line that was a great piece of melody with a clever lyric. We took that one line and built a new song around it.”

International Success

To say the song has become a massive international hit is an understatement. Since its February release, “Call Me Maybe” has topped music charts around the world, soaring to Number One in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, the UK, Finland and Denmark, while dominating international sales of music downloads and achieving multi-platinum status worldwide in the process.

The “Call Me Maybe” Phenomenon

As a savvy producer and singer/songwriter, the multi-faceted Ramsay understands all too well there are no certainties when it comes to the music business.

“You always hope, but never expect,” he tells me. “As much as you wish it was possible you never can truly predict. I’ve been lucky to have been involved with a lot of cool songs that I’m equally proud of. I couldn’t tell you why some are successful and some aren’t. You do your best and hope for some luck. We were fortunate to get lucky.”

As further testament to the infectious single’s massive appeal, a number of “Call Me Maybe” lip synch videos have been uploaded to You Tube by everyone from everyday music fans to celebrities, including Justin Bieber to Katy Perry.

As for Ramsay’s take on what’s quickly transcended from just a pop song into a cultural phenomenon: “A bittersweet one,” he says. “Katy Perry is hot and all, but she’ll never be able to dance like me.”