Carly Rae Jepsen used to pay her band by cooking them meals

The Canadian singer is a global star after her huge hit 'Call Me Maybe', but only a couple of years ago she couldn't even afford to pay her backing band.

12 September 2012
Carly, 26, told The Sun newspaper: "It's very surreal to me at times, because I think back to maybe two years ago and my career then versus now.

"The first time that I toured Canada was in the soccermom van [minivan], with the boys that I'm still playing stadiums with now.

"I was paying them with home-cooked dinners because that's all I could afford, and rushing to my merchandising table to sell shirts afterwards."

'Call Me Maybe' has attracted some interesting parodies and cover versions, and Carly likes to watch as many as she can because it helps her breathe new life into the track.

She added: "I've seen a lot of them, but there's no way that I could have watched every single one.

"My family are pretty good at sending me the links to the really good ones though.

"It's actually pretty amazing, because it's been a rejuvenating aspect of the song.

"I mean, I have sung it more times than any person should sing one song, but because I see the remakes and covers and parodies, it adds new life to it."

Carly's latest single, 'Good Time' with Owl City is out now.

© 2013 Bang Showbiz, NZCity